Chapter 2: Research Methodology

Theory

A model of interconnected ideas of concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events. Based upon empirical evidence.

Replication

Repetition of research study to confirm the results.

Independent Variable

The variable that gets manipulated in a research study.

Dependent Variable

The variable that gets measured in a research study.

Descriptive Research

Research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically.

Case Study

A descriptive research method that involves the intensive examination of an unusual person or organization.

Participant Observation

A type of descriptive study in which the researcher is involved in the situation.

Naturalistic Observation

A type of descriptive study in which the researcher is a passive observer, separated from the situation and makes no attempt to change or alter ongoing behavior.

Reactivity

The phenomena that occurs when knowledge that one is being observed alters the behavior that is being observed.

Observer Bias

Systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer's expectations.

Experimenter Expectancy Effect

Actual change in the behavior of the people or nonhuman animals being observed that is due to the expectations of the observer.

Self-Report Methods

Methods of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, such as in surveys or questionnaires.

Correlational Studies

A research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them.

Directionality Problem

A problem encountered in correlational studies; the researches find a relationship between two variables, but they cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable.

Third Variable Problem

A problem that occurs when the researcher cannot directly manipulate variables; as a result, the researcher cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest.

Confound

Anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study.

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science and provides for the physical and emotional well-being of research participants.

Construct Validity

The extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure.

External Validity

The degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations.

Internal Validity

The degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds.

Reliability

The degree to which a measure is stable and consistent over time.

Accuracy

The degree to which an experimental measure is free form error.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study.

Central Tendency

A measure that represents the typical response or the behavior of a group as a whole.

Inferential Statistics

A set of assumptions and procedures used to evaluate the likelihood that an observed effect is present in the population from which the sample was drawn.

Meta-Analysis

A "study of studies" that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive a conclusion.

Hawthorn Effect

Theory that states that when people know that they are being observed, they change their behavior.