Research Methods Concepts

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3 Goals of Psychology

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1) Describe behavior
2) predict behavior
3) Explain behavior

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Paradigm

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a conceptual bias: as way of collecting data. The way one designs an experiment is a reflection of the dominant paradigm for that time period

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What factors influence science?

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Zeitgeist (intellectual climate of the times
Society (what will science be about?)
Technology, and Serendipity

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Construct

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an unobservable experience that is not open to direct empiricle study but is inferec by behavior (studying the wind)

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Random error

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fluctuations in measurememt. Misleading or misunderstanding of the question, measurements made on different days

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Systematic error

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influence on the variable by other conceptual variables not of interest

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What are three characteristics of a good theory?

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1) parismony- explain events in few statements
2) precision
3) testability (capable of disproof)

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Why do we need theories?

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1)focus research
2) to produce or generate hypothesis
3) to test hypotheses

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nominal scale

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each number does not represent a specific amount. Used for identification only, like a name.

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ordinal scale

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score indicates rank order, but not necessarially on an equal unit of mesurement. EX: results of a car race (1st,2nd, 3rd)

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interval scale

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each score indicates an exact anount of something and there is an equal unit of measurement between any two scores. EX: Temperature

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Ratio

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scores measure and exact amount, there is an equal unit of measurement, and there is a true 0. EX: number of calories consumed in a day.

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test-retest reliability

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measure of how stable a test is over time.

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criterion validity

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how well a test estimates either present performance, or how well it predicts future performance.

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construct validity

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the extent to which the test are related to an underlying paychological construct

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Measute of central tendancy

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a statistic that summarizes the distribution of aone variable. Where the "center" of a distribution "tends" to be

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Semi-interquartile range

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half the distance between the 1st and 3rd quartiles

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average absolute deviation

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the absolute magnitude by which a score deviates from the mean of the distribution. Larger # = more varience.

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Varience

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sum of the squared deviations from the mean divided by n.

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point estimation

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take sample mean to point to population mean. Samples unferestimate populations.

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z-score (standard score)

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a score that indicates how far a raw score deviates from the mean in s units. Allows you to make meaningful comparisons between data sets.

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Documentation

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information that os processed and released for public consumption

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archival records

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give researchers discriptive data about the composition of an organization

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physical artifacts

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physical objects or elements that are ope to interptrtation (ex: what would a dark somber office convey about the morale of the person?)

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focus group

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gathering of people moderated by a member of a research team.

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purpose of focus groups

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-gather information
-generate insight
-determine how group members make decisions
-encourage group interaction

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case study advantages and disadvantages

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adv: focus on the individual, use several techniques, get a 'rich' account of thats happening.
Disadv: time-consuming, biased, depth but no bredth, no cause-effect

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manifest content

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a form of content analysis. The contents of a text or photo are noted by measuring frequency of some thing

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latent content

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form of content analysis. the contents of a photo or text are noted by measuring the appearance of themes.

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Which research metnods does the term 'field research' include?

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naturalistic observation, case studies, archival research, survey research, field ecperiments. Focus on the "flow" of behavior without manipulations.

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conditions for low constraint research

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-used when the question concerns the behavior in natural settings. -good for the early stages of research. - used after lab to see if same applies in a natural setting.

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Information gained from low constraint research

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-description of events -identification of relationships among variables -basis for a hypothesis of higher-constraint research

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predictor variable

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the variable from which a prediction is made. x-variable

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criterion variable

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the variable to be predicted. y variable

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spearman rho

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variation of pearson's r. uses two ranked variables

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point biserial

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variation of pearson's r. one continuous varivle and one dichotomus variable

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phi coefficient

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two dichotimous variables

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coeffieient of determination (r^2)

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% of y accounted for by x

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partial correlation

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statistically remove from both the predictor (x) and the criterion (y) variavle the influence of one or more mediating variables.

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semipartial correlations

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removes the effect of one or more mediating variables from just one variable, usually the criterion variable (Y).

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3 ways survey research can be flawed

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1) no clear objective 2) no construct validity 3) poor external validity

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leniency bias

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respondants rate someone who is very familiar in a positive night.

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central tendancy bias`

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respondant hesitates to give extreme ratings and clusters responces around the center choice

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acquiescent responce set

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some responders go along with almost any statement

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simple random sampling

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every member pf an identified population has an equal chance of being selected

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stratified random sampling

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used to ensure that subgroups in a population are represented. divides the pop into subgroups and uses random sampling to get people from each group.

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systematic sampling

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statistical method involving the selection of every kth element from a sampling frame, where k, the sampling interval, is calculated as: Using this procedure each element in the population has a known and equal probability of selection

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cluster sampling

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Cluster sampling is most frequently applied in situations where members of the population are found in clusters or colonies. Then, clusters of individuals are selected randomly and all individuals within each cluster are selected and measured

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snowball sampling

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A non-probability sampling scheme in which you begin by sampling one person, then ask that person for the names of other people you might interview, then interview them and obtain a list of people from them, and so on.