Understanding Scientific Research: Key Concepts

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts necessary for understanding scientific research, focusing on research questions, hypotheses, variables, and research validity.

Research Question

A clear, focused question that guides the research process and is grounded in prior literature.

Hypothesis

A falsifiable statement that predicts the relationship between variables in a study.

Variable

A construct that can vary from person to person or entity to entity and is measurable in research.

Operational Definition

A statement of the procedures or ways in which a construct is measured in a study.

Falsifiable

A quality of a hypothesis that allows it to be tested and potentially disproven.

Confounding Variable

A variable that is not the focus of study but can affect the outcome of the experiment.

Non-experimental Research

Research methods that do not involve manipulation of variables, thus limiting the establishment of causality.

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated by the researcher in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured in an experiment, which is expected to change as a result of manipulations of the independent variable.

Sampling Strategies

Methods for selecting participants from a population to ensure the sample represents the population accurately.

Internal Validity

The degree to which a study can establish a causal relationship between variables.

External Validity

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other settings or populations.

Constructs

Non-tangible, abstract concepts that are the subject of psychological research.

Operationalization

The process of defining and measuring constructs in specific and measurable terms.

Literature Review

An assessment of existing research on a particular topic to provide background and context for new research.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding human behavior and experiences, while quantitative research involves numerical data and statistical analysis.