Research

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AB Design

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A single subject research design that contains one baseline (A) and one treatment (B).

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ABAB Design

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A single subject research design that contains a baseline (A1), treatment (B1), a second baseline (B2) and a second treatment phase (B2)

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Bell-Shaped Curve

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Also referred to as a normal distribution or normal curve, a bell-shaped curve is a perfect mesokurtic curve where the mean, median, and mode are equal.

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Blind Study

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As a way to avoid the placebo effect in research, this type of study is designed without the subject's knowledge of the anticipated results and sometimes even the nature of the study. The subjects are said to be 'blind' to the expected results.

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Concurrent Validity

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A measurements ability to correlate or vary directly with an accepted measure of the same construct

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Constant

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Any variable that remains the same throughout a study.

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Control Group

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The group of subjects in an experiment that does not receive the independent variable.

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Correlation

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The degree to which two or more variables a related to each other. A correlation refers to the direction that the variables move and does not necessarily represent cause and effect. (Example: height and weight are correlated. As one increases, the other tends to increase as well)

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Dependent Variable

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The variable in an experiment that is measured; the outcome of an experiment.

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Double Blind Study

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Research method in which both the subjects and the experimenter are unaware or 'blind' to the anticipated results.

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Ex-Post-Facto (After the Fact) Research

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Research method in which the independent variable is administered prior to the study without the researcher’s control and its effects are investigated afterward

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External Locus of Control

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The belief that the environment has more control over life circumstances than the individual does.

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External Validity

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The extent to which the data collected from a sample can be generalized to the entire population.

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Halo Effect

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The tendency to assign generally positive or generally negative traits to a person after observing one specific positive or negative trait, respectively

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Hawthorne Effect

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The phenomenon that subject behavior changes by the mere fact that they are being observed

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Mean

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A measure of central tendency determined by adding all scores together and dividing by the number of scores. Often referred to as the statistical average.

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Independent Variable

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The variable in an experiment that is manipulated or compared.

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Median

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A measure of central tendency that uses the middle most occurring score in a distribution (the score that occurs at exactly the 50th percentile).

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Null Hypothesis

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The hypothesis that states there is no difference between two or more sets of data.

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Random Sample

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A group of subjects representing the population who are selected through chance.

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Reliability

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A statistical measure of a tests consistency, or ability to result in similar scores if given repeatedly.

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Replication

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The strength of a research study is only as good as its ability to be replicated. In other words, if a study has significant results but can not be done again, it is difficult to assess whether it was a good study or a result of error.

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t-Test

A group of statistics used to determine if a significance difference exists between the means of two sets of data.

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A group of statistics used to determine if a significance difference exists between the means of two sets of data.

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Validity

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Statistical technique used to determine if a test is actually measuring what it is intended to measure.

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Variable

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Any factor which has the potential to influence another factor in a research study.

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Variance

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A measure of spread within a distribution (the square of the standard deviation).

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Variability

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The degree to which a distribution of scores vary around the mean. High variability means scores are spread wider apart and low variability means scores are relatively close together. Typical ways of determining variability are the range, interquartile range, semi-interquartile range, variance, and standard deviation.