Research Methods Final

assumptions

texts behind scientific theory and research

data

info gathered in research

facts

empirically observed events

behaviors

any observable act from an organism

observation

empirical process of using one's senses to recognize and record facts

inference

any conclusion drawn o basis of empirical data/theories

construct

idea constructed by researcher to explain observed events

reification of a construct

incorrectly accepting construct as a fact

nominal fallacy

mistake name of phenomena as its explanation
Ex) describing a person as aggressive explains their aggressive behavior

all or none bias

tendency to see statement as true or false

similarity-uniqueness paradox

tendency to view two things as similar/different from one another; simplifies their relationship

Barnum statement

statement appears insightful about an issue

evaluative biases of language

language inserts subtle judgments of objective behaviors

Ex) describing behavior as assertive instead of aggressive

inductive reasoning

reasoning from particular to general; used to generate theories from observations

deductive reasoning

reasoning from general to particular; predictions about future based on theories

parsimonious theory

simple theory is best if it explains data as well as a complex one

validity

makes specific testable predictions confirmed by observations

inductive theories

built on strong empirical base and stray little from it

intervening variables

inferred factors hypothesized to operate between observed variables (stimulus and response) helping to explain relationship

deductive theory

theory that emphasizes constructs and relationships between them and seeks to make predictions that can be tested

functional theories

place approximately equal emphasis on induction and deduction

model

a mini representation of reality' description or analogy that helps scientists understand something unseen/complex

naturalistic observation

observing in natural environment; do nothing to limit/change environment/behavior

case study research

moderately limited environment/intervening slightly/and observing responses

correlational research

quantifying strength between two variables; carefully define and follow measurement/procedures

experimental research

assign randomly to groups and test each group under different condition

precision vs. relevance problem

the concern that higher-constraint lab research may be less relevant than low constraint naturalistic research and that lower constraint research may be unacceptably imprecise

heuristic influence

the nonsystematic impact of research or theory in stimulating new research

systematic influence

the stimulating effect of previous research and theories in providing testable hypotheses for further study

theory of cognitive dissonance

L. Festinger (1957); conflicts between values and actions lead to changes in either to avoid future conflicts

research with autistic children

O.I. Lovaas (1973); even severely disturbed children can benefit from learning functional language and will respond to reinforcement contingencies

repressed memory

Loftus & Polage(1999); repressed memories are false and recovered memories were created by procedures designed to recover them

z-system model of cognitive processing

Kahneman & Tversy (2011); explains consumer behavior (reasoning)

applied research

research to provide solutions to practical problems

basic research

fundamental/pure research carried out to add to knowledge without applied or practical goals

translational research

any research/ particularly basic research/ that's planned to lead practical applications such as medicine/education/and industry

variable

any set of events with different values

behavioral variables

variable representing some aspect of an organism's behavior

stimulus variables

any part of the environment to which an organism reacts

organismic variables

any characteristic of an individual that can be used for classification

response-inferred organismic variables

hypothesized internal attribute of an organism based on observed behavior

dependent variable

variable hypothesized to have relationship with the independent variable

manipulated independent variable

type of independent variable where participants are randomly assigned to conditions

nonmanipulated independent variable

preexisting variable that determines group membership in differential research; classification variables

causal relationship

a relationship between variables in which one variable causes a predictable change in the other

extraneous variables

unplanned and uncontrolled factors that can arise in a study and affect the outcome

constant

a set of events the researcher prevents from varying

controls

any procedure that reduces confounding

deception/concealment

deliberately misleading participants by giving false info (deception) or by withholding some info (concealment)

debriefing

explaining to participants the true nature of deception/concealment ASAP

invasions of privacy

failure of researchers to protect confidentiality of records

confidentiality

ethical requirement to protect a participant's sensitive info

informed consent

participants have right to know exactly what they are getting into before they agree to participate in a research study

risk/benefit analysis

assessing research in terms of risks it poses to participants/its value to science and society/and whether potential benefits outweigh risks

diversity

how well research sample represents various ethnic

constraint

amount of precision/structure/and control; degree researcher imposes limits/controls

scales of measurement

how well scores on a measurement instrument match real number system

nominal scales

scale of measurement in which scores are categories; have identity

nominal/categorical data

data that are frequencies of participants in each category

ordinal scales

scale of measurement in which scores can be rank ordered but distance between adjacent scores varies; have magnitude and identity

Ex) socioeconomic class

ordered data

data provided by ordinal scales of measurement

interval scales

scale of measurement in which distance between adjacent scores is same anywhere on scale but 0 isn't a true 0; have identity and magnitude and equal intervals

Ex) temp in F or C

IQ scores

ratio scales

scale of measurement in which intervals between scores are equal and 0 pt represents 0 level of quality measured; have identity
Ex) weight

score data

data produced by interval or ratio scales of measurement

measurement error

any inaccuracy found in measurement of a variable

operational definitions

definition of a variable in terms of procedures used to measure and/or manipulate it

convergent validity

when different studies--using different operational definitions--produce similar findings

multimethod approach

using several measures of a single concept to increase confidence of research results

reliability

index of consistency of measuring instrument in repeatedly providing same score for given participant

interrater reliability

index of consistency of ratings between separate raters

test-retest reliability

index of consistency in scores over time

internal consistency reliability

index of homogeneity of items of a measure

effective range

range over which dependent measure accurately reflects level of dependent variable

scale attenuation effects

any aspect of measuring instrument that limit the ability of instruments to make discriminations at top of scale or bottom (ceiling and floor effects- restrict range)

predictive validity

the degree to which a measure can accurately identify (predict) a future event

criterion

variable we are attempting to predict in regression

predictor

variable used to predict criterion measure

concurrent validity

assessing a measure by its correlation with a criterion that has already been measured or can be measured simultaneously

criterion-related validity

measures (such as predictive and concurrent validity measures) that are established by correlations with known criterion measures

objective measures

any measure that requires little or no judgment on the part of the person making the measurement

statistics

a branch of math that focuses an organization/analysis/ and interpretation of group of numbers

value

number/ category/ or psychiatric diagnosis

score

a particular person's value on a variable

numeric variable

quantitative variables

ratio scale

measures equal interval variable if it has an absolute 0 pt (complete absence of a variable)

nominal variable

variable whose values are names or categories
Ex) gender

continuous variable

variable with an infinite number of values between any values

frequency table

ordered listing of number of individuals having each of different values for particular variable

interval

range of values in a grouped frequency table that are grouped together

grouped frequency table

frequency in which number of individuals (frequency) is given for each interval of values

histogram

barlike graph of a frequency distribution in which values are plotted along horizontal axis and height of each bar is frequency of value; bars usually placed together without spaces (like a skyline)

frequency distribution

pattern of frequencies over various values; what frequency table/ histogram/or frequency polygon describes

unimodal distribution

frequency distribution with one value clearly having a larger frequency than any other

bimodal distribution

frequency distribution with two approximately equal frequencies each larger than any of the others (clearly)

multimodal distribution

frequency distribution with two or more high frequency separated by a lower frequency

rectangular distribution

frequency distribution where all value have about the same frequency

symmetrical distribution

distribution where pattern of frequency on left and right side are mirror images