Exam 1 Study Guide: Research Methods and Experimental Designs

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental concepts of research methods, scientific reasoning, ethics, measurement validity, reliability, and experimental designs.

Overgeneralization

Making a broad conclusion based on only a few experiences or examples.

Selective or Inaccurate Observation

Paying attention only to information that supports what you already believe while ignoring other information.

Illogical Reasoning

Drawing conclusions that do not logically follow from the evidence.

Ego-Based Commitments

A form of resistance to change where an individual refuses to change their beliefs because they are personally attached to them or do not want to admit they are wrong.

Excessive Devotion to Tradition

A form of resistance to change characterized by believing something is correct simply because it has always been done that way.

Uncritical Agreement with Authority

A form of resistance to change characterized by accepting something as true simply because an authority figure says it is true, without questioning or examining the evidence.

Scientific Method

A systematic way of gaining knowledge through observation, evidence, testing, and research that must be supported by evidence and can be tested and challenged by other researchers.

Testing

Examining a theory or hypothesis to determine whether evidence supports it.

Replication

Repeating a research study to see whether similar results occur, which helps establish confidence in research findings.

Descriptive Research

Research aimed at identifying 'what is happening' by describing characteristics, behaviors, or situations.

Exploratory Research

Research that examines a topic that is not well understood to help researchers develop questions and identify possible explanations for why or how something is happening.

Explanatory Research

Research that examines cause-and-effect relationships between variables and attempts to explain why something happens.

Evaluation Research

Research that determines whether a social program, policy, or intervention is effective.

Feasibility

A criterion for evaluating research questions that asks whether the research can realistically be completed with the available time, money, resources, and information.

Social Importance

A criterion for evaluating research questions that asks whether the research addresses an issue that matters to society.

Scientific Relevance

A criterion for evaluating research questions that assesses whether the research contributes to existing knowledge or helps explain a social issue.

Theory

A broad explanation of why or how something happens or how different factors are related, supported by research and evidence.

Data

Information or evidence collected through research that can support, challenge, or lead to changes in existing theories.

Deductive Reasoning

A research approach that starts with a general theory and moves toward a specific hypothesis or prediction to test by collecting data (General → Specific).

Inductive Reasoning

A research approach that starts with specific observations and looks for patterns to develop broader conclusions or theories (Specific → General).

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction about the relationship between variables, often expressed using if-then statements.

Variable

Something that can change or have different values within a study.

Constant

Something that remains the same throughout a particular study.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that is expected to influence or cause a change in another variable.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable being measured or affected in a study.

Positive Relationship

A direction of association where both variables move in the same direction: when one variable increases, the other increases; when one decreases, the other tends to decrease.

Negative Relationship

A direction of association where variables move in opposite directions: when one variable increases, the other tends to decrease.

Measurement Validity

The extent to which a measurement accurately measures the concept it is supposed to measure.

Causal Validity

The extent to which research correctly establishes that one variable causes a change in another variable.

Generalizability

Whether research findings can be applied to a larger population or other groups beyond the people studied.

Respect for Persons

A Belmont Report ethical principle stating that participants must be treated as autonomous individuals who can make their own decisions voluntarily, with added protection for those with limited decision-making capacity.

Beneficence

A Belmont Report ethical principle obligating researchers to protect participants from harm by maximizing potential benefits and minimizing possible risks.

Justice

A Belmont Report ethical principle requiring fairness in distributing the benefits and risks of research among participants.

Anonymity

An ethical condition in which the researcher's identity records do not connect participants to their responses, making it impossible for the researcher to identify who provided a particular response.

Confidentiality

An ethical condition in which the researcher knows the participants' identities but protects that information from being shared publicly.

Informed Consent

An ethical agreement where participants understand the research and voluntarily agree to participate, consisting of information, comprehension, and voluntariness.

Assent

An agreement to participate provided by children or individuals with limited capacity in a way appropriate to their age and understanding, typically alongside parental or guardian permission.

Deception

When researchers intentionally withhold information or provide misleading information about certain aspects of a study because knowing the actual purpose would affect participants' behavior.

Debriefing

Explaining the true purpose of the study after participation, clarifying any deception used, and answering participants' questions.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A formal committee that reviews research involving human participants to protect their rights, safety, and well-being by examining risks, consent procedures, and ethical concerns before research begins.

Conceptualization

The process of defining what a concept means and clarifying exactly what is being studied.

Operationalization

The process of turning an abstract concept into something measurable by deciding how it will be measured in a research study.

Open-Ended Questions

Survey or interview questions that allow participants to answer in their own words, providing detailed qualitative responses.

Closed-Ended Questions

Questions that provide participants with specific answer choices, making them easier to organize and analyze.

Exhaustive

A requirement for closed-ended question response categories ensuring that every possible response is covered.

Mutually Exclusive

A requirement for closed-ended question response categories ensuring that answer choices do not overlap, enabling a participant to select only one appropriate option without confusion.

Direct Observation

A method of operationalization involving watching and recording behaviors or events as they occur in real time.

Unobtrusive Measures

Methods of collecting information without directly interfering with or influencing people's behavior, such as reviewing public records or examining physical traces.

Triangulation

The use of multiple research methods, data sources, or measurements to study the same topic in order to gain a more complete understanding.

Nominal Level of Measurement

A level of measurement consisting of discrete categories or names with no specific order or ranking.

Ordinal Level of Measurement

A level of measurement consisting of categories that have a meaningful order or ranking, though the exact distances between categories are not necessarily equal.

Interval Level of Measurement

A level of measurement involving numbers with equal intervals between values but no true zero, meaning zero does not represent the complete absence of the characteristic.

Ratio Level of Measurement

A level of measurement involving numbers with equal intervals and an absolute true zero point, where zero signifies the total absence of the measured quantity.

