Psyc 105 Test 1

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Methodology

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The scientific techniques used to collect and evaluate psychological data.

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Emperical data

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Data that are observable or experienced; capable of being verified or disproved through investigation.

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Theory

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A set of general principles that attempts to explain and predict behavior or other phenomena.

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Parsimony

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An aspect of good thinking, stating that the simplest explanation is preferred until ruled out by conflicting evidence; also known as Occam's razor.

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Replication

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The process of repeating the research procedures to verify that the outcome will be the same as before; a principle tool of the scientific method.

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Applied research

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Research that is designed to solve real-world problems.

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Basic research

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Research designed to test theories or to explain psychological phenomena.

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Antecedent conditions

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All circumstances that occur or exist before the event or behavior to be explained; also called antecedents.

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Testable

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Capable of being tested; typically used in reference to a hypothesis. Three requirements must be met to have a testable hypothesis: procedures for manipulating the setting must exist, and the predicted outcome must be observable and measurable.

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Debriefing

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The principle of full disclosure at the end of an experiment; that is, explaining to the subject the nature and purpose of the study.

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Institutional Review Board (IRB)

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An institutional committee that reviews proposed research to safeguard the safety and rights of human participants.

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Scientific Fraud

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The unethical practice of gal sifting or fabricating data; plagiarism is also a form of fraud.

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Plagiarism

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The representation of someone else's ideas, words, or written work as one's own; a serious breach of ethics that can result in legal action.

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Internal Validity

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The certainty that the changes in behavior observed across treatment conditions were actually caused by differences in treatment.

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External Validity

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How well the findings of an experiment generalize or apply to people and settings that were not tested directly.

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Phenomenology

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A non experimental method of gathering data by attending to and describing one's own immediate experience.

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Case study

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The descriptive record of an individual's experiences, behaviors, or both kept by an outside observer.

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Field study

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A non experimental research method used in the field or in a real-life setting, typically employing a variety of techniques, including naturalistic observation and unobtrusive measures or survey tools, such as questionnaires and interviews.

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Archival study

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A descriptive method in which already existing records are reexamined for a new purpose.

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Qualitative research

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Research that relies on words rather than numbers for the data being collected; it focuses on self-reports, personal narratives, and expression of ideas, memories, feelings, and thoughts.

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Nominal scaling

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The simplest level of measurement; classifies items into two or more distinct categories on the basis of some common feature.

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Response style

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Tendency for subjects to respond to questions or test items in a specific way, regardless of the content.

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Validity

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The extent to which a survey actually measures the intended topic and not something else.

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Reliability

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The extent to which a survey is consistent and repeatable.

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Probability sampling

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Selecting samples in such a way that the odds of any subject being selected for the study are known or can be calculated.

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Cluster sampling

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A form of probability sampling in which a researcher samples entire clusters, or naturally occurring groups, that exist within the population.

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Quota sampling

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Selecting samples through predetermined quotas that are intended to reflect the makeup of the population; they can reflect the proportions of important population sub groups, but the particular individual's are not selected at random.

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Snowball sampling

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A form of non probability sampling in which a researcher locates one or a few people who fit the sample criterion and asks these people to locate or lead the researcher to additional individual's who fit the criterion.

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Scatterplot

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A graph of data from a correlational study, created by plotting pairs of scores from each subject; the value of one variable is plotted on the X axis and the other variable on the Y axis.

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Correlation

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The degree of relationship between two traits, behaviors, or events, represented by r.

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Quasi-experimental design

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Often seems like (as quasi implies) real experiments, but they lack one or more of its essential elements, such as manipulation of antecedents and random assignment to treatment conditions.

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Coeffecient of determination (r^2)

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In a correlational study, an estimate of the amount of variability in scores on one variable that can be explained by the other variable.

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Multiple correlation (R)

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Statistical intercorrelations among three or more behaviors.

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Multiple regression analysis

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A correlation based technique (from multiple correlation) that uses a regression equation to predict the score on one behavior from scores on the other related behaviors.

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Path analysis

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An important correlation based method in which subjects are measured in several related behaviors; the researcher creates and tests models of possible causal sequences using sophisticated correlational techniques.

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Cross-sectional study

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A method in which different groups of subjects who are at different stages are measured at a single point in time; a method that looks for time related changes.

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Longitudinal design

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A method in which the same group of subjects is followed and measured at different points in time; a method that looks for changes across time.

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Hypothesis

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The thesis, or main idea, of an experiment or study consisting of a statement that predicts the relationship between at least two variables.

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Experimental hypothesis

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A statement that is a tentative explanation of an event or behavior; it predicts the effects of specified antecedent conditions in a measured behavior.

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Non experimental hypothesis

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A statement of predictions of how events, traits, or behaviors might be related, but not a statement about cause and effect.

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Inductive model

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The process of reasoning from specific cases to more general principles to form a hypothesis.

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Deductive model

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The process of reasoning from general principles to specific instances; most useful for testing principles of a theory.

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Meta-analysis

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A statistical reviewing procedure that uses data from many similar studies to summarize and quantify research findings about individual topics.