AP Psychology: Science Practices - Set A

Hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Generalizability

the degree to which research results can be applied in a broader context (Can the results apply to most contexts? Most people? Most of the time?)

Independent variable

a factor in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter (the variable whose effect is being studied)

Dependent variable

the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Confounding variable

an unmeasured variable that might influence a study's results

Manipulation of variables

a deliberate operation performed by the experimenter, sets predetermined experimental conditions (the independent variable) on at least one group of subjects

Random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Quantitative data

a measure that reflects a numeric amount (numerical data)

Qualitative data

a measure that describes or characterizes an attribute (non-numerical data)