PSYC1040 – Introductory Research Methods & Statistics (Week 1)

Twenty vocabulary flashcards summarizing key concepts from Week 1 of PSYC1040: course logistics, scientific principles, and foundational research-methods terminology.

Research Methods

Standardized strategies (e.g., experiments, quasi-experiments, correlational studies) used to ask and answer scientific questions in psychology.

Statistics

A branch of mathematics focused on organizing, analyzing and interpreting numerical data to draw conclusions amid uncertainty.

Empiricism

Gaining knowledge through systematic observation and measurement; the data-gathering side of science.

Rationalism

Using logical reasoning to integrate evidence, build explanations and evaluate theories.

Scientific Theory

A coherent set of statements that summarizes existing findings and offers testable explanations for a phenomenon.

Hypothesis

A precise, testable prediction derived from a theory about how changes in one variable relate to another.

Falsifiability

The requirement that a scientific claim can, in principle, be proven wrong by empirical evidence.

Peer Review

The process in which independent experts evaluate a study’s methods, analyses and conclusions before publication.

Replication Crisis

A period of scrutiny beginning circa 2011 when many classic psychological findings failed to reproduce, prompting reforms toward open science.

Openness (Open Science)

Practices such as sharing data, code and materials so others can verify and extend scientific findings.

Objectivity

Collecting and reporting data in a way that is independent of personal biases so other researchers can obtain the same results.

Skepticism

A scientific attitude of questioning claims and seeking evidence before acceptance.

Tentative Acceptance

Treating current theories as the best available explanations while remaining ready to revise them in light of new evidence.

Occam’s Razor

The principle that, among competing explanations, the simplest that accounts for all the data is preferred.

Null Finding

An empirical result that does not show a predicted effect; still informative and increasingly published.

BOMDAS/BODMAS

The order of operations in arithmetic: Brackets, Orders (exponents), Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction.

Casio FX-82 (Approved Calculator)

A non-programmable scientific calculator permitted in UQ exams; lacks advanced text storage and statistics functions.

Quiz Buffer Policy

Course rule in which 13 weekly quizzes count for 10 % by dropping each student’s three lowest scores or missed attempts.

Empirical Science

A discipline, such as psychology, that relies on observable, measurable evidence to understand phenomena.

Anti-authoritarianism (in Science)

The stance that evidence, not a person’s status, determines whether a claim is accepted.