Research Methods Exam #3

Bivariate correlation

An association that involved exactly two variables

Association claim

Describes the relationship between two measured variables

Effect size

the magnitude, or strength, of a relationship between two or more variables

statistically significant

one that is unlikely to have come from a population in which the association is zero

outlier

A score that stands out as either much higher or much lower than most of the other scores in a sample

Restriction of range

The absence of a full range of possible scores on one of the variables so the relationship from the sample underestimates the true correlation

curvilinear assoication

An association between two variables that is not a straight line; instead, as one variable increases, the level of the other variable increases and then decreases

What are the three things a study must satisfy

1. Covariance of cause and effect

2. Temporal precedence

3. Internal validity

Directionality problem

The occurrence of both variables being measured around the same time, making it unclear which variable in the association came first

Reverse causation

In a study that finds a relationship between variable A and B, the plausible inference that either A could cause B or that B could cause A

third variable problem

The existence of a plausible alternative explanation for the association between two variables

Covariance of cause and effect

The results must show a correlation, or association, between the cause variable and the effect variable

Temporal precedence

The method must ensure that the cause variable precedes the effect variable; it must come first in time

Internal validity

The method must ensure there are no plausible alternative explanations for the relationship between the two variables

Spurious association

A bivariate association that is attributable only to systematic mean differences on subgroups within the sample; the original association is not present within the subgroups

moderator

a variable that, depending on its level, changes the relationship between two other variable

Multivariate designs

A study designed to test an association involving more than two measured variables

longitudinal design

A study in which the same variables are measured in the same people at different points in time

Cross-sectional correlations

a correlation between two variables that are measured at the same time

Autocorrlations

The correlation of one variable with itself, measured at two different times

Cross-lag correlations

A correlation between an earlier measure of one variable and a later measure of another variable

Multiple regression

A statistical technique that computes the relationship between a predictor variable and a criterion variable, controlling for other predictor variables

control for

Holding a potential third variable at a constant level while investigating the association between two other variables

Criterion variable

The variable in a multiple-regression analysis that the researchers are most interested in understanding or predicting

Predictor variable

A variable in multiple-regression analysis that is used to explain variance in the criterion variable

Parsimony

The degree to which a theory provides the simplest explanation of some phenomenon/pattern of data

Mediator

A variable that helps explain the relationship between two other variables

Quasi-experiment

a study similar to an experiment, except that the researchers do not have full experimental control

Quasi-independent variable

A variable that resembles an independent variable, but the researcher does not have true control over it

Nonequivalent control group posttest-only design

A quasi-experiment that has at least one treatment group and one comparison group, but participants have not been randomly assigned to the two groups

nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design

A quasi-experiment that has at least one treatment group and one comparison group, in which participants have not been randomly assigned to the two groups, and in which at least one pretest and one posttest are administered

interrupted time series design

A quasi-experiment in which participants are measured repeatedly on a dependent variable before, during, and after the "interruption" caused by some event

nonequivalent control group interrupted time-series design

A quasi-experiment with two or more groups in which participants have not been randomly assigned to groups; participants are measured repeatedly on a dependent variable before, during, and after the "interruption" caused by some event, and the presence or timing of the interrupting event differs among the groups

wait-list design

Researchers randomly assign some participants to receive the therapy under investigation immediately, and others to receive it after a time delay

Design confound

Some outside variable accidentally and systematically varies with the levels of the targeted independent variable

Maturation threats

a change in behavior that emerges more or less spontaneously over time

History threat

a threat to internal validity that occurs when it is unclear whether a change in the treatment group is caused by the treatment or by a historical factor or event that affects everyone or almost everyone in the group

Regression to the mean

Occurs when an extreme outcome is caused by a combination of random factors that are unlikely to happen in the same combination again

Attrition threat

Occurs when people drop out of a study over time

testing threat

A threat to internal validity that occurs when a kind of order effect in which participants tend to change as a result of having been tested before

