Research Methods Chapters 4-6

behavioral choice

a dependent measure where the participant selects one of several possible actions

behavioral measure

a dependent measure that is based on a participant's actions, not their self-report

behavioral observation

a dependent measure that is assessed by viewing the participant's behavior directly

behavioral trace

a measure of behavior based on something a participant has already done

bias

outside influence that affects true scores in a consistent way

ceiling effect

when the dependent measure has too narrow a range and all participants select the highest alternative

cluster random sampling

when a researcher divides the population into groups and randomly selects people from each group, or cluster, to create their sample

convenience sampling

when a researcher uses individuals who are readily available as their sample. it is random

demand characteristic

when a participant is aware of the research question and changes their response as a result

discussion

the part of a research report which describes the implications of the results

error

outside influences that add to the true score creating the raw score

floor effect

when the range of a dependent measure is set too high and all participants select the lowest alternative

nonprobability sampling

when everyone in a given population does not have an equal chance of being part of the sample

nonresponse bias

when participants who refuse to participate in the study would have changed the outcome of the study were they to have participated

observer or scorer bias

when a researcher's own beliefs affect their assessment of a behavior

participant reactivity

when a participant changes their behavior because they know they are being observed

population

the group the sample is being selected from

probability sampling

an approach to sampling where everyone in a population has an equal chance of being selected as part of the sample

purposive sampling

when a researcher deliberately chooses individuals that they think would be appropriate for the study

quasi-experimental designs

an experiment where it is not possible to use random assignment

quasi-independent variables

variables that aren't manipulated by the experimenter but that are treated as though they were manipulated on purpose

quota sampling

an approach to sampling where any person can be selected as long the quota for their particular demographics has not yet been filled

random error

unsystematic influences on the true score resulting

raw score

the dependent measure before it has been changed in any way and which includes the true score and error

reliability

the extent to which a measure will produce the same results each time it is used

representative sample

a sample that shares specific characteristics with the population being studied

retrospective bias

when a person's self-report data is influenced by how they think they should have felt in the past, instead of how they truly felt

sample

the part of the population that the experimenter uses to collect data

sampling plan

the detailed approach to generating a sample from the population

self-report

experimental data derived from asking the participant how they think or feel

sensitivity

the range of responses an experimenter can gather using a given dependent measure

simple random sampling

when a researcher randomly selects members of a population to develop a representative sample

snowball sampling

when a researcher first acquires a small set of participants and then uses those participants to recruit more participants

social desirability

when respondents choose responses that are consistent with social values but not necessarily accurate

standardization

when an experiment proceeds in exactly the same way for every participant

stratified random sampling

when a researcher randomly samples from different strata in the population making sure that the sample is representative of the population at large

systematic error

outside influence that affect true scores in a consistent way

true experiments

when all variation in the independent variable are under the control of the experimenter

true score

what the dependent measure would be if extraneous factors exerted no influence

unobtrusive measures

a dependent measure that can be collected without the participant being aware that they are being assessed

validity

the extent to which a research method measures what it is intended to measure

archival data

pre-existing, naturally occurring data such as information from journals, police or health records, social networks, or newspapers

bottom-up approach

when a theory is developed based on the participant's input and experience. information is gathered, themes are explored, and a theory is then proposed

case study

a thorough description of an individual or group based on a variety of data sources collected over a period of time

content analysis

an analysis of verbal or written information that involves organizing the substance of the material

conversation analysis

the gathering of information about a topic using the components of a conversation such as turn taking, eye contact, and other interactional variables

critical incident technique

an interview that is limited to a discussion of a specific event or behavior

focus group

a research approach where a group of people who don't know each other gather to provide input on a topic

grounded theory technique

a research method where the researcher has no preconceived theory about how the data are connected. a theory is built from the data

holistic analysis

when a researcher looks to see how smaller elements contribute to larger patterns

interview

a method for collecting data where the interviewer obtains data about the participant directly from the participant

