Research Design & Intro Stats test #2

survey/polla

method of posing a question to people online, in an interview, or in a written questionarre

open-ended question

allows respondents to respond in any way they would like

forced-choiced question

question in which people give their opinion by picking the best of two or more options

Likert Scale

a scale that contains more than one item and each response value is labeled 1-5 strongly disagree to agree (all 5 are labeled)

semantic differential format

Instead of a degree of agreement, respondents will be asked to rate a target object using a numeric scale, anchored with objectives (just the outside 2 are labeled)

leading questions

wording that leads people to a particular response

double-barreled question

asks two questions in one

negatively worded questions

whenever a question contains negative phrasing

response sets

a type of shortcut people can take when answering survey questions (choosing the same answer over and over) -- it weakens construct validity!

acquiescence (yea-saying)

answering "yes" or "strongly agree" to every item without carefully thinking about each question

fence sitting

playing it safe by answering in the middle of the scale

socially desirable response/faking good

they formed responses by trying to look good in the eyes of others, decreases the survey's construct validity

faking bad

to avoid socially desirable responding

observational research

when a researcher watches people or animals and systematically records how they behave or what they are doing

observer bias

an observer's expectations influence their interpretation of the participant's behaviors or the outcome of the study, happens when a participant changes their behavior to match the observer's expectations

observer effect

phenomenon that can occur even in seemingly objective observations

masked design

when the observers are unaware of the purpose of the study and the conditions to which participants have been assigned

reactivity

the change in behavior when study participants know another person is watching

unobtrusive observations

a way that an observer watches/takes notes while making themselves less noticeable (ex: sitting behind a one way mirror, blending in in a public setting)

population

the entire set of people or products you are interested in

sample

a smaller set taken from the population

census

using the entire population

biased sample

also known as an unrepresentative sample, some members of the population have a much higher probability than other members of being included in the sample

unbiased sample

a representative sample, all members of a population have an equal chance of being included in the sample

convenience sample

using a sample of people who are easy to contact and readily available to participate (nonprobability sampling)

self-selection

sample is known to contain only people volunteer to participate

probability sampling

every member of the population of interest has an equal and known chance of being selected for the sample, also known as random sampling

non-probability sampling

involves non-random sampling, results in a biased sample

simple random sampling

with all members of the population listed a randomly selected subset is chosen to participate (probability sampling)

snowball sampling

After finding individuals to participate in the study, a researcher asks them to recommend others to be part of the study. The recommended group of participants are asked for contact information of others who are subsequently contacted. This process continues until the desired number of participants is reached

(nonprobability sampling)

systematic sampling

With all members of a population listed, a starting point is determined through use of random numbers. A second random number is chosen for a random numbers table and going down the list every x person is included in the sample.

(probability sampling)

cluster sampling

Using arbitrary pre-existing groups, particular groups are randomly selected. Every individual from within each selected group are included in the sample.

(probability sampling)

stratified random sampling

A researcher purposely selects certain demographic characteristics and randomly selects individuals within each of the demographic categories proportionate to their proportion in the population. (probability sampling)

quota sampling

A researcher identifies subsets of the population of interest and sets a target number for each category (ex: 20% of the sample should have characteristic x, 40% have characteristics y). The researcher samples until that proportion is achieved.

(nonprobability sampling)

oversampling

A researcher purposefully selects certain demographic characteristics and randomly selects individuals within each of the demographic categories proportionate to their proportion in the population. For smaller groups or groups about which the researcher wants to know more

multistage sampling

Using arbitrary pre-existing groups, particular groups are randomly selected. A random selection of individuals from within each selected group are included in the sample.

(probability sampling)

purposive sampling

A researcher recruits participants with a particular characteristic. Recruitment efforts involve only contacting people with that characteristic or only recruiting from places where that characteristic are likely to be found (nonprobability sampling)

random assignment

when researchers place participants into two groups assigning them at random, used in experimental desgins

bivariant correlation

association that involves exactly two variables

effect size

describes the strength of relationship between two or more variables

statistical significance

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

replication

conducting the study again

outlier

extreme score that stands out from the pack

restriction of range

There is not a full range of scores on one of the variables in an association. It can make the correlation appear smaller than it really is

curvilinear association

in which the relationship between two variables is not a straight line

directionality problem

we do not know which variable came first

third variable problem

There could be an alternative explanation for the association between two variables. The alternative is some lurking third variable

spurious association

the original relationship between two variables

moderator

when the relationship between two variables changes depending on the level of another variable (the other variable is called the moderator)

What is the effect size?/How strong is the relationship?

coefficient (r)

How precise is the estimate?

confidence interval

Has it been replicated?

introduction paragraph or in other literature

Is there an outlier?

scatterplot

Is there restriction of range?

scatterplot and/or the methods section

Is the association a curvilinear association?

scatterplot