Small-N design

A study in which researchers gather information from just a few cases

Stable-baseline design

A study in which a practitioner or researcher observes behavior for an extended baseline period before beginning a treatment or other intervention

Multiple-baseline design

A study in which researchers stagger their introduction of an intervention across a variety of individuals, times, or situations to rule out alternative explanations

Reversal design

A study in which researchers observe a problem behavior both with and without treatment, but they then take the treatment away for a while to see whether the problem behavior returns

Debriefed

To inform participants afterward about a study's true nature, details, and hypotheses

Respect for persons

Research participants should be treated as autonomous agents, and certain groups deserve special protection

informed consent

Each person learns about the research project, considers its risks and benefits, and decides whether to participate

Who needs special protections

Children, people with cognitive impairments, and prisoners

Beneficene

Researchers must take precautions to protect participants from harm and to promote their well-being

Anonymous study

a research study in which identifying information is not collected, thereby completely protecting the identity of participants

Confidential study

A research study in which identifying information is collected but protected from disclosure to people other than the researchers

Justice

Calling for a fair balance between the kinds of people who participate in research and the kinds of people who benefit from it

Institutional review board

A committee responsible for ensuring that research using human participants is conducted ethically

Deception

Withholding some details of a study from participants or the act of actively lying to them

Deception through omission

Withholding details of a study from participants

Deceptions through commission

Actively lying to participants

Data fabriction

Researcher invents data that fit the hypotheses

Data falsification

Researcher influences a study's results, perhaps by deleting observations from a dataset or by influencing their research subjects to act in the hypothesized way

Plagiarism

Representing the ideas or words of others as one's own

Self-plagiarism

Researchers recycle their own previously published text, verbatim and without attribution, in a subsequent article

What are the three R's in animal care guidelines

Replacement, refinement, reduction

Replacement

Researchers should find alternatives to animals in research when possible

Refinement

Researchers must modify experimental procedures and other aspects of animal care to minimize or eliminate animal distress

Reduction

Researchers should adopt experimental designs and procedures that require the fewest animal subject possible

replication

Describing a study whose results have been reproduced when the study was repeated, or replicated

Direct replication

Researchers repeat an original study as closely as they can to see whether the effect is the same in the newly collected data

Conceptual repliaction

Researchers explore the same research question but use different procedures

Replication-plus-extension

Researchers replicate an original experiment and add variables or conditions to test additional questions

Scientific literature

A series of related studies, conducted by various researchers, that have tested similar variables

meta-analysis

A way of mathematically averaging the effect sizes of all the studies that have tested the same variables to see what conclusion the whole body of evidence supports

File drawer problem

the idea that a meta-analysis might be overestimating the true size of an effect because negligible effects, or even opposite effects, have not been included

HARKing

Researchers create an after-the-fact hypothesis about an unexpected research result, making it appear as if they predicted it all along

p-hacking

Removing different outliers from the data, computing scores in several different ways, or running a few different types of statistics

Open science

The practice of sharing one's data and materials freely so others can collaborate, use, and verify the results

Open data

When psychologists provide their full dataset on the internet so other researchers can reproduce the statistical results or even conduct new analyses on it

Open materials

When psychologists provide their study's full set of measures and manipulations on the internet so others can see the full design or conduct replication studies

preregistration

The researcher has stated publicly what the study's outcome is expected to be

What do frequency claims must have?

External validity

theory-testing mode

A researcher's intent for a study, testing association claims or causal claims to investigate support for a theory

Universality assumption

An explicit or implicit belief by researchers that all participants would act pretty much the same

Cultural psychology

A subdiscipline of psychology concerned with how cultural settings shape a person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and how these in turn shape cultural settings

lab study

A study that takes place in a standardized location, enabling researchers to control potentially extraneous factors

Field research

A real-world setting for a research study

Ecological validity

the extent to which the tasks and manipulations of a study are similar to real-world contexts

Experimental realism

The extent to which a laboratory experiment is designed so that participants experience authentic emotions, motivations, and behaviors