research methods

Hypothesis

a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

independent variable

the variable that changes

dependant variable

the variable that is measured

Operationalism of variables

a specific, measurable way to define and quantify an abstract concept for a research study

extraneous variable

any factor in a research study that is not being tested but could still affect the outcome or the dependent variable

confounding variable

an external, hidden variable in a study that affects both the item you are testing (independent variable) and the result you are measuring (dependent variable), making a fake link look real

control group

a group that is not exposed to treatment to ensure changes are due to independent variable

sampling Methods

random, volunteer, opportunity (chosen due to convenience), stratified

reliability

consistency of measurement

validity

how accurately a method, test, or study measures what it claims to measure

qualititative data

data expressed in opinion and words

quantitative data

data expressed in numbers and statistics

case study

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

observation

noticing and describing events or processes in a careful, orderly way

correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

measures of central tendency

mean, median, mode

measures of dispersion

range, IQR, variance (avg squared distance each data point lies away from the mean), standard deviation (square root of variance)

infernetial statistics

uses data from a small sample to make predictions, test ideas, and draw conclusions about a larger population