1- Research Methodology

Testable

Empirical Support

Application

Clearly defined variables

Unbiased

Predicts behavior

T

E

A

C

U

P

falsification

the action of falsifying information or a theory

phenomenon

Anything that has been observed to commonly occur. In other words, it's something that we know happens a lot, and often there might not be an obvious explanation.

correlation

when two variables are related to one another in that as one increases or decreases, so does the other.

confounding variable

a variable that has influenced the DV that was not the subject of the study.

outliers

the least representative populations one could find for generalizing to a global population

extraneous variable

a variable that could influence the DV but is not the subject of the study.

external validity

the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people

causation

when one variable directly causes a change in another.

population validity

the capacity to confidently generalize the results of a study from one group of subjects to another population group

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

treatment group

the group that receives a treatment that is hypothesized to have an effect.

order effects

occurs when participants' response in the various conditions are affected by the order of conditions to which they were exposed

dependent variable

the variable that the researcher measures, which effects the IV.

carry over effect

a problem that may occur in repeated measures designs if the effects of one treatment are still present when the next treatment is given

independent variable

the variable in a study that the researcher manipulates in order to create different conditions for comparison of effects.

practice effect

a type of order effect in which people's performance improves over time because they become practiced at the dependent measure (not because of the manipulation or treatment)

empirical evidence

evidence that has been gathered using observation and/or experimentation; explanatory, gathered, tested, proven, observation experimentation (not every experiment proves fact)

fatigue effect

a type of order effect which there are deterioration in measurements due to participants becoming tired, less attentive, or careless during the course of the study

behavior

Any observable action

cognition/mental processes

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

the internal tasks we perform with our minds. Examples include thinking, decision making, remembering, and problem solving.

internal validity

is it accurate within the experiment

demand characteristics, extraneous v., confounding v., order effects, are they all controlled, researcher bias, sampling bias, making the experiment accurate?

Psychology

the science of behaviour and mental processes

sampling bias

a problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.

generalizability

a form of extraneous validity, the extent to which the results of the study can be applied beyond the sample

researcher bias

a tendency for researchers to engage in behaviors and selectively notice evidence that supports their hypotheses or expectations

the researcher poses the bias on the sample

matched pairs design

A method of assigning subjects to groups in which pairs of subjects are first matched on some characteristic and then individually assigned randomly to groups.

independent measures

This is where we have two groups, if our experiment was for example drink driving we would provide one group of people with alcohol and the other without.

uses DIFFERENT subjects in each condition of experiment

repeated measures

All participants take part in all conditions of the experiment

compare conditions rather than group or participant

construct validity

the extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure

counterbalancing

A method of controlling for order effects in a repeated measure design by either including all orders of treatment or by randomly determining the order for each subject

Biological theories

based on the assumption that human behavior has its roots in physiological processes

Cognitive theories

based on the assumption the way we perceive and think about the world and ourselves affects our behavior

Sociocultural theories

based on the assumption that our behavior is influenced by other people and the environment

anecdotal evidence

evidence based on personal accounts of incidents; been observed from someone's personal experience or repeated what they've heard others say

exploratory

discover something by asking a completely new question or exploring an old question that seeks to extend

confirmatory

test hypothesis that have already been tested to confirm or disprove the original

null hypothesis

the IV will have no effect on the DV, or that any change in the DV will be due to chance

the researched wants to reject the null hypothesis to show that they the predicted cause and effect relation between IV and DV actually exists

reductionism

describing a complex phenomenon in terms of simple explanations or singular variables

random allocation to conditions

directions given to the participants are randomly allocated to conditions in order to avoid sampling bias

extraneous variables

any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study

demand characteristics

participants act differently simply because they know they are in the study

expectancy effects

participants attempt to discern the experimenter's hypothesis with the goal of "helping"

screw you

attempt of discern with the goal of destroying the study

social desirability

participants answers in a way that makes them look good

participant variability

a limitation of study when characteristics of the sample affect the DV (selecting random samples)

artificiality

when the situation created is so unlikely to occur that one has to wonder if there is any validity in the findings

