Psychology Research Methodology Checklist

non-scientific articles

ideas formed without empirical evidence or the use of scientific methods or principles (anecdotes, opinion)

scientific articles

ideas and theories generated through observation and experiment. with empirical evidence

variables

a component of an experiment that can be measured/manipulated.

IV

quantities are: manipulated by the researcher, assumed to have a direct effect on dependent variable. (time of day or amount of energy given).

DV

the researcher measures for changes it may experience due to independent variable. (Number of tasks)

Extraneous variable (EV)

Any variable that is not the independent variable, but may cause an unwanted effect on the dependent variable.

Controlled variable

Variables other than the IV that a researcher holds constant (controls) in an investigation, to ensure that changes in the DV are solely due to changes in the IV.

Confounding variable

Any unwanted variables that affect the DV and results in an investigation.

what is needed in a hypothesis

IV experimental group, direction, DV, compare, IV control group.

Experiment

when a cause and effect relationships between 2 variable is measured in a controlled environment.

Controlled experiment

A type of investigation, measures causal relationship between one or more independent variables and a dependent variable, whilst CONTROLLING FOR ALL OTHER VARIABLES.

Between-subjects design

An experimental design in which individuals are divided into different GROUPS and COMPLETE ONLY ONE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION.

Within-subjects design

An experimental design in which participants complete EVERY experimental condition.

Mixed-method design

An experimental design which COMBINES different elements of within-subjects and between-subjects designs.

Correlational study

A study in which researchers observe and measure the relationship between two or more variables WITHOUT ANY ACTIVE CONTROL or manipulation.

sample

subset of the research population who participate in a study.

population

group of people that are the focus of the research to which findings from the sample can be generalised to.

Experimental group

The group of participants in an experiment who are exposed to a manipulated independent variable (i.e. a specific intervention or treatment).

Control group

The group of participants who receive no experimental treatment to serve as a baseline for comparison.

Generalise

using a samples results to make conclusions about the wider research population.

Generalisability

Ability for a sample's result to be used to make conclusion about the wider research population.

Convenience sampling

Sampling readily AVALIABLE members of the population.

Random sampling

Any sampling technique that uses a procedure to ensure every member of the population has the SAME CHANCE OF BEING SELECTED.

Stratified sampling

A sampling technique that involves selecting people from the population in a way that ensures that its strata (subgroups) are PROPERTIONALLY REPRESENTED in the sample.

Primary data

Data collected first

secondary data

Data sourced from others' prior research.

objective data

Factual data that is observed and measured independently of opinion.

subjective data

Data that is informed by personal opinion, perception, or interpretation.

quantitative data

Data that is expressed numerically.

qualitative data

Data that is expressed non-numericaly

Ethical concepts

broad moral guiding principles, should be considered when conducting research.

Beneficence= max benefit, minimal harm

Integrity= honest reporting of results

Non-maleficence:= do no harm

Deviation

show spread of data around the mean

Median:

num in middle

Mode

most common number

Range=

biggest value- min

6 Ethical guidelines:

1. confidentiality

2. voluntary participation

3. withdrawal rights

4. informed consent

5. use of deception

6. debriefing

Measurement Terms

• Accuracy:
  How close a result is to the real or correct value.

• Precision:
  How close repeated results are to each other.

• Repeatability:
  Getting the same result when the same person does the same test multiple times.

• Reproducibility:
  Getting the same result when different people or tools do the same test.

• True Value:
  The real, correct answer (often not exactly known).

Validity Terms

• How well something measures what it is supposed to measure.

• Internal Validity:
  How sure we are that the test results are due to what we tested (not something else).

• External Validity:
  How well the results apply to other people or situations.

error Types

• Random Errors:
  Small changes that happen by chance and make results slightly different each time.

• Systematic Errors:
  Mistakes that happen the same way every time because of a problem with the tool or method.

• Personal Errors:
  Mistakes made by people (like reading the wrong number or doing math wrong).

Other Terms

• Uncertainty:
  A way to show how unsure we are about a measurement.

• Outliers:
  A number in the data that is very different from the others.