Week 2 Flashcards
What are some ways to describe behaviour?
Survey
Lab experiments
Naturalistic observations
Case studies
Correlation designs
Used to measure relationship between two variables
Cause and Effect
Experimental methods, to show how one thing affects another
Theory
An idea, or concept model, that is designed to explain existing facts or make predictions about new facts that might be discovered
Hypothesis
a statement, usually designed to be tested by an experiment that tentatively expresses a cause-and-effect relationship between two or more events.
5 Principle steps of scientific methods
1) Formulate a hypothesis
2) Design a study
3) Collect the data
4) Analyze the data and obtain results
5) Draw conclusions from the results; develop new hypothesis with the result or share your findings
Elements of a Good Experiment
1) Clear connection between actions, observations and conclusions
2) Relationship between the variables to determine if one influences another
3) Control over the variables in the experiment
4) Make sure your experiment is revolved around validity, reliability and generalizability
Ethical Issues in Research
1) The participant’s safety
2) The benefits outweigh the risk
3) Informed consent is obtained
4) Lack of coercion
5) Privacy
Proper Procedures for Participant Selection
The sample should be representative of the population through random selection
The participants should be assigned to groups through randomization
Observer Expectancy Effect
Experimental confound variable where the research unintentionally manipulates the participant’s behaviour which causes the results to be biased and in favour of the researcher
Descriptive Statistics
purpose is to summarize the data in a meaningful way, making it easy to understand and interpret
Central Tendency
Uses mean, median and mode, if all 3 are similar, then the data is typical
Measures of Variability
Measurement that is used to describe the difference between the values of variables from the same sample of data
It is used to compare the mean of two different groups
Independent Variable
The variable that is manipulated by the experimenter
Dependent Variable
Variable that is measured by the experimenter or the outcome because it changes based on manipulation of the independent variable
When does a result have objectivity
A result is objective if it is observable and not based on emotions or personal points of views
Operational Definiton
When you’re able to define a concept through an observable or measurable way
Generalization
The ability for a set of results from one experiment to be applied to another
Validity
When an experiment measures what it is intended to measure, whether or not it has confound variable and the accuracy of the operational definition of the variable
Reliability
A finding that is consistent through multiple experimenters and not by chance
Standard Deviation
The extent to which scores in a data set are different from the mean
Range
The difference between the largest and smallest score
What are inferential statistics
Used to determine what the data means and are used to determine how reliable the data is. It can also be used to apply the data to a larger population from where it was taken from.
Statistical Significance
the chance that the observed relationship between two variables are real and not by chance or luck
- For example there might be an increase in wages for those who exercise, that’s a correlation but not necessarily a causation
What is the significance of the difference between two mean groups
If the difference between the two means are significant, it means that there is a likely change the independent variable affects the result, if it is small, it is probably from luck
Measurement of Relations
Uses correlation coefficient to measure how related two variables are
0 means no relation whereas 1.0 means there is a perfect relationship between two variables