Face Validity

A subtype of measurement validity evaluating whether a measurement appears, on the surface, to measure what it is supposed to measure.

Content Validity

A subtype of measurement validity evaluating whether a measurement covers all important parts or dimensions of the concept being studied.

Construct Validity

A subtype of measurement validity assessing whether a measurement accurately represents an abstract concept or theoretical idea.

Criterion Validity

A type of measurement validity examining whether a measurement is related to an established standard or outcome.

Concurrent Validity

A subtype of criterion validity that compares a new measurement with an established measure taken around the same time.

Predictive Validity

A subtype of criterion validity assessing whether a measurement can accurately predict a future outcome or performance.

Measurement Reliability

The consistency of a measure, indicating that it produces consistent results when repeated under similar conditions.

Test-Retest Reliability

A measure of consistency achieved by giving the same test to the same participants at two different points in time.

Inter-Item Reliability (Internal Consistency)

A measure of reliability that examines whether different questions or items on the same measurement consistently measure the same concept.

Alternate Forms Reliability

A measure of reliability determined by administering two different versions of the same test to measure the same concept and comparing results.

Inter-Observer Reliability

The degree of agreement or consistency between two or more independent researchers observing the same behavior.

Intra-Observer Reliability

The consistency of observations made by the same single researcher at different points in time.

Nomothetic Explanation

An explanation that attempts to account for behavior through general patterns or relationships that apply across many people, operating on the premise that, all other things being equal, $X$ causes $Y$.

Idiographic Explanation

An explanation that attempts to understand behavior by examining the concrete, specific circumstances and personal experiences of an individual or single situation.

Counterfactual

The theoretical outcome of what would have happened to a participant if they had not received the treatment or intervention.

Association

A necessary criterion for establishing causation requiring that the independent and dependent variables are empirically related, such that changes in one correspond to changes in the other.

Time Ordering (Temporal Precedence)

A criterion for establishing causation requiring that the presumed cause occurs before the observed effect.

Non-Spuriousness

A criterion for establishing causation requiring that an observed relationship between two variables cannot be explained away by a third, extraneous variable.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that does not receive the experimental treatment and serves as a baseline comparison.

Treatment Group

The experimental group that receives the specific intervention or treatment being evaluated.

Post-Test

A measurement or observation taken after the administration of an experimental treatment to evaluate its effects.

True (Classic) Experimental Design

A research design characterized by random assignment of participants into treatment and control groups to determine causal relationships.

Post-Test Only Experimental Design

An experimental design in which participants are randomly assigned to treatment and control groups and measured only after the treatment, with no pre-test administered.

Solomon Four-Group Design

An experimental design utilizing four groups (two with pre-tests and two without) to evaluate both the treatment effect and whether taking a pre-test influences post-test results.

Quasi-Experimental Design

A research design that investigates the effects of interventions or treatments without using random assignment to create groups, often relying on existing groups or natural settings.

Non-Equivalent Control Group Design

A quasi-experimental design comparing a treatment group to a comparison group where participants were not randomly assigned, meaning pre-existing group differences may exist.

Interrupted Time-Series Design

A quasi-experimental before-and-after design where multiple measurements are collected over time and an intervention occurs mid-study, interrupting the established trend to see if it causes a shift.

Ex Post Facto Control Group Design

A non-experimental or quasi-experimental design where researchers study treatments or events after they have already occurred, categorizing participants based on past experiences.

Individual Matching

A matching procedure where individual participants in the treatment and comparison groups are paired one-to-one based on specific identical characteristics.

Aggregate Matching

A matching technique where entire groups or populations are equated based on their overall distributions and shared average characteristics.

Internal Validity

The degree of confidence that the independent variable or treatment directly caused the observed change in the dependent variable, ruling out alternative explanations.

External Validity

The extent to which research findings can be generalized to other people, settings, times, or populations beyond the original study.

Selection Bias

A threat to internal validity occurring when treatment and control groups differ systematically in characteristics prior to the start of the study.

Differential Attrition

A threat to internal validity that occurs when participants drop out of the treatment or control group at unequal rates or for different reasons.

Endogenous Change

A threat to internal validity involving natural changes occurring within participants themselves over time, independently of the treatment.

Maturation

A type of endogenous change where participants naturally grow, age, or develop during the study period, influencing the measured outcomes.

Testing Effect

A threat to internal validity where taking a pre-test improves or alters participants' performance on a subsequent post-test due to familiarity with the test questions.

Regression to the Mean

A statistical phenomenon and threat to internal validity where individuals who score unusually high or low on an initial test naturally score closer to the average upon retesting.

History (External Events)

A threat to internal validity occurring when external events outside the experimental control happen during the study and influence the dependent variable.

Contamination (Diffusion of Treatments)

A threat to internal validity occurring when the control group is inadvertently exposed to, communicates with, or imitates the treatment intended exclusively for the experimental group.

Treatment Misidentification (Reactivity)

A threat to internal validity occurring when participants change their behavior because they realize they are being studied or respond to factors associated with the intervention rather than the treatment itself.

Placebo Effect

A form of treatment misidentification where participants experience changes simply because they believe they are receiving a beneficial treatment.

Hawthorne Effect

A form of reactivity where participants alter or improve their behavior simply because they are conscious of being observed or evaluated.

Researcher Expectancies

A threat to internal validity where a researcher's unintentional biases or expectations subtly influence participant responses or how data are interpreted.

Longitudinal Study

A research design in which data are collected from participants at multiple points over an extended period of time to track changes.

Cross-Sectional Study

A research design in which data are collected from different people or groups at one single, specific point in time.

Trend Study

A type of longitudinal study that examines changes in a general population over time by surveying different samples of individuals from the same population at different time points.