Research Methods & Statistical Analysis

Critical Thinking

the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment

Hindsight Bias

the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they were

Peer Reviewers

evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field

Theory

a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking

Hypothesis

a proposed explanation for a phenomenon

Falsifiable

a deductive standard of evaluation of scientific theories and hypotheses

Operational Definition

a description of something in terms of the operations (procedures, actions, or processes) by which it could be observed and measured

Replication

the action of copying or reproducing something

Case Study

an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case within a real-world context

Naturalistic Observation

where you record the behaviors of your subjects in real world settings

Survey

a list of questions aimed for extracting specific data from a particular group of people

Social Desirability Bias

when respondents conceal their true opinion on a subject in order to make themselves look good to others

Self-Report Bias

a problem that arises when researchers rely on asking people to describe their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors

Sampling Bias

when some members of a population are systematically more likely to be selected in a sample than others

Random Sample

to be an unbiased representation of the total population

Population

all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country

Correlation

a mutual relationship or connection between two or more things

Correlation Coefficient

a number between −1 and +1 calculated so as to represent the linear dependence of two variables or sets of data

Variable

not consistent or having a fixed pattern; liable to change

Scatter Plot

picture

Illusory Correlation

we see an association between two variables when they aren't actually associated

Regression Toward the Mean

if one sample of a random variable is extreme, the next sampling of the same random variable is likely to be closer to its mean

Experiment

a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact

Experimental Group

the group that receives the variable being tested in an experiment

Control Group

the group that does not receive the new treatment being studied

Random Assignment

the use of chance procedures in psychology experiments to ensure that each participant has the same opportunity

Single-blind Procedure

A type of clinical trial in which only the researcher doing the study knows which treatment or intervention the participant is receiving until the trial is over

Double-blind Procedure

A type of clinical trial in which neither the participants nor the researcher knows which treatment or intervention participants are receiving until the clinical trial is over

Placebo Effect

a person's physical or mental health appears to improve after taking a placebo or 'dummy' treatment

Independent Variable

a variable whose variation does not depend on that of another

Confounding Variable

an unmeasured variable that influences both the supposed cause and effect

Experimenter Bias

any systematic errors in the research process or the interpretation of its results that are

Dependent Variable

a variable whose value depends on that of another

Validity

the quality of being well-grounded, sound, or correct

Qualitative Research

a type of research that explores and provides deeper insights into real-world problems

Quantitative Research

a method of research that relies on measuring variables using a numerical system

Informed Consent

a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions

Debriefing

to interrogate

Descriptive Statistics

a set of brief descriptive coefficients that summarize a given data set representative of an entire or sample population

Histogram

picture

Mode

the most common number that appears in your set of data

Mean

the average of a data set, found by adding all numbers together and then dividing the sum of the numbers by the number of numbers

Median

the middle number in a sorted list of numbers

Percentile Rank

indicates that the student scored as well as, or better than, the percent of students in the norm group

Skewed Distribution

When one of the tails of the histogram, or distribution, is longer than the other

Range

The difference between the lowest and highest values

Standard Deviation

a quantity calculated to indicate the extent of deviation for a group as a whole

Normal Curve

describes a symmetrical plot of data around its mean value, where the width of the curve is

Inferential Statistics

use of various analytical tools to draw inferences about the population data from sample data

Meta Analysis

the statistical combination of results from two or more separate studies

Statistical Significance

a result has statistical significance when a result at least as 'extreme' would be very infrequent if the null hypothesis were true

Effect Size

a value measuring the strength of the relationship between two variables in a population