Ch. 7 Key Concepts: Correlational Research and Survey Design

These flashcards cover key concepts related to correlational research and survey design as discussed in the lecture notes.

Acquiescent response set

When a participant chooses to agree with most items on a scale, regardless of how they actually feel.

Alternative-form reliability

A correlation between a measure and a similar, but different, measure that assesses the same variable.

Area probability sampling

A sampling method based on geography, where the experiment identifies geographical boundaries and then randomly samples people from each of the geographical areas.

Closed-ended question

When a participant is asked a question and given a choice of possible responses.

Concurrent validity

The extent to which a scale predicts a current behavioral outcome.

Construct validity

The degree to which the scale measures the construct, assessed by looking at convergent and divergent validity.

Content validity

The extent to which scale items reflect the material that should be used to measure a variable.

Convergent validity

The extent to which scores on a scale correlate with scores from other scales assessing the same measure.

Correlation

A quantification of the linear relationship between two variables represented by a correlation coefficient, r.

Correlational study

A research approach which assesses the extent to which one variable changes when another variable changes.

Criterion validity

The degree to which a quantitative measure correlates to an observable behavior.

Cronbach’s alpha

A statistic used to evaluate a scale’s consistency.

Directional hypothesis

A hypothesis that makes a specific prediction about the nature of the relationship between two variables.

Discriminant validity

The extent to which a scale does not correlate with another scale that measures a different variable.

Distractor items

Items included on a scale to help camouflage the research hypothesis.

Equivalent-form reliability

A correlation between a measure and a different measure that assesses the same variable.

Error of central tendency

When a participant chooses responses in the middle of the scale, intentionally avoiding extreme responses.

Evaluation apprehension

When a participant is worried about what the experimenter will think about their responses or behaviors during an experiment.

Face validity

The extent to which the elements of a scale appear to measure what they are intended to measure.

Forced choice scale

When a participant must select from two response alternatives.

Internal consistency reliability

The extent to which responses to individual items on the scale are correlated with one another.

Likert scale

A scale that includes questions and a predetermined set of responses that are summed to create an overall score.

Nondirectional hypothesis

A hypothesis that does not predict the nature of the relationship between variables.

Open-ended question

When a question is posed in such a way that the respondent can choose any answer they wish.

Predictive validity

The degree to which a measurement is able to predict a future outcome.

Response rate

The percentage of those who were asked to complete the survey who actually complete the survey.

Response set

When a participant chooses the same response to most items on a scale regardless of whether they reflect their actual beliefs or feelings.

Reverse-coding

A method for coding scale items that assigns values in a consistent way regardless of how the question was worded.

Scale

A method for quantifying the extent to which an individual possesses the variable of interest.

Standard deviation

A statistic that indicates the average variation between a score and the arithmetic mean.

Statistical hypothesis testing

A method for determining how likely the results were to have occurred by chance given the prediction of the researcher.

Statistically significant

When it is unlikely that the observed result is the result of random error.

Summated ratings scale

A scale which includes questions and a predetermined set of responses that are summed to create an overall score.

Survey

A research strategy which collects quantifiable data from a sample and generalizes the results to the larger population.

Test-retest reliability

The extent to which the same result is obtained when the measurement is repeated.

Variability

The extent to which each measurement of a variable is different from each other measurement of the variable.