Introduction to Research Methods

These flashcards cover key concepts and terms related to research methods in psychology, including types of data, statistical measures, sampling techniques, and potential biases.

Quantitative Research

A method of inquiry that focuses on quantifying relationships and phenomena through statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics that summarize, organize, and simplify data, making it more manageable and allowing patterns to be observed.

Measures of Central Tendency

Single values that describe a set of data by identifying its central point, such as mean, median, and mode.

Mean (M)

The average of a set of values, calculated by dividing the sum of the terms by the number of terms.

Median

The middle value of a set of ordered values; if the number of observations is even, it is the average of the two central numbers.

Mode

The most frequently occurring value in a dataset.

Variance

A statistical measurement of the spread between numbers in a dataset.

Standard Deviation (SD)

A measure of how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean.

Normal Distribution

A probability distribution that is symmetric about the mean, representing the data that is spread evenly.

Skewness

A measure of the asymmetry of the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable.

Kurtosis

A measure of whether the data are heavy-tailed or light-tailed relative to a normal distribution.

Sampling Frame

A list of all those within a population that can be sampled.

Sampling Bias

A systematic error that occurs when the sample is not representative of the population.

Stratified Random Sampling

A sampling method where the population is divided into subpopulations and sampled based on characteristics of interest.

Snowball Sampling

A non-probability sampling technique that begins with one participant, who then recruits others from their network.

Convenience Sampling

A non-probability sampling method where participants are selected based on availability and willingness.

Attrition

The loss of participants in a study over time.