AP Psychology FRQ Terms to Know: AAQ

experiment

determine a cause-effect relationship; controlled conditions and variable manipulation

correlational study

Measuring relationships without manipulation

case study

In-depth study of one person/group; rare/unique issue

naturalistic observation

Watching behavior in natural settings; naturally occurring without manipulation

survey/questionnaire

Self-reported data collection

meta-analysis

combine results of multiple studies in order to identify a pattern

operational definition

abstract, quantifiable variable (ex. happiness, memory) and how it is measured (ex, questionnaire, set time)

mean

the average in a set of numbers

median

the middle value in a set of numbers arranged in order

mode

the number that appears most frequently

range

measure of variability (highest value-lowest value)

standard deviation

how close individual numbers are to the mean

low standard deviation

values close to the mean, indicating less variability

high standard deviation

values spread out, indicating greater variability

percentile rank

taking the percent of scores that fall below a value in order to compare an individual to a larger group

skewness

measure symmetry/asymmetry of a distribution of data

correlational coefficient

the strength/direction of the relationship between two variables, can be positive or negative

statistical significance

whether a result is due to chance or if it reflects a real effect

effect size

the measure of strength of the effect; the larger, the stronger the relationship between two variables

Informed consent

participants agreed to participate

Protection from harm

minimizing risks

Confidentiality

privacy of information

Debriefing

explaining the study afterward

Right to withdraw

ability to quit

IRB approval

Institutional Review Boards approved the study

generalizability

the extent to which the results of a study can be applied to/are representative of a larger population beyond the specific sample used in the research.