bidirectional ambiguity

not impossible to tell if the x affected the y or that the y affected the x; or maybe there is no cause and effect relationship at all (due to third variable)

opportunity sampling

a sample that already exists, can lead to rather biased results, problematic to generalize from studies that use opportunity sampling

self-selected sampling

A sampling method made up of volunteers; easy to obtain, guaranteed that they are highly motivated

rarely reflect the more general population, hard to make generalizations

snowball sampling

participants recruit other participants among their friends and acquaintances; good to use when looking for a specific type of person

random sampling

one in which every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected; most desirable sampling method, contain all characteristics

stratified sampling

drawing random samples from each subpopulation that matches the overall ratio of the population; overcomes the problem of over-represented groups

leading questions bias

occurs when respondents in an interview are inclined to answer in a certain way because the wording of the question encourages them to do so

dominant respondent bias

occurs in a group interview setting when on of the participants influences the behavior and responses of others; dominant respondents may "hijack" talking time or intimidate others with their assertiveness or dominant knowledge

sensitivity bias

a tendency of participants to answer regular questions but distort their responses to questions on sensitive subjects

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

question order bias

the tendency for earlier questions on a questionnaire to influence respondents' answers to later questions

biased reporting

occurs when some findings of the study are not equally represented in the research report

localization

when a part of mental processes is contained to one area of the brain

purposive sampling

selecting sample members to study because they possess attributes important to understanding the research topic

quota sampling

a nonprobability sampling technique in which researchers divide the population into groups and then arbitrarily choose participants from each group

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

observational study

observes individuals and measures variables of interest but does not attempt to influence the responses

interview

a face-to-face or telephone questioning of a respondent to obtain desired information.

laboratory experiment

take place in a psychology lab, usually a special room set up in a university or research institute.

field experiment

takes place in an ordinary, everyday environment, such as on the street, in a subway station, at a shopping mall, or in a classroom.

natural experiment

an experiment in which the change in the independent variable occurs naturally.

correlational study

a research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other

survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

questionnaire

a written set of questions to be answered by a research participant

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

overt observation

Participants' behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent.

covert observation

observation in which the observer's presence or purpose is kept secret from those being observed

participant observation

a research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities

structured observation

researcher identifies beforehand which behaviors are to be observed and recorded; information is recorded systematically in a standardized way.

structured interview

a research procedure in which all participants are asked to answer the same questions

semi-structured interview

there is a list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers are also free to ask follow up questions when they feel it is appropriate.

unstructured interview

no fixed set of questions and no systematic scoring procedure

involves asking probing questions to find out what the applicant is like

focus group

a small group of individuals who are led in discussion by a professional consultant in order to gather opinions on and responses to candidates and issues.

mental processes

the thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly

quantitative research

research that provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales.

qualitative research

research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data

construct

any theoretically defined variable

(violence, aggression, attraction, etc.)

operationalization

defining variables in practical terms; expressing in terms of observable behavior

experimental studies

studies in which the independent variables are directly manipulated and the effects on the dependent variable are examined

cause-and-effect inferences

-manipulating the factors of interest.

-holding constant ("controlling") other factors.

descriptive studies

a research method that involves observing and noting the behavior of people or other animals to provide a systematic and objective analysis of the behavior; variables are approached separately

credibility

the degree to which the results of the study can be trusted to reflect the reality

convenience sampling

involves simply asking anyone who happens to be there if they would like to participate.

ecological validity

the idea that cognition should be measured in settings that are as realistic as possible and that the abilities measured should be those needed in real life

double blind design

research design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know who is in the experimental group and who is in the control group

statistical significance

shows the likelihood that a correlation of this size has been obtained by chance

the third variable problem

a problem that occurs when the researcher cannot directly manipulate variables; as a result, the researcher cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest.

curvilinear relationship

a relationship in which changes in the values of the first variable are accompanied by both increases and decreases in the values of another variable

spurious correlations

a relationship that seems to appear between two variables, but is actually caused by something that external, or intervening variable.

triangulation

a combination of different approaches to collecting and interpreting data

reflexivity

researchers' reflection on the possibility that their own biases might have interfered with the observations or interpretations

data triangulation

when a researcher collects data from different sources