research methods exam 1

variables

characteristics, traits, objects, etc that represent our construct of interest

operationalization

the process of specifying or defining what a variable is and how it is measured

categorical variables

represented by individual categories

ex: degree type, eye color

(blue, green, brown, etc)

continuous variables

represented by non discrete numerical values

ex: number of years of education, age, salary

(1, 1.5, 2, etc)

nominal variables

places data into distinct, labeled groups with no inherent order, rank, or numerical value;“names”

ex: gender, blood type

(female, male, non-binary, etc)

ordinal variables

the values have a clear, meaningful rank order, but the exact numerical distance between the categories is unknown or unequal, “order”

ex: 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place; Likert scales

interval variables

the difference between values is meaningful, equal, and consistent, but there is no true or absolute zero point (zero does not mean there is nothing)

ex: temperature (F); credit scores

0 does not mean no heat, its just a value

ratio variables

data can be ordered, have equal distances between values, and possess a true, absolute zero point (zero means absence of data) (no negatives)

ex: weight, height

independent variables

can be manipulated or not, the predictor

dependent variables

the outcome variables, criterion

levels of IV

number of categories the independent variable is split into (how many comparison points)

example:

Independent Variable: Study technique

Levels (3): 1) Highlighting text, 2) Flashcards, and 3) Practice testing

control variables

variable that can be held constant

confounding variables

extraneous variable that influences your dependent variable, but was not accounted for in the experiment

hypothesis

a prediction of what you expect to find; an educated guess

often based on observations, prior knowledge, previous literature, etc

simple hypothesis

shows the relationship between just one independent variable (the cause) and one dependent variable (the effect)

complex hypothesis