Research Methods in Psychology Exam 1

Chapters 1, 4, 5, and 6

Empiricism

The idea that scientific knowledge should rely on observation and experimentation (uses verifiable evidence)

Falsifiability

Important aspect of a study where it is possible to collect data that proves the theory wrong

Universalism

One scientific norm that scientific claims are not evaluated by culture, reputation, etc. and that the claims find universal truths

Communality

One scientific norm where scientific knowledge is shared and created by a community, therefore that knowledge belongs to the community

Disinterestedness

A scientific norm where scientists are not swayed by personal interests (politics, idealism, profit, etc.) but strive to discover the truth

Organized skepticism

Scientific norm where scientists question EVERYTHING, including their own ideas

Quantitative method

Collecting empirical data as numbers

Qualitative method

Collecting empirical data with in-depth descriptions

Empiricist

Bases one’s conclusions on systematic observations

Reflexivity

Considering how one’s background, values, privileges, and biases shape their research and questions

Respect for persons

Individuals should be treated as autonomous agents and special protection for those with less autonomy

Informed consent

Participants must know the risks and conditions before deciding to participate

Beneficence

Researchers must protect participants from harm and promote their well-being

Justice

Calls for fair balance between kinds of people participating in research and those benefitting from it

Institutional Review Board

Committee responsible for ensuring research is conducted ethically

Data fabrication

inventing data to fit the hypothesis

data falsification

researchers influence results

Replacement

Researches should find alternatives to animals if possible

Refinement

Modify procedures to minimize stress

Reduction

Researchers should reduce the amount of animals used

Deception by omission

neglecting to perform an action, causing harm

Deception by commission

Performing a harmful action

Transparency

Clarity and detail in which methods and findings are reported (reporting results of how hypotheses are tested, stating variables involved, showing the “what” and “how”)

Openness

Willingness to share research materials and data with others (show raw data and analysis scripts, allow study replication, focuses on accessibility and sharing)

Belmont Report

Foundational document for US ethics that establishes 3 ethical principles for human subject research (respect for persons, informed consent, and beneficence)

Suvey/poll

method of posing questions to people on the telephone, in interviews, questionnaires, or interned

Forced-choice questions

questions where people pick the best of two options

Likert Scale

Options range from strongly agree to strongly disagree

Semantic differential format

Options range from 1-5

Leading questions

Wording leads to a certain response

Double-barreled questions

Asking two questions in one

Negatively worded questions

Ex. “Does it seem IMPOSSIBLE that ______ NEVER happened?”

Response sets

Shortcut respondents use when answering (ex. answering all positive or all negative)

Acquiescence

Saying all “yes” or “strongly agree”

Fence-sitting

answering in the middle for each question

Observational research

watching and systematically recording how they behave

Observer bias

observer’s expectations influence the interpretation of participant behaviors or study outcome

Observer effects

Participant behavior changes to match observer behavior

Masked/blind designs

Observers are unaware of the experimental conditions assigned to participants

Reactivity

A change in behavior when study participants realize someone is watching

Unobstrusive observation

Observations made when someone is hidden

Participant observation

Observation where 1+ researchers live among the population they are studying

Informants

Expert in a topic in qualitative research

Fidelity

Maintaining confidentiality, respecting the client’s privacy, and remaining honest

Responsibility

Taking accountability for one’s actions and adhering to ethical standards

Integrity

Being accurate and honest in your work

Validation studies

Tests the psychometric properties of a variable

r value

describes the relationship between 2 numeric variables (closer to 1 or -1 indicates a strong relationship, 0 indicates a weaker one)

p value

Shows statistical significance and probability

Test retest reliability

The correlation between scores when a measure is done 2+ times

Internal reliability

Correlation between individual items on a measure

Inter-rater reliablity

Correlation of ratings given by 2+ coders

Face validity

If a measure is considered to be a plausible operationalization of conceptual variable (does it look like it’s measuring what it’s supposed to?

Content Validity

Extent to which a measure captures all parts of a defined construct

Criterion Validity

Evaluates whether the measure under consideration is associated with (can predict) a concrete behavioral outcome that it should be according to the conceptual definition

Known-Groups Paradigm

Researchers test 2+ groups known to differ on variable of interest to ensure scoring differently

Convergent Validity

test of how much a self-report measure correlates with other measures of theoretically similar construct

Discrimnant validity

Tests how much a self-report measure doesn’t correlate with other measures of theoretically similar construct

Construct validity

how well a study’s variables are measured or manipulated

Operationalization

process of turning a construct of interest into a measured/manipulated variable

Conceptual definition

Definition of variable at theoretical level

Operational definition

Represents the researcher’s decision about how to measure/manipulate conceptual variable for study

Self-report measure

Operationalizes variable using questionaire or interview

Observational measure

Operationalizes variable using questionnaire or interview

Observational measure

Operationalizes variable by recording observational behaviors

Physiological measure

Operationalizes variable by recording biological data

Categorical variable

Non-numerical data, in a category

Quantitative variable

Variables made up of numerical data

Ordinal

Numerals represent a ranked order (#1 book, #2 book, etc.)

Interval

2 conditions: equal intervals and no true 0

Ratio

Equal intervals and a value where 0=none

Reliability

How consistent results of a measure are

Validity

Whether it’s actually measuring the construct it’s supposed to

Average Interitem Correlation (AIC)

Average of all correlations

Cronbach’s alpha (a)

Combines AIC and # items in the scale (researchers usually look for 0.8 or higher)