Key Research Terms and Concepts

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to research methods and experimental design, important for understanding research processes and findings.

archival research

Method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions or to search for interesting patterns or relationships.

attrition

Reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time.

cause-and-effect relationship

Changes in one variable cause the changes in another variable, determined only through an experimental research design.

clinical or case study

Observational research study focusing on one or a few people.

confirmation bias

Tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.

confounding variable

Unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving a false impression of causation.

control group

Serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results.

correlation

Relationship between two or more variables, where one variable changes as the other does.

correlation coefficient

Number from -1 to +1 indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, usually represented by r.

cross-sectional research

Compares multiple segments of a population at a single time.

debriefing

Process of informing participants about the experiment after deception has been involved.

deception

Purposely misleading experiment participants to maintain the integrity of the experiment.

deductive reasoning

Process where results are predicted based on a general premise.

dependent variable

Variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had.

double-blind study

Experiment in which both researchers and participants are blind to group assignments.

empirical

Grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed repeatedly.

experimental group

Group designed to answer the research question with only experimental manipulation as the difference.

experimenter bias

Researcher expectations that skew the results of the study.

fact

Objective and verifiable observation, established using empirical research.

falsifiable

Able to be disproven by experimental results.

generalize

Inferring that results for a sample apply to the larger population.

hypothesis

Tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

illusory correlation

Seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists.

independent variable

Variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter.

inductive reasoning

Conclusions are drawn from observations.

informed consent

Process of informing a participant about what to expect, risks, and implications, and obtaining their consent.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

Committee that reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Committee that reviews proposals for research involving human participants.

inter-rater reliability

Measure of agreement among observers on recording and classifying events.

longitudinal research

Studies where the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over time.

naturalistic observation

Observation of behavior in its natural setting.

negative correlation

Two variables change in opposite directions.

observer bias

When observations may be skewed to align with expectations.

operational definition

Description of how actions will be used to measure dependent variables.

opinion

Personal judgments or attitudes that may or may not be accurate.

participants

Subjects of psychological research.

peer-reviewed journal article

Article reviewed by experts before publication for quality feedback.

placebo effect

Influence of people's expectations or beliefs on their experiences.

population

Overall group of individuals that researchers are interested in.

positive correlation

Two variables change in the same direction.

random assignment

Method of assigning participants where all have an equal chance of being placed in either group.

random sample

Subset of a larger population where every member has an equal chance of being selected.

reliability

Consistency and reproducibility of a given result.

replicate

Repeating an experiment using different samples to verify reliability.

sample

Subset of individuals selected from a larger population.

single-blind study

Experiment where the researcher knows the assignments, but the participants do not.

statistical analysis

Determines how likely any difference between groups is due to chance.

survey

List of questions answered by participants to collect data.

theory

Well-developed set of ideas proposing explanations for observed phenomena.

validity

Accuracy of measuring what it is designed to measure.