Psych 100 - Chapter 2

Front 1

Data

Back 1

measurable outcomes of a research study

Front 2

description, prediction, control and explanation

Back 2

Sciences 4 primary goals

Front 3

research

Back 3

a scientific process that involves the careful collection of data

Front 4

scientific method

Back 4

a systematic and dynamic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena, used to achieve the goals of science

Front 5

theory

Back 5

a model of interconnected ideas or concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events. theories are based on empirical evidence

Front 6

hypothesis

Back 6

a testable, specific prediction narrower than the theory it is based on

Front 7

1. form a hypothesis

2. conduct a literature review

3. design a study

4. conduct the study

5. analyze the data

6. report the results

Back 7

the scientific method

Front 8

replication

Back 8

repetition of a research study to confirm the results

Front 9

serendipity

Back 9

unexpectedly finding things that are valuable or agreeable

Front 10

variable

Back 10

something in the world that can vary that a researcher can manipulate (change), measure (evaluate) or both

Front 11

independent variable

Back 11

the variable that gets manipulated in a research study

Front 12

dependent variable

Back 12

the variable that gets measured in a research study

Front 13

operational definition

Back 13

a definition that qualifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) a variable so the variable can be understood objectively

Front 14

Descriptive research

Back 14

involves observing behavior to describe that behavior systematically and objectively. Includes case studies, observations and self report methods

Front 15

case study

Back 15

a descriptive research method that involves the intensive examination of an unusual person or organization

Front 16

Participant observation

Back 16

a type of study in which the researcher is involved in the situation

Front 17

naturalistic observation

Back 17

a type of descriptive study in which the research is a passive observer, separated from the situation and does not attempt to change it

Front 18

reactivity

Back 18

the phenomenon that occurs when the knowledge that one is being observed alters the behavior being observed

Front 19

observer bias

Back 19

systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer's expectations

Front 20

experimenter expectancy effect

Back 20

actual change in the behavior of the people or nonhuman animals being observed that is due to the expectation of the obserer

Front 21

self report methods

Back 21

includes surveys or questionnaires, can be used to gather data from a large number of people in a short time.

Front 22

Correlational studies

Back 22

examines how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or to assign causation between them.

Front 23

positive correlation

Back 23

a relationship between two variables in which both variables either increase or decrease together

Front 24

negative correlation

Back 24

a relationship between two variables in which one variable increases while the other decreases

Front 25

zero correlation

Back 25

a relationship between two variables in which one variable is not predictably related to the other

Front 26

directionality problem

Back 26

a problem encountered in correlational studies;the researchers find a relationship between two variables, but they cannot determine which causes changes in which

Front 27

third variable problem

Back 27

a problem that occurs when the researcher cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences between the variables

Front 28

Experimental method

Back 28

the researcher has maximal control over the situation; controls the phenomena

Front 29

experiment

Back 29

a research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating and measuring variables

Front 30

experimental group

Back 30

the participants in an experiment who receive the treatment

Front 31

control group

Back 31

the participants in an experiment who receive no intervention or who receive an intervention that is unrelated to the independent variable being investigated

Front 32

confound

Back 32

anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the experimental group conditions of a study

Front 33

population

Back 33

the group that researchers want to know about

Front 34

random sample

Back 34

a random sample is taken at random from the population

Front 35

convenience sample

Back 35

people who are conveniently available for the study, likely to be biased

Front 36

random assignment

Back 36

placing research participants into the conditions of an experiment in such a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the dependent variable

Front 37

selection bias

Back 37

in an experiment, unintended differences between the participants in different groups; could be caused by non random assignment.

Front 38

culturally sensitive research

Back 38

research that takes into account the significant role that culture plays on how people think feel and act.

Front 39

Institutional review boards (IRBs)

Back 39

groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science and provides for the physical and emotional well being of research participants

Front 40

1. privacy

2. relative risks of participation

3. informed consent

4. access to data

Back 40

4 key issues adressed by the IRBs

Front 41

construct validity

Back 41

the extent to which a variable measures what they are supposed to measure

Front 42

external validity

Back 42

the degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings or situations

Front 43

internal validity

Back 43

the degree to which the effects observed in the experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds

Front 44

reliability

Back 44

the degree to which an experimental measure is free from error

Front 45

accuracy

Back 45

the degree to which an experimental measure is free from error.

Front 46

descriptive statistics

Back 46

mathematical forms that provide an overall summary of the study's results

Front 47

central tendancy

Back 47

a measure that represents the typical response or the behavior of a group as a whole

Front 48

mean

Back 48

a measure of central tendency that is the arithmetic average of a set of numbers

Front 49

median

Back 49

a measure of central tendency that is the value in a set of numbers that falls exactly halfway between the lowest and the highest values

Front 50

mode

Back 50

a measure of central tendency that is the most frequent score or value in a set of numbers

Front 51

variability

Back 51

in a set of numbers, how widely dispersed the values are from each other and from the mean

Front 52

standard deviation

Back 52

a statistical measure of how far away each value is, on average, from the mean

Front 53

scatterplot

Back 53

a graphical depiction of the relationship between the two variables

Front 54

correlation coefficient

Back 54

a descriptive statistic that indicates the strength of the relationship between two variables