Chapter 2

what is empiricism

an approach where knowledge comes from observable evidence

what are the three goals of science

to describe, explain, and predict a phenomena

describe a phenomena

predict when and where it will occur

explain why it occurs

what is research

a scientific process that involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data

what is data

measurements collected during a research process

what is the scientific method. it involves an interaction between _________

a dynamic cycle that involves observing and measuring phenomena to help us describe, explain, and predict it. it involves an interaction between research, theories, and hypothesis

what is a theory

an explanation or model of why/how a phenomenon occurs

what is a hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction, narrower than the theory it is based on

what does it mean for a theory to be falsifiable

we can test hypothesis that show it is wrong

what is Occam’s razor

a principle that the simpler theory is preferred

what is the law of parsimony

a principle that the simpler theory is preferred

what are the 7 steps for “the scientific method in action”
1. pose a specific, testable research question

1. pose a specific, testable research question

2. educate yourself about what is already known about your theory

3. form a hypothesis that will guide your studies

4. design a study

5. conduct the study

6. analyze the data

7. report the results

what is an operational defintion

a definition that describes and measures a variable so it can be understood objectively

what is HARKing

making hypothesis after results are known instead of generated a theory before running the study and analyzing the results

what is p-hacking

changing your statistical analysis method such that you get a statistically significant result with the same hypothesis

what is preregistration

documenting a research studies hypothesis, methods, and analysis ahead of time on a time-stamped website

what is meta anlaysis

“study of studies”

analyzes multiple studies to draw a conclusion

what are the three types of research

descriptive, correlational, and experimental

what are the three types of descriptive research methods

1. case studies

2. self-report methods and interviews

3. observations

what is a case study

a descriptive research method that is the intensive observation of an atypical person or organization

what is descriptive research method

a type of research method that involves observing and recording data in an objective and systematic way

what are the two types of observational techniques used in research

1. participant observation

2. naturalistic observation

what are participant observation

a type of descriptive research study in which the researcher is involved

what is naturalistic observation

a type of descriptive research study in which the researcher is not involved

what are self-report methods

a type of descriptive research study where participants are asked to provide information about themselves

what are correlational studies

examine how variables are naturally related, without an attempt to make a cause/effect conclusion

what is a scatterplot

type of graph that shows the relationship between two variables

what is the directionality problem? in what type of research study does it occur

it is a problem where researchers don’t known which variable may have caused changes in the other

part of a correlational study

what is the third variable problem? in which research study does it occur

it is a problem where researchers are unable to determine if it was soley one variable that caused changes in the other, or if there is some unmeasured unknown variable that is the real causer of changer.

part of a correlational study

what is an experiment

a type of research method in which the researcher manipulates a variable

what is the independent variable

the variable that is being manipulated

what is the dependent variable

the variable that is being measured

what is the experimental group

the group that receives the treatment in an experimental study

what is the control group

the group that does not experience an intervention

what is the between-groups design

where different people are in the control and experimental groups

what is the repeated-measures design

same people receive both treatments

what is a confound

a third variable in an experiment that affects the DV in an unintended way

what is random assignment

assigning participants in a way such that each participant has an equal chance of receiving any level of treatment

what is the central logic of random assignment

any known and unknown factors will tend to balance out across the groups if the sample size is large enough

what is random sampling

each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the study

what are the three conditions the Belmont Report states must be true when having human subjects in research

1. respect for persons

2. beneficence

3. justice

as described in the Belmont Report, what is respect for persons

1. people must retain their autonomy and be able to make their own decisions and are given relevant information

2. includes informed consent

if deception is used when detailing what will happen in the study, what must happen after?

debriefing

what are the two main aspects of privacy

1. confidentiality

2. anonymity

what is confidentiality

personal identifying information is collected but cannot be shared

what is anonymity

personal identifying information is not collected

what is beneficence, as described in the belmont report

researchers have an ethical obligation to weigh the potential benefits of a study against the risks of the study

what is justice, as described in the belmont report

principle that refers to the fairness of the distribution of costs and benefits across a population

people who take on the risks should be the same as the people who enjoy the benefits

what are institutional review boards?

boards that have the job of making sure research meets ethical guidelines

what is experimentmentation aversion

when people are mad about being in an experiment, and would rather someone force everyone to have either A or B without running an experiment

what are the two ethical issues that guide research with animals

1. health and well-being

2. beneficence

what are transgenic mice

mice that have their DNA manipulated

what is construct validity

extent to which variables measures what they are supposed to measure

thing: giving chem test on a psyc test

what is external validity

the degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized

what is internal validity

the degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds

what are the three types of validity

1. construct

2. internal

3. external

what is reliability

degree to which a measure is stable and consistent over time

stopwatch is reliable if it is consistent

what is accuracy

degree to which measurement is error free

what is random error/unsystematic error

unpredictable error/out of your control error

what is systematic error

constant error

ex: 1 minute added to stopwatch

which is better to have: random or systematic error

random error because it tends to cancel out across a large sample/data collection

what are descriptive statistics

statistics used to summarize data

what is central tendency

a type of descriptive statistics that states the typical response

what is variability

how far values are from each other and the mean

what is standard deviation

a statistical measure of how far off values are from the mean, on average

what is inferential statistics

used to estimate how likely the effects are due to random chance vs actual differences in the population

what is Bayesian statistics

combing what is already known with results of a study to update the likelihood that a belief is true

what does probabilistic mean

based on the likelihood of something happening, rather than an all or nothing

what is psi

paranormal topics