Obtaining Knowledge and Types of Research

Vocabulary flashcards covering methods of acquiring knowledge, philosophical roots, and non-experimental versus experimental research design.

Nativism

The philosophical view that certain knowledge is innate.

Empiricism

The philosophical view that knowledge is gained through experience.

Dogma

A set of principles established by an authority figure as true.

Dogmatic

The tendency to believe something without considering evidence or different opinions.

Hypothesis

A falsifiable (testable) prediction about what researchers believe will be the outcome of a study.

Operational Definition

A statement specifying the exact property being measured and how it will be detected, allowing for replication of a study.

Quantitative Data

Information expressed as numerical data.

Qualitative Data

Information expressed through non-numerical descriptions.

Validity

How well a measure or test measures what it is supposed to measure.

Reliability

The tendency for a measure to yield identical or similar results upon repetition.

Experimental Research

Research involving the manipulation of variables and random assignment, which is needed to establish cause and effect.

Non-Experimental Research

Observational research without variable manipulation that cannot establish causation but can identify correlations.

Representative Sample

A sample of participants that accurately reflects the characteristics of the larger target population.

Sampling Bias

A flaw in research sampling where the chosen sample does not accurately represent the population.

Random Sampling (Selection)

A procedure where each individual in a population has an equal chance of being selected for a study.

Stratified Sampling

A sampling technique where a population is first divided into subgroups (strata) before samples are taken from each group.

Correlational Research

A non-experimental method that analyzes the relationship between two variables without establishing causation.

Survey Method

A research method that collects self-reported responses, opinions, and feedback from participants.

Wording Effect (Framing)

The phenomenon where the way information is worded, ordered, and presented skews thinking and responses.

Case Study

An in-depth investigation of a single individual, group, or event over a long period of time.

Hawthorne Effect

The tendency for individuals to act differently simply because they know they are being observed.

Naturalistic Observation

Collecting data by observing behaviors as they happen naturally in real-world settings without laboratory staging.

Longitudinal Design Research

A research study design that follows and observes a specific group of individuals over an extended period of time.

Cross-Sectional Design Research

A study design used to compare different demographic groups at a single point in time.

Independent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is directly changed or manipulated by the researcher.

Dependent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is measured to assess the effect of the manipulated variable.

Confounding Variable

An unmeasured factor (the third variable problem) that can skew or distort experimental data.

Constant Variable

A variable kept uniform throughout an experiment to prevent it from becoming a confounding variable.

Random Assignment

Placing participants into experimental or control groups by chance to limit random occurrences and increase validity.

Experimental Group

The group of participants in an experiment that receives the genuine independent variable treatment.

Control Group

The group of participants in an experiment that receives no treatment or receives a placebo.

Placebo Effect

A psychological phenomenon where a participant acts differently or experiences results simply because they expect an outcome.

Single-Blind Study

An experimental setup in which participants are unaware of which group assignment they received.

Demand Characteristics

Cues in an experiment that lead participants to alter their behavior to match what they believe the researcher expects.

Experimenter Bias

Occurs when a researcher knowingly or unknowingly influences the results or interpretation of a study.

Double-Blind Study

An experimental setup where both the participants and the researchers are unaware of group assignments to reduce bias.

Quasi-Experiment

A research design that lacks random assignment due to ethical or practical reasons.

Meta-Analysis

A statistical approach that develops conclusions by synthesizing and analyzing data from multiple independent studies.