Research Methods

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Intensive investigation of a single individual or set of individuals that is used as a basis for drawing general conclusions about the behavior of the individual and perhaps about other persons as well

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case study

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A conclusion regarding one or more antecedents that are believed to have led to a given consequence; although a goal of science is to draw conclusions about causality, the complex interactions of multiple variables impinging on a particular phenomenon make it difficult to assert such conclusions with certainty, so scientists generally infer causality in terms of the relative likelihood that a particular variable was crucial in causing a particular phenomenon to occur

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causal inference

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The value (or values) that most commonly typifies an entire set of values

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central tendency

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Describing a branch of psychology oriented toward the treatment of clients who require therapeutic guidance by psychologists and psychiatrists

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clinical

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A situation in an experiment in which a group of participants experience a carefully prescribed set of circumstances

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condition

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The human tendency to seek ways in which to confirm rather than to refute existing beliefs

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confirmation bias

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Power or authority over something; the ability to manage or manipulate; one of four goals of psychological research

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control

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A situation in which a group of experimental participants experience a carefully prescribed set of circumstances that are almost identical to the experimental condition but that do not involve the independent variable being manipulated in the experimental treatment condition

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control condition

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A plan for conducting a study in which the experimenter carefully manipulates or controls one or more independent variables in order to see the effect on the dependent variable or variables; although experimental control is usually the ideal means by which to study cause-and effect relationships, for many phenomena, such control is either impossible or highly impractical, so other means of study must be used instead

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controlled experimental design

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The statistical relationship between two attributes (characteristics of the subjects, of a setting, or of a situation), expressed as a number on a scale that ranges from 1 (a negative correlation) to 0 (no correlation) to 1 (a positive correlation)

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correlation

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A plan for conducting a study in which the researchers merely observe the degree of association between two (or more) attributes that already occur naturally in the group(s) under study, and researchers do not directly manipulate the variables

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correlational design

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Methods to assess the degree of relationship between two or more variables or attributes

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correlational methods

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The conscious direction of mental processes toward representing and processing information, usually in order to find thoughtful solutions to problems

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critical thinking

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The outcome response or attribute that varies as a consequence of variation in one or more independent variables

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dependent variable

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A goal of science in which the scientist characterizes what and how people think, feel, or act in response to various kinds of situations

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description