question

Applied research

answer

Conducted to address issues in which there are practical problems and potential solutions.

question

Authority

answer

1. Reliable or trustworthy sources 2. News media 3. Books 4. Government officials 5. Religious figures 6. Political pundits

question

Basic Research

answer

Attempts to answer fundamental questions about the nature of behavior

question

Empiricism

answer

Knowledge is based on observations. Data (observations) are collected that form the basis of conclusions about the nature of the world

question

Falsifiability

answer

Good scientific ideas are testable. Research can either support or falsify them

question

Intuition

answer

Relies on personal judgement. Example: this ad should persuade them to quit smoking.

question

Pseudoscience

answer

Definitely not a science. Hypotheses generated are not typically testable. Example: a pill that claims to improve memory...or increase weight loss. claims tend to be vague and ignore conflicting evidence

question

Discussion section

answer

Reviews the research from various perspectives. Compares with past results. Includes suggestions for practical applications and for future research on the topic. (strengths and weaknesses)

question

Introduction Section

answer

1. Outlines problems 2. Past research and theories 3. Formal hypotheses or specific expectations

question

Hypothesis

answer

It is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. It is a testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study.

question

APA Ethics Code

answer

5 General Principles 1. Beneficence 2. Responsibility 3. Integrity 4. Justice 5. Respect for the rights and dignity of others

question

The Belmont Report

answer

Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research

question

Justice (Belmont Report)

answer

Achieved through selection of persons

question

Beneficence (Belmont Report)

answer

Achieved through assessment of risks and benefits

question

Autonomy (Belmont Report)

answer

(Respect for persons) - achieved through informed consent

question

Debriefing

answer

Happens after the study. Tells them the purpose of study, anticipated results, practical implications.

question

Exempt Research

answer

Observations. No manipulation of the subject. Example: anonymous surveys, questionnaires, educational tests

question

Honest Experiments

answer

Participants are made aware of the purpose of the research and that they will be studied (e.g., speed dating studies; study skills improvement program)

question

Informed Consent

answer

The purpose is to provide potential participants with all information that might influence their decision about whether to participate

question

Minimal Risk Research

answer

When the risk of harm is no greater than risk encountered in daily life or routine physical or psychological tests. Example: physiological data, moderate exercise. Routine review conducted by the IRB

question

Confounding variable

answer

When an uncontrolled third variable is operating and is not wanted. Changes results of DV. Example: Activity level (IV) weight gain(DV) age (CV)

question

Construct validity

answer

Concerns whether our methods of studying variables are accurate. Example: Think about the bathroom scale—is this an accurate measure of weight?

question

Internal Validity

answer

is the extent to which you are able to say that no other variables except the one you're studying caused the result. For example, if we are studying the variable of pay and the result of hard work, we want to be able to say that no other reason (not personality, not motivation, not competition) causes the hard work. We want to say that pay and pay alone makes people like Sean work harder.

question

External Validity

answer

Concerns whether we can generalize findings of a study to other settings/places/populations.

question

Correlation coefficient

answer

The way of measuring the strength of the linear association between two variables. Ranges from r = -1.0 to +1.0 Closer to 1 (+ or -) = stronger relationship between variable

question

Curvilinear relationship

answer

As scores on one variable increase, scores on the second variable tend to increase, then decrease, (then increase)

question

Experimental Control

answer

All extraneous variables in an experiment are kept constant; so that it cannot be responsible for the results of a study—in other words, it cannot be the confounding variable. Experimental control is accomplished by treating participants in all groups in the experiment identically; the only difference between groups is the manipulated variable.

question

Experiment Method

answer

One variable is manipulated or controlled and the other is measured (REMEMBER: in the NONexperimental method, both variables are measured). Attempts to eliminate the influence of all potential third variables on the dependent variable

question

Field Experiment

answer

Researchers manipulate an IV in a natural setting, such as a parking lot or a mall. Example: researchers have studied people's parking behavior by driving a car in a variety of ways

question

Negative Linear Relationship

answer

Higher scores on one variable tend to predict lower scores on the other variable

question

Positive Linear Relationship

answer

Higher scores on one variable tend to predict higher scores on the other variable OR Lower scores on one variable tend to predict lower scores on the other variable

question

Non-experimental method (correlational method)

answer

Relies on observation or interactions to come to a conclusion. The non-experimental researcher must rely on correlations, surveys or case studies, and cannot demonstrate a true cause-and-effect relationship. Cannot manipulate variables. Both variables are measured.

question

Operational Variable

answer

The specific way in which a variable is measured in a particular study

question

Participant Variable

answer

The differing individual characteristics of participants in an experiment. Example: age, background, socioeconomic status, current mood.

question

Randomization

answer

The researcher can be confident that the characteristics of the participants in the two groups will be virtually identical.

question

Third Variable Problem

answer

There is danger that no direct causal relationship exists between the measured variables. X and Y appear to be related. But they do not influence each other. Instead, a third variable (T) causes both of them to change.

question

Concurrent Validity

answer

Examining the relationship between a measure and a behavior at the same time Example: studying a measure of shyness in a group of salespeople (probably not shy) and IT experts (probably shy) in the same company

question

Content Validity

answer

Compare measure with other content that defines the variable. Example: A measure of depression should have content that links to each of the symptoms that define depression

question

Convergent validity

answer

Extent to which scores on a measure are related to scores on other measures. Measures of similar constructs should converge. Example: One measure of shyness should correlate highly with another shyness measure or a measure of social anxiety

question

Cronbach's Alpha

answer

Correlation of each item on the measure all other items on the measure. Ranges from 0.00 (no reliability) to 1.00 (perfectly reliable). ? = .80 or greater indicates high reliability

question

Discriminant Validity

answer

Scores on a measure are not related to variables with which they should not be related. Measure should discriminate between the variable of interest and other unrelated constructs Example: Shyness and value of forcefulness with others should not be related

question

Face Validity

answer

whether or not your study measures what it is supposed to measure. You can think of it as where you just skim the surface in order to form an opinion.

