Chapter 7 Psychology: Correlational Research, Survey Design, Reliability & Validity

What is a correlational study?

A research approach that focuses on how variables relate to one another without examining cause-and-effect relationships.

What is the primary method used to conduct a correlational study?

Surveys, which systematically collect information from a group of individuals.

What is an open-ended question?

A question that participants answer using their own words.

What is a closed-ended question?

A question that participants answer using a predetermined set of response options.

What is a dichotomous scale?

A scale in which participants choose between two response options.

What is a semantic differential scale?

A scale in which participants rate between two bipolar adjectives.

What is a Likert scale?

A scale where a participant indicates their level of agreement with a series of statements using ordered response options.

What is a summated ratings scale?

A scale where a participant evaluates a series of statements using predetermined response options, and the responses are summed to represent the overall measurement.

What is a rank order scale?

A scale in which participants arrange a list of items in order based on specific criteria.

What is response bias?

A tendency for participants to respond in a certain way regardless of the content of the questions.

What is a response set?

A response bias where a participant tends to give the same answers to most items on a scale.

What is an acquiescent response set?

A response bias where a participant tends to agree with most items on a scale.

What is reverse-coding in surveys?

A scoring strategy where more negative response alternatives are assigned higher numerical values and more positive ones are assigned lower values.

What is test-retest reliability?

The stability or consistency of a measure assessed by the correlation between findings at different time points.

What is parallel forms reliability?

Evaluates how well a measure correlates with a similar but different measure of the same variable.

What is internal consistency in reliability?

The average inter-item correlation within a measure.

What is split-half reliability?

A method of assessing reliability by comparing two halves of a measure.

What is the best practice for the number of response alternatives in a survey?

Create 5-9 response alternatives.

What is forced choice scale?

A scale where a person must choose among provided response options without a neutral response.

What is the error of central tendency in surveys?

A response bias where a participant tends to avoid using extreme response alternatives.

What is internal consistency?

The degree to which the individual items in a scale are interrelated.

What does validity refer to in research?

The degree to which a tool measures what it claims to measure.

What is construct validity?

The degree to which the scale actually measures the desired construct.

What is convergent validity?

The degree to which scores on a measurement correspond to measures of other theoretically related variables.

What is discriminant validity?

The degree to which a measurement does not correspond to measures of unrelated variables.

What is content validity?

The degree to which the items on a scale reflect the range of material that should be included in a measurement of the target variable.

What is criterion validity?

The degree to which a measurement relates to a particular outcome or behavior.

What is concurrent validity?

The degree to which a measurement corresponds with existing outcomes or behaviors.

What is predictive validity?

The degree to which a measure corresponds with a particular outcome or behavior that occurs in the future.

What is face validity?

The degree to which a scale appears, on the surface, to measure the intended variable.

What should be included in a finalized survey?

Demographic questions and distractor items to mislead participants about the scale's real purpose.

What is the difference between probability and nonprobability sampling?

In probability sampling, everyone has an equal chance of selection; in nonprobability sampling, this is not the case, creating bias.

What are the advantages of conducting an interview for a survey?

Easier to determine whether participants understood the questions.

What are the disadvantages of conducting an interview for a survey?

Time-consuming and prone to demand characteristics, interviewer bias, and social desirability.

What are the advantages of conducting a paper survey?

Less time-consuming and more efficient for groups.

What is a disadvantage of conducting an online survey?

Cannot control who completes the survey or how many times it is completed.

What does Cronbach's alpha measure?

The internal consistency of a scale, where 0 indicates no consistency and 1 indicates perfect consistency.

What is the purpose of descriptive statistics in survey analysis?

To summarize results, compute mean, and summarize variability of the data.

What does Pearson r measure?

The association between continuous variables or the degree to which variables are linearly related.

What does a p-value less than .05 indicate?

Statistically significant findings, suggesting the hypothesis is likely correct given the data.

What is the Self-Concept Clarity Scale?

A 12-item Likert scale assessing how confidently and clearly participants define their self-concept.

What was the mean score on the Self-Concept Clarity Scale in the study?

35.20 (SD = 12.60).

What was the statistically significant correlation found in the study?

A positive relation between self-concept clarity and attitude toward Greek organizations, r = .64, p < .001.

What is a nondirectional hypothesis?

A hypothesis that does not make a specific prediction about how two variables are related.

What is a directional hypothesis?

A hypothesis that makes a specific prediction about the exact nature of the relationship between two variables.