Research Methods Ch. 1-6

Front 1

What are the goals of science? (4)

Back 1

1. To describe behavior
2. To predict behavior
3. To determine the causes of behavior
4. To understand or explain behavior

Front 2

Basic Research

Back 2

tries to answer the fundamental questions about the nature of behavior.

Front 3

Applied Research

Back 3

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

Front 4

Parts of an APA article

Back 4

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Method
4. Results
5. discussion

Front 5

Belmont Report

Back 5

defined the principles and applications that have guided more detailed regulations and APA Ethics Code

Front 6

What are the 3 ethical principles of the Belmont Report?

Back 6

beneficence, respect for persons (autonomy), justice

Front 7

beneficence

Back 7

the need for research to maximize benefits and minimize any possible harmful effects of participation

Front 8

autonomy (respect for persons)

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participants are capable of making deliberate decisions about whether to participate in research

Front 9

justice

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fairness in receiving the benefits of research as well as bearing the burdens of accepting risks

Front 10

risk/benefit analysis

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calculate potential risks and benefits that are likely to result

Front 11

informed consent

Back 11

potential participants in a reasearch prject should be provided with all info that might influence their decision of whether to participate (should be informed about purpose of study, risks/benefits or participation, and rights to refuse or terminate participation

Front 12

debriefing

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explanation of the purposes of the research that is given to participants following their participation int he research

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Institutional Review Board (IRB)

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responsible for the review of research conducted w/in the institution

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variable

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any event, situation, behavior, or individual characteristic that varies (must have 2 or more levels or values)

Front 15

operational definition

Back 15

a definition of the variable in terms of the operations or techniques the researcher uses to measure or manipulate it

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value

Back 16

specific instances in a variable that will vary (e.g. gender: male, female)

Front 17

correlation coefficient

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an index of how strongly two variables are related to each other

Front 18

positive linear correlations

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increases in the value of one variable are accompanied by increases in the value of the second variable

Front 19

negative linear correlations

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increases in the values of one variable are accompanied by decreases in the values of the other variable

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curvilinear

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increases in the value of one variable are accompanied by decreases in the values of the variables

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correlation

Back 21

a statistical technique that shoes whether and how strongly pairs of variables are related

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Pearson r (product-moment correlation coefficient)

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-ranges from + or - 0.00-1.00
-the closer to one, stronger the relationship

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reliability

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consistency or stability of a measure of behavior

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test-retest reliability

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assessed by measuring the same individuals at 2 points in time

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Internal Consistency reliability

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assessment of reliability using responses at only one point in time

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Cronback's alpha

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-researcher calculates the correlation of each item with every other item
-value of alpha is the average of all the correlation coefficients

Front 27

construct validity

Back 27

the adequacy of the operational definition of variables

Front 28

internal validity

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the ability to draw conclusions about causal relationships from data

Front 29

external validity

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the extent to which the results can be generalized to other populations and settings

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face vailidty

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-the evidence for validity is that the measure appears "on the face of it" to measure what it is supposed to measure
-not sophisticated, only a judgment of whether the content of the measure APPEARS to actually measure the variable

Front 31

Assumptions of psychological science

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-Determinism
-empiricism
-parsimony
-testability
-falsifiability
-operational definitions
-nonexistence of "proof"

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determinism

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(causal thinking)- one thing determines another

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empiricism

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-importance of systematic observation
-measurability and replication

Front 34

parsimony

Back 34

-simpler is better
-it is intellectually inappropriate to make more assumptions then you have to

Front 35

falsifiability

Back 35

you can prove something to not be true

Front 36

scientific attitude

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skepticism and humilty

Front 37

pseudoscience

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using scientific terms/ideas to substantiate claims (e.g., astrology)

Front 38

what are the characteristics of pseudoscience?

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-hypothesis not valid
-methods not valid.. evidence is anecdotal
-ignores conflicting evidence
-science sounding terms
-claims are vague

Front 39

nominal variable

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-classify data into categories
-involves labeling categories and the counting frequencies of occurence

Front 40

numeric variable

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-any variable whose values are numbers
-a variable that describes a numerically measured value (e.g. age)

Front 41

convergent validity

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-extent to which scores on the measure in question are related to scores on other measures of the same construct or similar constructs
-e.g., age, number of people in house

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discriminant validity

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scores on the measure are NOT related to other measures that are theoretically different

Front 43

naturalistic observation

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the researcher makes ovservations in a particular natural setting (the field) over an extended period of time, using a variety of techniques to collect info.

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reactivity

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possibility that the presence of the observer will affect people's behaviors

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systematic observation

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careful observation of one or more specific behaviors in a particular setting

Front 46

content analysis

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-systematic analysis of the content of written records
-quantitative and qualitative

Front 47

unobtrusive measures

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-indirect measure for investigating behavior
-people are no longer present
-e.g., physical traces, archival data

Front 48

time sampling

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-picking various time intervals for the observations
-systematically e.g., every 30 min
-randomly

Front 49

situation sampling

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observing behaviors in as many diff. locations and under as many diff. situations as possible (school, work)

Front 50

participation observation

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-undisguised (e.g. anthropologists)
-disguised (Rosenhan study of mental instituions)

Front 51

structured observation

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-observer intervenes to cause or "set-up" event
-makes interesting things happen (cool door study)

Front 52

field experiments

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-manipulating one or more variables in a natural setting
-most control of all observation methods

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qualitative recording

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-narrative record
-field notes

Front 54

narrative record

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-used when want comprehensive record
-e.g., written narratives, film, audio

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"field notes"

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-experts in the area
-more personal
-interpretations based on expertise

Front 56

quantitative recording

Back 56

-importance of operational definitions
-measurement scales: nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio

Front 57

nominal

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-categorical data
-e.g. checklist (male/female, white/black)

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ordinal

Back 58

-rank ordering: more or less
-e.g., race results

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interval

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-how far apart 2 things are on a dimension
-difference are equal
-no meaningful zero point

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ratio

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-have an absolute zero point that indicates the absence of the variable being measured
-e.g., "twice as fast. two times as much"

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coding

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-identifying units of behavior or events according to a specific criteria
-"coding schemes"- defining 'coding behavior'

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interobserver reliability

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degree to which two or more independent observers agree

Front 63

observer bias

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"expectancy effects" lead to errors

Front 64

how do you prevent observer bias?

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-know it exists
-limit info given to observers

Front 65

archival research

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investigators examine naturally existing public records to test a theory or hypothesis

Front 66

why do archival research?

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-topic is ethically sensitive
-variable diff./impossible to manipulate
-want high external validity

Front 67

running records

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-continuously kept and updated
-e.g., tax records, sports team stats

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causality requirements

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1. temporal precedence
2. covariation of the cause and effect
3. alternative explanation

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temporal precedence

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the cause PRECEDES the affect

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covariation of the cause and effect

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cause is present, effect occurs; cause is not present, effect does not occur

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alternative explanation

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only causal variable could be responsible for the observed effect

Front 72

independent variable

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variable that is cause

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dependent

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variable that is effect

Front 74

why is control important?

Back 74

so experimenter can be sure that the difference is the result of the method of questioning and not some other variable

Front 75

why do random assignment?

Back 75

to eliminate influence of extraneous variables in an experiment

Front 76

validity

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the "truth" and the accurate representation of info

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confounding variable (confound)

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-third variable, uncontrolled
if two variables are confounded they are intertwined so you can't determine which of the variables is operating