Human Science Research Concepts and Biases

Flashcards covering key terms related to potential biases, sampling issues, and methodological challenges in human science research.

Hawthorne Effect

The phenomenon where individuals alter their behavior in response to being observed or knowing that they are being studied, which can lead to skewed or inaccurate data.

Problematic Survey Questionnaire

A questionnaire containing leading or misleading survey questions that influence respondents to answer in ways aligning with researcher assumptions, social pressures, or desired outcomes.

Fuzzy concepts or problematic definitions/measurements

Concepts that are difficult to define or quantify, presenting challenges in measurement, data interpretation, and the validity of conclusions in human science research.

Non-Representative Samples / sampling bias

Research issues occurring when a sample does not accurately reflect the population being studied, or when sample sizes are too small, causing findings to be prone to errors and non-generalizable.

Confounding variables

Factors that interfere with the relationship between independent and dependent variables, creating false associations or obscuring the true relationship and leading to inaccurate conclusions about causation.

Demand characteristics

Clues in a research study that influence participants to change their behavior because they think they know what the researchers are trying to find out or expect.