interview agenda

the order in which a set of interview questions is to be asked

interview bias

when the actions of the interviewer influence the participant's reactions

interview schedule

the order in which a set of interview questions is to be asked

mixed methods research

an approach to research that uses the best features of qualitative research methods

phenomenological approach

a research approach that uses the views of the people involved in the situation to understand the experience and its meaning

qualitative research

an approach to research that focuses on obtaining rich data from the participant's own perspectives

quantitative research

an approach to research that focuses on obtaining objective data that can be used to generate statistics

reflexivity

a research approach in which the researcher constantly assesses whether they are influencing the data that is being collected. in this way they can determine if they are impacting the results of the study

semistructured interview

a research approach where the interviewer plans some questions but also allows for spontaneous questions to be generated to probe areas in more detail

situated analysis

a research approach where the researcher gathers information as it occurs naturally

structured interview

an interview in which the researcher determines the questions ahead of time and asks the questions in a pre-determined sequence

top-down approach

when a researcher makes a prediction based on a theory and then gathers information that will allow them to accept or reject that prediction

triangulation

a research method that looks to get the same information a number of different ways

unstructured interview

the researcher does not plan to ask specific questions during an interview and instead takes a conversational approach to gathering information

bar chart

a visual representation of data on a given area of study

blind observation

a method of collecting observational data where the people recording the behavioral data are not aware of the research question

categorical variable

a variable which groups data into distinct groups

central tendency

a number that represents all the values in the data set

coding system

the researcher's method for classifying observed behaviors

cohen's kappa coefficient

a statistic that reflects the extent to which the scores of two raters are consistent with one another. scores can range from 0 to 1, higher scores indicate greater agreement

concealed observation

when a researcher collects observational data without informing the participants that they are being observed

continuous recording

when a researcher codes all the behavior exhibited by an individual during an observation period

continuous variable

a variable that can have an unlimited number of values between two ends points

contrived observation

when a researcher orchestrates the presentation of a variable and then observes the outcome

descriptive research

when a researcher collects data to depict a phenomenon

descriptive statistics

statistics that summarize numerical data

duration recording

when a researcher records how much time an individual spent on a given behavior

ecological validity

when a research study invokes the same psychological experiences that people have in real world settings

experimental research

when a researcher collects data that can explain how one variable causes changes in another variable

external validity

the extent to which the findings from a research study can be used to predict behavior in other settings

frequency-count recording

a researcher counts how many times a given behavior is observed

frequency distribution

a summary of data where the category of the variable is shown on the x-axis and the frequency of a variable is shown on the y-axis

inter-observer reliability

a measure of the extent to which different observers code the same behavior the same way

interval recording

a method for assessing the frequency of a behavior that involves splitting a session into equal time periods and noting whether a behavior was observed during each of the time periods

intra-observer reliability

a measure of the extent to which an observer codes a variable the same way each time they observe it

laboratory observation

when a researcher has participants come into a laboratory and engage in an activity which is observed by the researcher

mean (m)

a measure of central tendency where the data are summed and divided by the number of data in the sample

median (mdn)

a measure of central tendency which indicate the score found at the midpoint of the distribution of scores

mode (mo)

a measure of central tendency that reflects the most commonly observed data point

naturalistic observation

a method of collecting data where the researcher observes and records behaviors in an unobtrusive way

nonconcealed observation

when participants are aware that they are being observed by a researcher

observation schedule

the paper-and-pencil or electronic data collection sheet that a researcher uses to note the behaviors they have observed

participant observation

when a researcher becomes part of a group in order to study their behavior

pilot testing

when a researcher tries out a method to see if it works before collecting experimental data. sometimes methods are adjusted as a result of pilot testing

reactivity

when a participant's behavior is affected by the fact that they are being observed

systematic observational research

when a researcher determines which behaviors they are going to record and then watches individuals noting when they perform the behaviors