Midterm Study ! Chs. `1 - 4

Informed Consent

An ethical standard by which potential participants are informed of the topic, procedures, risks, and benefits of participation prior to consenting to participate.

Debriefing

Clearing up any misconceptions that the participant might have and addressing any negative effects of the study.

Confidentiality

A participant’s responses are kept private although the researcher may be able to link the participant with his or her responses.

Anonymity

When no one other than the participant can link the participant to his or her responses.

Testable Hypothesis

An educated prediction that can be disproven.

Variable

A factor in a research study that has two or more possible values.

Descriptive Research

Research design in which the primary goal is to describe the variables, but not examine relationships among variables.

Correlational Research

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Correlational Design

Research design in which the relationship among two or more variables is examined, but causality cannot be determined.

Causation

Relationship between cause and effect, in that one variable is shown to have caused the observed change in another variable.

Experimental Research

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Experimental Design

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Experiment

Research design that attempts to determine a causal relationship by manipulating one variable, randomly assigning participants or subjects to different levels of that manipulated variable, and measuring the effect of that manipulation on another variable.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that is manipulated in an experiment.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable that is measured in an experiment and is expected to vary or change based on the IV manipulation.

Quasi-Experimental Research

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Quasi-Experimental Design

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Quasi-Experiment

Research design that includes a key characteristic of an experiment, namely, manipulation of a variable. However, it does not have all the requirements for an experiment in that there is no random assignment to the levels of the manipulated variable. Because there is no random assignment, this experiment cannot demonstrate causation.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

An established group that evaluates research proposals to ensure that ethical standards are being followed in research that involves human participants.

Primary Research Source

The authors report the results of an original research study that they conducted.

Secondary Research Source

The authors review research but do not report results of an original study.

Popular Works

Works designed to entertain or educate and that were written for those who do not necessarily have any knowledge in the topic area.

Peer Review

Process in which scholarly works are evaluated by other experts in the field.

Primary Research Article

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Empirical Journal Article

Report of the method and results of an original research study that is published in an academic journal.

Literature Review

Review of past research without a report of original research.

Meta-Analysis

A type of review in which the statistical results of past research are synthesized but no original data were collected or analyzed.

Commentaries

Critique or comments about a published research article.

Statistical Significance Testing

A process to reduce the likelihood that the results were obtained by chance alone.

Power

The ability to find statistical significance when in fact a pattern or relationship exists.

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Sample size and the strength of the relationship between two or more variables are two factors that impact this aspect of a study.

Internal Validity

The extent to which you can demonstrate a causal relationship between your IV and DV.

External Validity

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other samples, settings, or procedures.

Scholarly Works

Works designed to advance knowledge in a field, written by someone with expertise in that field for others with knowledge of the field, that cite and build upon other scholarly works

Reliability

Consistency of findings or measures.

Validity

Accuracy of findings or measures.

Measurement Reliability

Consistency of a measure.

Measurement Validity

Measurement is accurate in that it measures what it purports to measure.

Construct

A concept that cannot be directly observed or measured.

Operational Definition

The explicit explanation of a variable in terms of how it is measured or manipulated.

Qualitative Assessment

Nonnumerical assessment.

Quantitative Measure

Numerical measure.

Identity

Each number has a unique meaning.

Order

Numbers on a scale are ordered in sequence.

Equal Intervals

The distance between numbers on a scale is equal.

True Zero

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Absolute Zero

The score of zero on a scale is a fixed point.

Nominal Scale

A scale of measurement where numbers represent categories and have no numerical value.

Ordinal Scale

A scale of measurement with numbers that have order so that each number is greater or less than other numbers but the interval between the numbers is not equal; also called rankings.

Interval Scale

A scale of measurement that has both order and equal intervals between values on the scale.

Likert-Type Scale

A commonly used type of interval scale response in which items are rated on a range of numbers (usually between 5 and 7 response options) that are assumed to have equal intervals.

Ratio Scale

A scale of measurement where values measure quantity and have order, equal intervals, and a true zero.

Questionnaire

A document, presented in hard copy or on a computer, tablet, or phone, consisting of items that assess one or more constructs.

Scale Score

The score that is computed from items assessing a particular construct, most commonly a sum or average of the numbers representing responses to individual items in the document.

Response Format

The type of response, either participant generated or choice from among listed options, required by items on a questionnaire.

Open-Ended Response Format

Item on a scale that requires the respondents to generate their own answers.

Closed-Ended Response Format

Item that provides a limited number of choices from which respondents must select.

Forced-Choice Response Format

Response format in which there is no neutral, or middle, option.

