Research Methods Practice Test Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts of research methods, statistical measures, experimental designs, and research biases in psychology.

Theory

A system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations.

Hypothesis

A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

Operational Definition

A definition that describes the actions and procedures used to measure or control a variable.

Questionnaire

A series of written questions administered to subjects to assess their attitudes, opinions, or behavior.

Psychological Test

A standardized measure used to obtain a sample of a person's behavior.

Experiment

A research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether there are changes in a second variable as a result.

Independent Variable

The variable deliberately manipulated by the experimenter in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The variable in an experiment that changes value because of the systematic manipulation of the independent variable.

Experimental Group

Consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment with regard to the independent variable.

Control Group

Consists of the subjects who do not receive the special treatment, serving to isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Extraneous Variable

A variable, other than the independent variable, that may influence the dependent variable in a study.

Confounded Variables

Two variables that are linked in such a way that their individual effects cannot be separated out.

Random Assignment

Placing subjects in experimental groups such that all subjects have an equal probability of ending up in any group or condition.

Descriptive/Correlational Research

Research methods where the investigator systematically observes two variables to see whether there is an association between them without manipulating the variables.

Statistics

The use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical information.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics that are used to summarize and organize data.

Median

The score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution of scores such that half the scores fall below it and half fall above it.

Mean

The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution.

Mode

The score that occurs most frequently in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

A statistic that serves as an index of the amount of variability in a data set.

Correlation Coefficient

A numerical statistic that indexes the degree of relationship between two variables.

Inferential Statistics

Statistics that are used to interpret data and draw conclusions, such as determining whether chance played a role in an experiment.

Statistically Significant

A statistical conclusion indicating that the observed results of an experiment were unlikely to be due to chance variations.

Sample

A subset of the population who actually participate in a research study.

Population

The larger group of people to whom the conclusions of a study will apply.

Representative Sample

A sample whose composition is similar to the composition of the target population.

Sampling Bias

A condition that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population, thereby limiting the generality of findings.

Placebo Effect

Occurs when subjects experience some change from a nonexistent or ineffective treatment due to their expectations.

Social Desirability Bias

A tendency for subjects to answer questions about themselves in a socially approved manner.

Response Set

A tendency to respond to questions on a survey or questionnaire in a manner unrelated to the content of the questions.

Experimenter Bias

Occurs when researchers' beliefs in their own hypotheses unintentionally affect either the subjects' behavior or their observations of the subjects.

Double-Blind Procedure

An experimental research procedure in which both the experimenter and subjects are unaware of who is in the experimental group and who is in the control group.