Research Methods II Exam 1

Scientific method

a systematic process used to gain knowledge through science 🧪🧠

Scientific method purpose

reduces errors and helps identify mistakes, not eliminate them ❗

Goal of science

to make progress by disproving ideas, not proving them ❌➡️📈

Scientific process

cyclical and ongoing; science is never finished 🔄

Identify a topic

choosing a subject that interests you and is worth studying 🎯

Literature review

reading and evaluating past research to see what’s known and unknown 📚

Research gap

what has not been studied yet or needs further exploration 🔍

Hypothesis

a testable prediction about what should happen under certain conditions ❓

Testable hypothesis

a hypothesis that can be measured and potentially proven false 🧪

Deduction

drawing a specific prediction from general theories or principles 📐

Falsifiability

the ability for a hypothesis to be disproven ❌

Research design

the overall plan for how a study will be conducted 🧩

Descriptive research

research that describes behaviors or characteristics 📊

Correlational research

research that examines relationships between variables 🔗

Experimental research

research that manipulates variables to find cause-and-effect ⚗️

Variable

any measurable factor that can change 📏

Operational definition

a clear explanation of how a variable is measured or manipulated 📝

Importance of operational definitions

allow replication and evaluation by other researchers 🔁

IRB approval

ethical permission required before collecting research data 🛑

Data analysis

using statistics to evaluate results 📈

Descriptive statistics

summarize and organize data 📊

Inferential statistics

determine whether results support the hypothesis 📉

Inductive support

when results support a theory based on observed outcomes 🧠

Sharing results

communicating findings through journals, books, or presentations 🗣️

APA style

formatting style commonly used in behavioral sciences 📘

Research ideas source – common sense

testing everyday beliefs or myths 💭

Research ideas source – observation

ideas based on noticing patterns in daily life 👀

Research ideas source – applied questions

solving real-world problems 🛠️

Research ideas source – past research

building off existing studies 📄

Research ideas source – theory

ideas based on established explanations 🧠

Interesting research

research that others want to read or hear about 💡

Novel research

research that adds something new to the field ✨

Replication

repeating a study to confirm findings 🔁

Scholarly source

work created by experts to advance knowledge 🎓

Peer review

evaluation of research by experts before publication ✅

Popular source

non-scholarly sources like blogs or magazines 🚫

Primary source

original research with new data or analysis 🧪

Secondary source

summaries or reviews of existing research 📚

Review article

a paper that summarizes many studies on a topic 📝

Meta-analysis

statistical analysis combining results from many studies 📊

Purpose of a literature review

understand what’s been done and what still needs to be done 🔍

Non-peer-reviewed scholarly sources

books, theses, dissertations, conference papers 📖

Limitation of non-peer-reviewed sources

useful but should not be relied on heavily ⚠️

Research databases

tools used to find scholarly articles 🔎

PsycINFO/PsycARTICLES

psychology-focused research databases 🧠

PubMed

database for health and behavioral sciences 🏥

ERIC

education research database 🎓

JSTOR

database for scholarly journals 📚

Google Scholar

broad academic search engine 🌐

Journal article reading style

reading critically instead of passively 🧠

Critical reading

actively evaluating relevance, methods, and conclusions 🔍

Title

gives a quick idea of the article’s topic 🏷️

Abstract

short summary of the study’s purpose, methods, and findings 📝

Relevance check

deciding if an article aligns with your research topic 🎯

Tangential relevance

articles that seem loosely related but can still be useful 🔄

Introduction section

explains the topic, rationale, research questions, and hypotheses 📚

Key intro focus

first and last paragraphs for main ideas and hypotheses ⭐

Rationale

explanation of why the study was needed ❓

Method section

describes how the study was conducted ⚙️

Population

the group of people being studied 👥

Methodological evaluation

judging whether the methods answer the research questions 🧐

Internal validity check

looking for flaws that weaken causal conclusions 🚧

Internal validity

extent to which a study can establish cause-and-effect 🔗

Causation criteria

cause precedes effect, variables are related, no alternative explanations ⏱️

External validity

how well results generalize to other populations or settings 🌍

Results section

presents the data and statistical findings 📊

Statistical conclusion validity

whether correct statistical tests were used 📈

Hypothesis testing

matching statistical tests to specific hypotheses 🧪

Supported hypothesis

prediction backed by data ✅

Unsupported hypothesis

prediction not backed by data ❌

Statistical power

ability to detect a real effect if one exists ⚡

Low power

increased chance of missing real effects 🚫

Discussion section

explains what the results mean 🗣️

Author conclusions

interpretations made by the researchers 🧠

Conclusion comparison

checking if conclusions match the results 🤔

Theory support

whether findings support or challenge existing theories 📘

Validity threats

weaknesses that could affect results ⚠️

Future research suggestions

ideas for what should be studied next 🔮

Using journal articles

applying research to support your own work 🧩

Articles for learning

using sources to understand a topic 📖

Using articles in introduction

establishing importance and background 🏗️

Theoretical framework

theories that guide your research 🧠

Research gap

unanswered questions in the literature 🔍

Literature controversy

disagreements among researchers ⚖️

Using articles in method section

justifying procedures and measures 🛠️

Methodological support

showing others used similar methods 👥

Reliability evidence

proof that a measure is consistent 🔁

Validity evidence

proof that a measure assesses what it claims 🎯

Using articles in results section

supporting statistical decisions (rare) 📊

Using articles in discussion section

comparing findings to prior research 🔄

Literature integration

explaining how results fit with existing studies 🧵

Limitation citation

referencing sources that explain weaknesses ⚠️

Organizing research articles

sorting sources before writing 🗂️

Purpose of organization

improve understanding and memory 🧠

Future research direction

new ideas discovered through organization 🚀

Literature review structure

layout based on grouped themes 🧱

Commonalities

shared themes or findings across articles 🤝

Differences

conflicting results or approaches 🔄

Article categories

groups based on themes or methods 📂

Multi-category articles

sources that fit into more than one group 🔁