Research Methods

Rationalism

belief in reason and logic as the primary source of knowledge

Empiricism

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

translational research

use basic research to develop and test new treatment and interventions

Basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Theory

a set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory: Must be testable, falsifiable, positive

Conceptual definitions

defining the concept

Operational definition

definition of the variable (or construct) of interest in terms of exactly how it will be measured in your study

Nominal measurement

named variables (categorical)

Ordinal measurement

named and ordered variable

interval measurement

named and ordered and proportionate interval between variables

ratio

There is a true zero

Reliability

consistency of measurement

Validity

The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure

Factorial experimental designs

experiments that involve 2 or more independent variables

Simple experiments

experiments that involve 1 independent variable

Mixed factorial design

both measured and manipulated independent variables

Interactions effects

when the effect of the original independent depends on the level of another independent variable

Quasi experiments

resemble a true experiment but lack a fully independent variable and do not use either random selection and/or counterbalancing

Mediators

the "middleman" and explain why two variables are related

Moderators

extraneous variables that affect the relationship among the independent and dependent variables