Psych Ch. 2 – Flashcards

Method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions or to search for patterns.

Reduction in number of research participants, as some may drop out of the study over time.

Changes in one variable causing changes to the other variable, which can only be determined through experimental research design.

Observational research study that focuses on one or a few people.

Tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.

Unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest. Often gives the false impression that change in one variable has caused change in the other.

A group that serves as a basis for comparison for chance factors that might influence the outcome of the study.

Relationship between two or more variables. Indicated by a coefficient (-1-+1) and usually represented by r.

Study that compares multiples segments of a population at a single time.

When an experiment involved deception, participants are told total and truthful information about the experiment when it is over.

Purposeful misleading of participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment.

Results are predicted based on a general premise.

Variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the other variable has had.

Variable that the researcher controls to see how much affect it has on the other variable.

Experiment in which bot the researchers and participants are blind to group assignments.

Objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again.

Researcher expectations skew the results of the study.

Objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through empirical research.

Able to be disproved through experiment.

The idea that expectancy of an outcome can cause that outcome.

Institutional review board

Statistics used to organize/summarize data.

Statistics used to draw conclusions from data.

Inferring that the results for a sample apply to the larger population.

Tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

Seeing relationships between two things when in reality no relationship exists.

Conclusions are drawn from observations.

Process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment, any risk involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtain the person's consent to participate.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event.

Studies in which the same group of individuals in surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time.

Observation of behavior in its natural setting.

Description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables.

Personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes, that may/may not be true.

Overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in.

Consistency and reproducibility of a given result.

Repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research's reliability.

Determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance.

List of questions to be answered by research participants - usually in paper form.

Well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena.

Accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure.