Research Methods in Psychology (AP PSYCH 12)

hindsight bias

a belief that something was going happen afterward

empirical evidence

information collected through observation or expermentation

validity

the extent to which a study accurately measures what it intends to measure

likert scales

strongly agree to strongly disagree

structured interviews

predetermined questions asked to everyone in the same fashion

social desirability bias

the tendency to respond in a way to conform to social norms

naturalistic observation

observing and recording a natural setting without manipulation

case study

an in-depth examination on a specific topic

correlational research

the examination of the relationship between variables

experimental method

the investigation of cause and effect relationships

confounding variable

an unaccounted variable that affects the results

operational definition

specifies how a researcher will measure and manipulate variables

experimental bias

the researchers’ expectations or beliefs about the outcome influences the results

single-blind study

where the participants are unaware of which group they belong to

double-blind study

both the researchers and the participants are unaware of which group the participants belong to

placebo condition

administering a placebo to the control group

sample bias

when the sample does not represent the population

regression to the mean

when extreme measurements approach the mean when tested again

positive skew

the majority of data clusters left

negative skew

the majority of data clusters right

bimodal distribution

when there are two distinct peaks in a graph

effect sizes

refers to how substantial the relationship between variables is

meta analysis

analyzing multiple studies for an overall conclusion

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

the commitee responsible for reviewing and approving research

the five research methods

naturalistic observation, case study, correlational research, experimental method, meta analysis

standard deviation

a measurement of how spread out a group of values are

statistical significance

the likelihood that observed results are not due to chance