Psychology Research Evaluation

ethics

the principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions

deception

not telling the truth about the aim or purpose of a study or omitting information. Providing false information to a participant

debriefing

sharing the purpose and result of a study with participants upon completion

informed consent

sharing the purpose and procedures of a study with participants so that participants can get the information they need and give consent

do no harm

taking the health and well being of participants in mind in designing and executing a study so that the participant is safe from mental or physical harm or stress

right to withdraw

the ability to discontinue participation in a study at any time. Participants should be informed of this when signing consent form

privacy and confidentiality

participant information should remain anonymous and should not be shared with anyone other than those given access by the participant

quantitative research

research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

hypothesis

a tentative assumption or prediction made in order to test its logical or empirical outcome

experiment

an operation or procedure carried out where an independent variable is applied under controlled conditions in order to test or establish a hypothesis

control group

the group of participants in an experiment that is not exposed to the independent variable

experimental group

the group of participants in an experiment that is exposed to the independent variable

confounding variable

an outside variable that might impact the results of an experiment

independent variable

the variable that is being manipulated in order to see if it will have an impact on participants

dependent variable

the variable that is measured as the outcome, response or impact of the independent variable

single blind

a study in which the participants don't know which condition/group that they have been assigned

double blind

a study in which neither the the participants or the researchers know who has been assigned to the experimental group

placebo

a substance or treatment that appears identical to the actual treatment, but is not real

random assignment

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

field experiment

an experiment done in a natural setting

quasi experiment

an experiment where no IV is manipulated and participants are not randomly allocated to conditions. Instead, it is their traits that set them apart

correlational study

a study that shows a relationship between two variables

qualitative research

research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data

survey

to query/question (someone) in order to collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group or area. usually written

observation

to watch the behavior of a person or group in order to gather data and insight. could be covert or overt

case study

a study that gathers data about an individual or group over a period of time. multiple methods may be employed.

interview

a one on one set of verbal questions or a conversation used to gather data

sampling method

the process used to choose the sample from the population

stratified sample

a sampling method where the population is divided into categories and the sample is drawn from the categories

random sample

a sample in which every participant has an equal chance of being selected

opportunity sample

a sample where participants are drawn from an easy or convenient subgroup

snowball sample

a sample where participants are asked to recruit others to participate and so on and so on

self selected sample

a sample where participants volunteer to participate

purposive

a sample where a specific group of people with specific characteristics are recruited for participation