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Scientific Method
a step-by-step process used by scientists to investigate questions, gather evidence, and draw conclusions based on experiments and observations
Null Hypothesis
a baseline that scientists can test against, helping to determine if their results are significant or due to chance
Alternative Hypothesis
a opposing prediction against the null hypothesis
Negative Control Group
a group not exposed to any treatment or any treatment known to have no effect
Positive Control Group
group not exposed to the independent variable but is to a treatment known to have an expected effect
Experimental Group
group that receives experimental treatment (IV) being tested to observe its impact on the outcome (DV)
Independent Variable
the one factor that is changed between groups; what is being manipulated; x-axis
Dependent Variable
the factor that is measured and affected by the IV; y-axis
Contants
the factor(s) being kept constant for all groups to ensure only the IV affects the outcome; aka controlled variables
Statistics
methods used to collect, process or interpret quantitative data
Descriptive Statistics
methods used to summarize or describe observations/samples
Inferential Statistics
using observations to make estimates or predictions; generalizing from a sample to a wider population
Central Tendencies
the tendency of the observations to center around a particular value/category rather than spread evenly across the range/categories
Mean
the average of the data set
Median
the middle number in a range of data points
Mode
the value that appears most in a data set
Variability
the measure of how spread out or dispersed the values in a data set are
Range
the difference between the largest and smallest values
Standard Deviation
a measure of how spread out the data is from the mean
Standard Error
used to determine the precision of and confidence in the mean value
Chi-Square
a form of statistical analysis used to compare the actual results (observed) with the expected results
What are the 6 general steps of the scientific method?
Make an observation, Ask a question, Propose a hypothesis, Design an experiment, Collect data, and Draw a conclusion
How are hypotheses formulated?
What is the difference between null and alternative hypotheses?
Null hypotheses are baselines while alternative hypotheses are actual predictions
How do researchers determine their independent and dependent variables?
Researchers determine their IV and DV by determining what variable affects the other.
How are independent variables graphed?
Independent variables are graphed on the x-axis.
How are dependent variables graphed?
Dependent variables are graphed on the y-axis.
Are constants the same as controls?
When should a positive control be used?
When should a negative control used?
What are central tendencies?
What should mean central tendencies be used for?
What should median central tendencies be used for?
What should mode central tendencies be used for?
What is used to measure variability?
Is data more reliable with low or high standard deviation?
Why do researchers use SEM?
If standard error bars overlap, is the difference between the means significantly different?
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