Methods Review Sheet — Terms & Definitions Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from the Methods Review Sheet covering Scientific Method, Ethics, Integrity, Variables, Measurement, Statistics, Research Design, and Sampling.

Intuition

Information accepted as true because it "feels right" (gut feeling); involves "thinking fast" with no conscious reasoning.

Authority/Faith

Unquestioning trust in an authority figure regarding what is true.

Tenacity

Information accepted as true because it has always been understood that way.

Rationalism

"Thinking slow"; logical reasoning that establishes truth without evidence.

Empiricism

Ways of acquiring knowledge through observation or direct experience ("I'll believe it when I see it").

Pseudoscience

A system of ideas presented as science but lacking key components of the scientific method.

Goals of Science

To describe, predict, and explain phenomena using empirical, public, and objective methods.

Scientific Method (steps)

Observe → form hypothesis → generate testable prediction → make systematic observations → use results to support/refute/refine hypothesis.

Nuremberg Code

An ethical code establishing voluntary consent, avoidance of unnecessary suffering, benefits outweighing risks, and execution by qualified persons.

Belmont Report

A foundational research ethics document establishing three core principles: Respect for Persons (autonomy), Beneficence, and Justice.

Respect for Persons (Belmont Report)

An ethical principle focused on participant autonomy and requiring informed consent.

Beneficence (Belmont Report)

An ethical principle focused on minimizing risks and maximizing benefits to research participants.

Justice (Belmont Report)

An ethical principle requiring that the costs and benefits of research be distributed evenly across groups.

Fraud

An explicit effort to falsify or misrepresent research data.

Peer Review

A process where a submitted manuscript is read and evaluated by an editor, an action editor, and 3 reviewers before a publication decision is made.

Type I Error

A false positive error where a researcher concludes a relationship between variables exists when it actually does not.

Type II Error

A false negative error where a researcher fails to find a relationship between variables that actually exists.

File Drawer Problem

A publication bias where statistically significant results get submitted and published while non-significant results sit unpublished in a drawer.

Registered Reports

A study format evaluated and accepted by a journal based on methodology before results are known or data collection is complete.

P-hacking

Adjusting methodology or statistics to achieve a statistically significant positive result, forcing data to fit an a priori hypothesis.

HARKing

Hypothesizing After the Results are Known; post hoc hypothesizing framed as if it were predicted all along.

Plagiarism

Unethical representation of someone else's ideas or words as one's own, including changing a few words even with citation.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction of what causes a phenomenon that is specific, measurable, and grounded in theory.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that is manipulated by the researcher to produce an effect on the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The outcome variable that is predicted to be affected by the independent variable.

Concrete variable

A variable that is easy to define and directly measure (e.g., height, weight, birth order).

Latent (Abstract) variable

A variable that is hard to define or directly measure (e.g., motivation, self-esteem, emotion).

Construct

A concept represented through latent variables that helps explain or predict behavior within a theory.

Conceptual Definition

A definition that lays out the underlying characteristics that theoretically define a variable.

Operational Definition

A procedure for indirectly defining and measuring a variable that cannot be observed directly; turns an abstract construct into something concrete and measurable.

Validity

The degree to which the measurement process measures the variable it intends to measure.

Reliability

The stability or consistency of a measurement over time or repetition ($\text{Reliability} = \text{True score} + \text{Error}$).

Face Validity

The superficial appearance of whether a test looks like it measures what it is supposed to measure.

Content Validity

The degree to which a test is fully representative of all aspects of the construct it aims to measure.

Criterion Validity

The degree to which measurements behave in the same way as other established, related measures.

Discriminant Validity

The degree to which scores on a measure are NOT correlated with measures intended to evaluate distinct constructs.

Test-Retest Reliability

The correlation between successive measurements taken on the same individuals over time.

Inter-Rater Reliability

The degree of agreement or consistency between two separate observers scoring the same behavior.

Internal Consistency

The degree to which multiple items intended to measure the same construct correlate with each other.

Nominal Scale

A scale of measurement representing qualitative categories with no quantitative or numerical order.

Ordinal Scale

A scale of measurement with categories in a meaningful order, indicating the direction of difference but not its magnitude.

Interval Scale

A scale of measurement with equal spacing between values, but an arbitrary zero point.

Ratio Scale

A scale of measurement with equal spacing between values and a meaningful zero point indicating complete absence.

Ceiling Effect

A measurement limitation where participant scores cluster at the top of the scale, masking differences among high scorers.

Floor Effect

A measurement limitation where participant scores cluster at the bottom of the scale, masking true differences in lower ability.

Artifact

A nonnatural feature (accidental or intentional) introduced into an observation that alters measurements.

Demand Characteristics

Cues in a study setting that suggest its purpose or hypothesis to participants and influence their behavior.

Reactivity

The phenomenon where participants modify their behavior or adopt specific roles in response to demand characteristics.

Good subject role

A participant role characterized by trying to act in ways that support what they think the researcher wants to see.

Apprehensive subject role

A participant role characterized by excessive worry about performance or evaluation, leading to altered behavior.

Faithful subject role

The ideal participant role where instructions are followed perfectly without trying to guess the hypothesis.

Experimenter Bias

The influence of a researcher's expectations on the outcomes or measurements of a study.

Single-Blind

A design control where either the researcher OR the participant does not know the predicted outcome/condition.

Double-Blind

A design control where neither the researcher nor the participant knows the predicted outcome/condition.

Statistic

A summary value that describes a sample.

Parameter

The true summary value for an entire population.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistical procedures used to organize and describe data collected from a sample.

Inferential Statistics

Statistical techniques that use sample data to make general conclusions or inferences about a population.

Variance

A measure of variability defined as the average squared distance of scores from the mean.

Standard Deviation

A measure of variability calculated as the square root of the variance; represents the average distance from the mean.

Standard (Z) Score

A score indicating how many standard deviations a data point lies above or below the mean; requires normally distributed data.

True Experimental Research

A research design aimed at establishing cause-and-effect through strategic IV manipulation, random assignment, and strict confound control.

Quasi-Experimental Research

A research design attempting cause-and-effect that lacks strict experimental controls such as random assignment.

Non-Experimental Research

A study design showing relationships between variables without IV manipulation or cause-and-effect claims.

Correlational Research

A study design measuring the natural relationship between two variables within a single group of individuals without manipulation.

Descriptive Research

A research approach that describes individual variables as they naturally exist without evaluating relationships between them.

Internal Validity

The degree to which a study produces a single, unambiguous explanation for the relationship between variables.

External Validity

The extent to which study results generalize to other populations, settings, or conditions outside the study.

Simple Random Sampling

A probability sampling technique where every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Stratified Random Sampling

A probability sampling method where subgroups are identified, and equal-sized random samples are drawn from each subgroup.

Proportion Stratified Random Sampling

A probability sampling method where subgroups are sampled to match their specific proportions in the target population.

Cluster Sampling

A probability sampling technique where existing, well-defined clusters of individuals are randomly selected as whole units.

Convenience Sampling

A nonprobability sampling method where individuals are selected based on availability, willingness, or ease of access.

Snowball Sampling

A nonprobability sampling technique used for small or hard-to-reach populations, where existing participants recruit additional participants.

Quota Sampling

A nonprobability sampling technique that combines convenience sampling with defined target numbers for specific subgroups.