Unit 0 Research Vocabulary

Flashcards testing research terms, experimental designs, bias types, and statistical measures from Unit 0.

What is a hypothesis?

A prediction on an experiment.

What is an operational definition?

A detailed description on how to find variable.

What is replication?

Repeating to see if consistent.

How is a population defined in research methodology?

An entire group of study.

What is a sample?

A subset of the population that is studied.

What is a representative sample?

A sample that reflects characteristics of the population.

What is random sampling?

A selection method where every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

What is convenience sampling?

A selection method where participants are selected based on their easy availability.

What is generalizability?

The extent to which the results of a study can be applied to the broader population.

What is an experiment?

A scientific procedure to make a discovery.

What is an independent variable?

A variable that is changed in experiment.

What is a dependent variable?

A variable that is measured in an experiment.

What is a confounding variable?

An extraneous variable that can affect the dependant variable, leading to wrong conclusions.

What is random assignment?

When people are assigned to different experimental groups by chance.

What is an experimental group?

The group in an experiment that recieves treatment.

What is a control group?

The group in experiments that doesn't receive treatment.

What is a placebo?

A fane treatment.

What is a single-blind procedure?

A study where only participants are unaware of which treatment they get.

What is a double-blind procedure?

A study where neither participants nor reasearchers interacting with them know who is receiving active treatment.

What is a case study?

An in-depth investigation of a single individual, group or event, providing information.

What is naturalistic observation?

Observing behavior in its natural setting without any intervention or manipulation by reasearchers.

What is meta-analysis?

A statistical technique that combines the findings of multiple independent studies to find a better result.

What is correlation?

A statistical measure indicating the extent to which two variables change together showing strength of relationship.

What is a third variable?

A variable that is not measured or manipulated in a study but may influence the relationship.

What is a scatterplot?

A graphical representation of the relationship between quantitative variables, where each point represents a valve.

What is a correlational coefficient?

A statistical measure that indicates the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two varianies.

What is sampling bias?

A systematic error that occurs when the sample selected is not representative of the population of interest.

What is experimenter bias?

A systematic error that occurs when the researcher's expectations influence the outcome of the study.

What is a survey?

A method of collecting data from a sample of individuals through a set of a vestials.

What is self-report bias?

A type of bias that occures when people provide inaccurate or distorted info about themselves in surveys.

What is social desirability bias?

A type of self-report bias where individuals respond in a way that they believe will be viewed favorably by others.

What is statistical significance?

A measure of the probability that an observation is due to chance rather than a true effect.

What is effect size?

A measure of the magnitude of a treatment effect or the strength of a relationship between variables, independent of sample size.