Chapter 2: Methods - Key Terms

Barrons

Hindsight Bias

“Knew it all along” bias

Applied Research

Clear, practical applications

Basic Research

Not intended to have an immediate application

Hypothesis

Relationship between two variables

Independent Variable

Variable you are manipulting in a research project

Dependent Variable

Variable that is being measured; changed

Theory

Explains phenomenons and allows testable hypotheses

Operational Definition

Raises issues about validity and reliability

Validity

Measures what the researcher set out to measure; accurate

Reliability

Can be replicated/ consistent

Sampling

The process in which participants are selected

Sample

Selected from one identified in a population

Population

Anyone or anything that could be selected

Representative Sample

Representatitve of an even larger population

Random Sampling

Every member has an equal chance at selection

Stratified Sampling

Allows a researcher to ensure the sample represents the population

Experiement - Laboratory and field

**Laboratoy**- conducted in a lab, controlled environment

**Field**- Conducted out in the world

Confounding Variables - Participant and Situation-Relevant

**Participant**-**Relevant**: The chance that participants in 2 groups differs

**Situation**-**Relevant**: Making the environments in 2 groups as similar as possible

Random Assignement

Each participant has an equal chance of being placed

Controls

Controls for Participant-Relevant Variables; allows for a chance for participants in two groups to differ

Group Matching

Ensures experimental and control groups were equivalent on some criteria

**Experimental Group** - Gets treatment optionalized in independent variables

**Control Group** - Gets none of the independent variable

Experiementer Bias

Unconscious tendency for researchers to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis

Double-Blind Procedure

When the researcher or participant aren’t able to affect the outcome of the research

Single-Blind Procedure

When only the participant doesn’t know which group they were assigned to

Response or Participant Bias

**Response Bias** - tendency for subject to behave in certain ways

**Participant Bias**- use cues to try to respond appropriately

Social Desirability

Tendency to try to give answers that reflect on them well

Hawthorne Effect

Subjects alternation of behaviour when knowing they are being observed

Placebo Method

Seperates actuality from fiction

Correlations - Positive and Negative

**Correlation**: expresses a relationship between 2 variables without describing pos. or neg.

**Positive**: presence of one thing predicts the presence of the other

**Negative**: Presence of one thing predicts absense of the other

Survey Methods

Asking people to fill out surveys; no longer control for participant-relevant confounding variables

Response Rate

measure of amount of responses that take place in a certain period of time

Naturalistic Observation

Observing participants in natural habitats without interacting; aim is to get realistic results

Case Study Method

used to get full, detailed picture of one partipant/small group

Descripritive Statistics

describes a set of data

Measures of central tendency - Mean, Median, Mode

**Central Tendency** - measure of # attempts to mark the center of a distribution

**Mean:** average; add up everything, divide by amount

**Median**: central; write in ascending/descending order, find middle

**Mode**: appears most frequently

Extreme Scores or Outliers

Distorts the accuracy of the mean

Positice VS Negative Skew

**Positive Skew-** when distribution includes an extreme score that is very high

**Negative Skew-** when distribution is caused by a low score

Measures of Variablity - Range, Standard Deviation, Variance

**Measures of Variability:** Depicts diversity in a distribution

**Range:** Distance between the highest and lowest score

**Standard Deviation and Variance:** Both essentially relate the average distance of score in distribution from the mean

Z Score

measures distance of a score from mean in units of standard deviation

Normal Curve

theoretical bell-shaped curve; area under curve lies betweeen 2 scores is predetermined

Correlation Coefficient

strength of a coeeficient computed by a statistic

Scatter Plot

graphs pairs of values, one y-axis and one x-axis

Line of Best fit/Regression Line

line drawn through scatter plot to minimize the distance of all the points from the line

Inferential Statistics

determine whether or not findings can be applied to larger population from the sample selected

Sampling Error

extent to which the sample differs

P Value

gives probability that the difference between the groups is due to chace

Statistical Significance

determine if result of an experiment is because of specific factors or chance

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Institution that must be propsed any type of academic research before continuing

Coercion

forcing paticipants to volunteer

Informed Consent

explained to participant details of experiement and obtain their consent

Anonymity

when researcher don’t collect data that allows them to be able to match their response with their name

Confidentiality

secrecy, anonymous

Debriefing

after study, participants are told purpose of study and given ways to receive the results