Week 2: Research Methods Flashcards
Statistical Thinking, Research Designs, Conducting Psychology Research in the Real World
Cause-and-effect
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
Distribution
the pattern of variation in the data
p-value
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
Level of significance
a result is statistically significant if it is unlikely to arise by chance alone
Sample
collection of individuals on which we collect data
Generalize(d)
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)
Random Sample
using a probability-based method to select a subset of individuals for the sample from the population
Margin of Error
expected amount of random variation in a statistic; often defined for 95% confidence level
Random Assignment
using a probability-based method to divide a sample into treatment groups
Operational Definitions
how researchers specifically measure a concept
Independent Variable
the variable the researcher manipulates and controls in an experiment
Dependent Variable
the variable the researcher measures but does not manipulate in an experiment
Quasi-experimental Design
An experiment that doesn’t require random assignment to conditions
Longitudinal study
A study that follows the same group of individuals over time
Internal Validity
the degree to which a cause-effect relationship between two variables has been unambiguously established
External Validity
the degree to which a finding generalizes from the specific sample and context of a study to some larger population and broader settings
Ecological Validity
the degree to which a study finding has been obtained under conditions that are typical for what happens in everyday life
Experience-sampling method
methodology where participants report on their momentary thoughts, feelings, and behaviours at different points in time over the course of a day
Diary Method
a methodology where participants complete a questionnaire about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of the day at the end of the day
Ecological momentary assessment
an overarching term to describe methodologies that repeatedly sample participants’ real-world experiences, behaviour, and physiology in real time
Day Reconstruction Method (DRM)
a methodology where participants describe their experiences and behaviour of a given day retrospectively upon a systematic reconstruction on the following day
Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR)
a methodology where particpants wear a small, portable audio recorder that intermittently records snippets of ambient sounds around them
White Coat Hypertension
phenomenon in which patients exhibit elevated blood pressure in the hospital/doctor’s office but not in everyday lives
Ambulatory Assessment
overarching term to describe methodologies that assess the behaviour, physiology, experience, and environments of humans in naturalistic settings
Linguistic Analyses
a quantitative text analysis methodology that automatically extracts grammatical and psychological info from a text by counting word frequencies
Reliability
refers to the consistency of a measure
Validity
the degree to which a measure is assessing what it is intended to measure
