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control
controls are important for comparing things
you can be your own control if tested before and after a treatment
ratios control for variation
using a ratio measurement or a baseline comparison helps control for differences in cell count, conditions, etc.
autoclave
kills everything
you can autoclave a biohazard bag
variables
mediating variable- explains the relationship between independent and dependent variable
confounding variable- influences both the independent and dependent variable
best experiment to prove a hypothesis
do an experiment with and without a certain variable to establish the strongest evidence for cause-effect
all other variables are kept the same
best treatment
proactive treatment is better than reactive treatment
even better if its specific, targeted with no side effects
which result does not validate results
pick the answer that directly contradicts the data in the passage, no just that one that isn't supported
odds ratio
Ratio of the odds occurring in one group vs. the odds occuring in another group
mortality/morbidity
mortality- deaths by disease during a time interval
morbidity- either incidence or prevalence
incidence- new cases of disease during a time interval
prevalence- how many total people have a disease
survey biases
subjective bias- self-reported
social desirability bias- participants deal with sensitive/ethical subjects
selection bias- participants are usually self-selected
attrition bias- participants drop out of study over time
validity
construct validity- whether a measurement actually measures the variable/construct being studied
criterion validity- whether a test correlates with other existing tests or measurements
external validity- generalizing results to other people and situations
internal validity- extent of causation proved
ecological validity- whether experiment replicates real-world conditions
reliability
Ability of a test to yield very similar results over repeated testings
correlation
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
R = 0 means no relationship
R = 1 means perfect relationship
R = -1 means perfect inverse relationship
rearranging equations
to calculate a variable, rearrange equation so all other variables are on the other side
calculating units
always write units on your numbers, check the units in the question and the answers
for area and volume, conversion values are ^2 or ^3
1 m = 10^2 cm
1 m^3 = 10^6 cm^3
operationalization
the process of turning an abstract variable into a measured or manipulated variable, even if cannot be quantified directly
causation
need a control without the variable to prove causation
usually unethical in psychology and sociology experiments
controlling
eliminate influence of confounding variables, isolate the variable of interest
methodological limitations
sampling biases
confounding variables
counterbalancing
using subjects as their own control group by having half of them be experimental first and half of them be control first
controls for the order of tests presented
fatigue and boredom can affect test performance over time
supporting vs. elaborating
supporting- discussing details and evidence to support a point
elaborating- explaining in more depth
ethics
participants must volunteer, can withdraw at any time
shocking people is ethical as long as you have consent
ethnography
observing social interactions in real social settings
long term studies
cross-sectional study- one point in time
cohort study- longitudinal study follows group over time
observational study
attempts to determine relationships between variables, but the researcher imposes no conditions as in an experiment
median
reduces influence of outliers when compared to the mean
sampling
pick sample that represents population you want to study
flaws in research
both internal and external validity are flaws
its it generalizable
is it proving causation
temporal
independent variable needs to be measured before the dependent variable
surveys
are cheap and easy
biographical sketch
study environmental influences of behavior
necessary and sufficient
necessary- without it, no effect
sufficient- with it by itself, has effect
knockout genes
-/-
+/+ have both alleles (WT)
precision and accuracy
get a larger sample size