question

Internal Consistency Reliability

answer

Extent to which raters agree in their observations. Single observation of one rater may be unreliable. Solution is to use multiple raters to observe the same behavior. Cohen's Kappa: Correlation between the observations of raters

question

Interval Scale

answer

Difference between numbers on the scale are meaningful. no absolute zero Example: thermometer

question

Item-Total Correlation

answer

The item total correlation is a correlation between the question score (e.g., 0 or 1 for multiple choice) and the overall assessment score (e.g., 67%)

question

Nominal Scale

answer

No quantitative information. categories.

question

Ordinal Scale

answer

Allow us to rank order the levels of the variable being studied. No particular value is attached to the l ls between numbers Example: Star ratings for movies

question

Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient

answer

Is a measure of the linear correlation between two variables X and Y, giving a value between +1 and ?1.

question

Predictive validity

answer

Using scores on one measure to predict future behaviors. Example: Validity of SAT test is demonstrated by its ability to predict performance in college

question

Ratio Scale

answer

Just like interval, an absolute zero indicates the absence of whats being measured. Example: weight

question

Reactivity

answer

Measure is reactive if awareness of being measured changes peoples' behavior. A reactive measure tells us how people behave when they know they are being measured, but not how they would behave under natural circumstances. is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals alter their performance or behavior due to the awareness that they are being observed.

question

Split-half reliability

answer

A measure of reliability in which a test is split into two parts and an individual's scores on both halves are compared.

question

Test-retest reliability

answer

Obtained by administering the same test twice over a period of time to a group of individuals. Example: if a group of students take a geography test just before the end of semester and one when they return to school at the beginning of the next, the tests should produce broadly the same results.

question

Closed-ended questions

answer

Limited number of response alternatives given. More structured. Response alternatives the same for everyone. Example: how much do you dislike or like this class?

question

Graphic Rating Scale

answer

A graphic rating scale is a commonly used scale system for performance appraisals. The scale typically features a Likert scale from 1-3, 1-5, and so on. An example of a 1-3 rating could include responses such as: 1: Poor, 2: Average, and 3: Excellent.

question

Open Ended Questions

answer

Respondents are free to answer any way they would like. Require time to categorize and code

question

Rating Scale

answer

Ask people to provide "how much" judgments on any number of dimensions Example: Amount of agreement, liking, or confidence

question

Semantic Differential Scale

answer

Respondents rate any concept (people, objects, behaviors, ideas) on a series of bipolar adjectives

question

Dillman's (2008) Principles

answer

1. Simplicity 2. Negative wording 3. No Loaded questions 4. No Double-barreled questions 5. Nay Yae questions

question

Attrition/Morality

answer

(dropout factor) Even if groups started the same, dropout may cause them to become different. Pretest allows us to assess whether dropout made groups different. Most likely in longitudinal studies

question

Between-subjects design (also independent groups design)

answer

Subjects participate in only one group - either experimental or control. Comparisons made between different groups of subjects. Random assignment.

question

Carryover Effect

answer

Possible that the effect of the first condition carries over and influences the response to the second condition

question

Confounding variable

answer

Another variable that occurs along with the independent variable . Is an uncontrolled variable. Cannot determine which variable is responsible for the effect. Good experimental design requires eliminating confounding variables

question

Fatigue effect

answer

Change of performance on second task due to tiredness, boredom, or distraction

question

Matched Pairs Design

answer

People are matched on a participant characteristic. Matched to either the dependent measure or a variable that is strongly related to the dependent variable Example: GPA, weight, diet.

question

Posttest-only design

answer

Obtain two equivalent groups of participants. Introduce the independent variable. Measure the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable

question

Practice effect (also learning effect)

answer

Practice effects can be defined as influences on performance that arises from a practicing a task. Even after, participants have a tendency to perform initial trials poorly because they are still not warmed up to it

question

Pretest-posttest design

answer

Only difference: A pretest is given to each group prior to introduction of the experimental manipulation. Assures that groups are equivalent at the beginning of the experiment. Not usually necessary with random assignment to conditions

question

Repeated measures design (also within-subjects design)

answer

The same people participate in both conditions. Example: If you wanted 10 participants in each condition, you would need 10 participants total

question

Selection Differences

answer

The difference between the average value of a quantitative character in the whole population and the average value of those selected to reproduce the next generation Example: The selection differential is the difference of the base population mean and the mean of the selected parents. The selection response is how much gain you make when mating the selected parents.

question

Factorial Design

answer

Experiments with more than one IV (or factor). Simplest factorial design: 2 X 2 factorial design. Has two IVs, each IV has two levels. Example: "Gender" might be a factor with two levels "male" and "female" and "Diet" might be a factor with three levels "low", "medium" and "high" protein.

question

Interaction

answer

Exists when the effect of one IV on the DV depends on level of the other IV. Can't be obtained in simple experimental designs that only have two levels

question

Mixed Factorial Design

answer

involves two or more independent variables, of which at least one is a within-subjects (repeated measures) factor and at least one is a between-groups factor. In the simplest case, there will be one between-groups factor and one within-subjects factor.

question

Main Effect

answer

The effect of each IV taken by itself. In a design with 2 IVs, there are two main effects - one for each IV. Tells you about the overall relationship between an IV and the DV

Research Methods study guide

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards