Research Question and Hypothesis Development Vocabulary

Flashcards on Research Question and Hypothesis Development

Availability Heuristic

The tendency to believe whatever makes sense or sounds good, based on readily available information.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs.

Bias Blind Spot

The tendency to recognize biases in others but not in oneself.

Authority

A source of information that may be based on personal experience, intuition, or research; examples include celebrities, doctors, and professors.

Control Groups

Groups used in research to allow for systematic comparison and decrease the influence of confounds.

Empirical Mindset

A researcher's rigorous training to decrease biases.

Scholarly Articles

Reports of research results that have been peer-reviewed, detailing ongoing research.

Popular Articles

Summaries of research intended for the general public, often written by journalists.

Primary Research Article

A scientific paper containing sections such as the abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references.

Abstract

A summary of a research article including methods, results and conclusions

Introduction (in research paper)

Provides background information to understand the study, points out gaps in the literature, and states the aim or hypothesis of the study.

Methods (in research paper)

Outlines exactly how the study was performed, providing sufficient detail to replicate the study.

Results (in research paper)

Reports the findings of the study. The heart of the research paper

Discussion/Conclusion (in research paper)

Interprets the findings, discusses their impact, acknowledges limitations, and presents final conclusions.

Interestingness (in research questions)

Considers whether the answer to a research question is in doubt, fills a gap in the literature, and has practical implications.

Feasibility (in research questions)

Considers the time, money, equipment, technical knowledge, and access to participants needed to answer a research question.

Hypothesis

A specific prediction about a new phenomenon that should be observed if a theory is accurate; must be testable and falsifiable.