Observational Measure

A measure that is rated by observers and sometimes made without the awareness of the person performing the behavior.

Unobtrusive Measure

A measure that is made of behaviors or situations without disturbing the naturally occurring behavior or situation in order to reduce changes that might occur if there was awareness of measurement.

Physiological Measure

A measure that assesses physical reactions or bodily functioning.

Internal Consistency

The consistency of participant responses to all the items in a scale.

Cronbach’s alpha (α)

Test used to assess the internal consistency of a scale by computing the intercorrelations among responses to scale items; values of .70 or higher are interpreted as acceptable internal consistency.

Split-Half Reliability

Correlations between the responses to half the items on a scale to the other half (usually even-numbered items correlated with odd-numbered items); values of .70 or higher are considered to denote acceptable reliability.

Test-Retest Reliability

A measure of the stability of scores on a scale over time.

Alternate Forms Reliaility

The relationship between scores on two different forms of a scale.

Interrater Reliability

A measure of agreement between different raters’ scores.

Face Validity

Whether a particular measure seems to be appropriate as a way to assess a construct.

Construct Reliability

Whether a measure mirrors the characteristics of a hypothetical construct; can be assessed in multiple ways.

Content Validity

Inclusion of all aspects of a construct by items on a scale or measure.

Convergent Validity

Positive relationship between two scales measuring the same or similar constructs.

Divergent Validity

Negative or no relationship between two scales measuring different constructs.

Criterion Validity

Positive correlation between scale scores and a behavioral measure.

Concurrent Validity

Positive correlation between scale scores and a current behavior that is related to the construct assessed by the scale.

Predictive Validity

Positive relationship between scale scores and a future behavior that is related to the construct assessed by the scale.

Reliability of a Study

How consistent the results are across similar studies.

Replication

Conducting the same study with new participants (literal replication) or conducting a study examining the same patterns or relationships but with different methods (conceptual replication).

Internal Validity

The degree to which we can say that we found an accurate relationship among variables, in that changes in one variable (the DV) are caused by changes in another variable (the IV). Relevant only to studies examining causation.

External Validity

The degree to which we can say that the results of a study are accurate for different types of people in different settings assessed with different procedures.

Confound

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Confounding Variable

A variable that varies systematically with the variables in a study and is a potential alternative explanation for causality.

Prevalence

How common or widespread a behavior, attitude, characteristic, or condition is within a specific time period

Trend

Pattern of change in prevalence over time

Pilot Study

A preliminary study with a small sample to test measures and procedures

Survey Research

Interviews or questionnaires in which participants report on their attitudes and behaviors

Social Desirability Bias

Participants may respond based on how they want to be perceived or what is socially acceptable

Interviewer Bias

The interviewer may provide verbal or nonverbal cues that impact how the participant responds

Structured Interviews

All questions, follow-up questions, and responses by the interviewer are determined beforehand to ensure that all the participants have a very similar experience.

Semi-Structured Interviews

There is a set of core questions or topics that the interviewer will flow, but the interviewer may prompt for more information, ask follow-up questions, or clarify questions as the interviewer deems necessary

Observer Bias

The observers pay closer attention to behaviors that support their expectations or interpret behaviors in ways that support their expectations or lose their focus on the target behavior.

Blind Observer

Observer who is not informed of the research hypotheses in order to reduce observer bias

Narrative

A detailed account of behaviors or responses

Checklist

A list of qualities or behaviors that are checked if present

Duration

How long a behavior last

Task Completion Time

How long it takes to complete a task

Reaction Time

How long it takes a participant to respond to a stimulus

Latency

The time between stopping one task and beginning a new task.

Rating Scale

A numerical rating of a particular quality

Covert Observation

Observations are made without the participants’ awareness

Overt Observation

No attempts are made to hide the observation

Naturalistic Observation

Observation that occurs in a natural environment or situation and does not involve interference by anyone involved in the research

Contrived Observation

The researcher sets up the situation and observes how participants or subjects respond

Confederate

Someone who pretends to be a participant or uninvolved person, but in actuality is working with the researcher and has been told to behave in a particular way.

Nonparticipant Observation

The researcher or observer is not directly involved in the situation

Participant Observation

The researcher or observer becomes actively involved in the situation

Archival Research

Analysis of existing data or records.

Secondary Data

Research data that were collected by one researcher or group but analyzed by a different researcher or group

Population

The group that a researcher is interested in examining defined by specific characteristics such as residency, occupation, gender, or age.

Subpopulation

A portion or subgroup of the population