Week 2: Research Methods

Question 1

Cause-and-effect

Answer 1

related to whether we say one variable is causing changes in the other variable, versus other variables that may be related to these two variables

Question 2

Distribution

Answer 2

the pattern of variation in the data

Question 3

p-value

Answer 3

probability of observing a particular outcome in a sample, or more extreme, under a conjecture about the larger population or process; the LOWER the p-value, the HIGHER the signficance

Question 4

Level of significance

Answer 4

a result is statistically significant if it is unlikely to arise by chance alone

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

collection of individuals on which we collect data

Question 6

Generalize(d)

Answer 6

the degree to which one can extend conclusions drawn from the findings of a study to other groups not included in the study (a larger population)

Question 7

Random Sample

Answer 7

using a probability-based method to select a subset of individuals for the sample from the population

Question 8

Margin of Error

Answer 8

expected amount of random variation in a statistic; often defined for 95% confidence level

Question 9

Random Assignment

Answer 9

using a probability-based method to divide a sample into treatment groups

Question 9

Operational Definitions

Answer 9

how researchers specifically measure a concept

Question 10

Independent Variable

Answer 10

the variable the researcher manipulates and controls in an experiment

Question 11

Dependent Variable

Answer 11

the variable the researcher measures but does not manipulate in an experiment

Question 12

Quasi-experimental Design

Answer 12

An experiment that doesn’t require random assignment to conditions

Question 13

Longitudinal study

Answer 13

A study that follows the same group of individuals over time

Question 13

Internal Validity

Answer 13

the degree to which a cause-effect relationship between two variables has been unambiguously established

Question 14

External Validity

Answer 14

the degree to which a finding generalizes from the specific sample and context of a study to some larger population and broader settings

Question 15

Ecological Validity

Answer 15

the degree to which a study finding has been obtained under conditions that are typical for what happens in everyday life

Question 15

Experience-sampling method

Answer 15

methodology where participants report on their momentary thoughts, feelings, and behaviours at different points in time over the course of a day

Question 16

Diary Method

Answer 16

a methodology where participants complete a questionnaire about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of the day at the end of the day

Question 16

Ecological momentary assessment

Answer 16

an overarching term to describe methodologies that repeatedly sample participants’ real-world experiences, behaviour, and physiology in real time

Question 17

Day Reconstruction Method (DRM)

Answer 17

a methodology where participants describe their experiences and behaviour of a given day retrospectively upon a systematic reconstruction on the following day

Question 18

Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR)

Answer 18

a methodology where particpants wear a small, portable audio recorder that intermittently records snippets of ambient sounds around them

Question 19

White Coat Hypertension

Answer 19

phenomenon in which patients exhibit elevated blood pressure in the hospital/doctor’s office but not in everyday lives

Question 20

Ambulatory Assessment

Answer 20

overarching term to describe methodologies that assess the behaviour, physiology, experience, and environments of humans in naturalistic settings

Question 21

Linguistic Analyses

Answer 21

a quantitative text analysis methodology that automatically extracts grammatical and psychological info from a text by counting word frequencies

Question 22

Reliability

Answer 22

refers to the consistency of a measure

Question 23

Validity

Answer 23

the degree to which a measure is assessing what it is intended to measure