Unit 0 Research Methods and Data Interpretations

AP Review Guide: Unit 0 Research Methods and Data Interpretations

1.A Apply psychological perspectives, theories, concepts, and research findings to a scenario.
1.B Explain how cultural norms, expectations, and circumstances, as well as cognitive biases apply to behavior and mental processes.
- Cultural Norms: Shared guidelines or rules that dictate appropriate behavior in social contexts.
- Cognitive Biases: Systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, often leading to illogical conclusions.

2.A Determine the type of research design(s) used in a given study.
2.B Evaluate the appropriate use of research design elements in experimental methodology.
2.C Evaluate the appropriate use of research design elements in non-experimental methodologies.
2.D Evaluate whether a psychological research scenario followed appropriate ethical procedures.
- Ethical Research Procedures: Must include informed consent, confidentiality, and the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

3.A Identify psychology-related concepts in descriptions or representations of data.
3.B Calculate and interpret measures of central tendency, variation, and percentile rank in a given data set.
- Measures of Central Tendency:
- Mean: Average of a set of numbers obtained by dividing the sum of all values by the count of values.
- Median: Middle value when data is organized in ascending order; if the count of values is even, it is the average of the two middle values.
- Mode: The value that appears most frequently in a data set.
- Measures of Variation:
- Range: Difference between the highest and lowest values.
- Standard Deviation: Measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values.
3.C Interpret quantitative or qualitative inferential data from a given table, graph, chart, figure, or diagram.

4.A Propose a defensible claim.
- Defensible Claim: A statement supported by evidence derived from scientific research.
4.B Support, refute, or modify an established or provided claim, policy, or norm.

Qualitative Research/Measures: Research that focuses on understanding human behavior from the informant's perspective; often involves non-numerical data.
Structured Interviews: A data collection method that involves asking a set of predetermined questions in a fixed order, ensuring consistency across interviews.