PSY 285WI Exam 1 (Chapters 1-4)
Limitations with the method of tenacity
(1) information acquired might not be accurate. (2) there is no method for correcting erroneous ideas.
Abstract
A brief summary of the publication, between 100 to 250 words.
Which of the following is the best description of the scientific method?
A circular process that leads to a tentative answer
Testable
A hypothesis for which all of the variables, events, and individuals are real and can be defined and observed.
Which of the following is a brief summary of a psychology article?
Abstract
Introduction
Component of research article that discusses previous research that forms the foundation for the current research study and presents a clear statement of the problem being investigated. Holds the hypothesis.
Scientists often talk about hypotheses. For example, there was a hypothesis in social psychology that frustration leads to aggression. By creating a hypothesis, scientists are trying to do which of the following?
Describe or explain a relationship among variables
constructs (hypothetical constructs)
Hypothetical attributes or mechanisms that help explain and predict behavior in a theory.
Argument
In the rational method, a set of premise statements that are logically combined to yield a conclusion.
If you are a person who goes along with your "gut feelings" in making decisions, you are relying on which of the following methods of acquiring knowledge?
Intuition
What is typically included in the method section of a research article?
It provides the details of the methodology used in the study.
Which method of knowing is used when you find the address and phone number of a restaurant by googling the name of the restaurant?
Method of authority
A restaurant chef replaced rice with pasta in one of her recipes to see what would happen. Which method of acquiring knowledge is she using?
Method of empiricism
Identify the construct: External factors such as rewards or reinforcements can affect motivation, and motivation can then affect performance
Motivation
When you are conducting literature search, it is critical that you read the original reports describing the original results. In other words, you need to rely on which of the following sources?
Primary source
Which of the following is a distinction between science and pseudoscience?
Pseudoscience tends to dismiss or refuse to accept negative results; pseudoscience tends to rely on testimonials and selected results; pseudoscience tends to treat criticism as a personal attack.
quantitative research
Research that is based on measuring variables for individuals participants or subjects to obtain scores, usually numerical values, that are submitted to statistical analyses for summary and interpretation. Examines variables that typically vary in quantity (size, magnitude, duration, or amount).
Subject words
Terms used to identify and describe the variables in a study. Subject words are used to direct a search in a database.
A good hypothesis makes a positive statement such as which of the following?
The ratings would be higher in condition A than condition B.
Which of the following is not a good example of a research hypothesis?
There is no relationship between fatigue and reaction time.
One of the problems with relying on the method of authority in gaining knowledge is which of the following.
Your authority may not have the expertise in the right area.
Your results showed that your hypothesis was false. Accordingly, you should conclude which of the following about your hypothesis?
Your hypothesis was a good hypothesis because it was refutable.
Reference section
a listing of complete references for all sources of information cited in the report, organized alphabetically by the last name of the first author
method of tenacity
a method of acquiring knowledge in which information is accepted as true because it has always been believed or because superstition supports it. Based on habit or superstition. Also involves the presence of superstitions.
participants
humans who take part in a research study
subjects
nonhumans who take part in a research study
limitation of the method of faith
(1) it allows no mechanism to test the accuracy of the information
empirical method (empiricism)
A method of acquiring knowledge in which observation and direct sensory experience are used to obtain knowledge.
What is typically included in the introduction section of a research article?
It describes the overall purpose and rationale of the research.
Which of the following is typical of quantitative research?
It involves measuring variables for each individual; it usually involves numerical scores; it uses statistical analysis to summarize and interpret results.
Dr. Omani conducts a study that produces numerical data that can be analyzed by statistics. He is conducting which of the following types of research?
Quantitative
Everyone is different by the difference is a matter of degree on specific characteristics or conditions. For example, you may be low or high on a characteristic called "self-esteem." These characteristics and conditions are referred to as which of the following?
Variables
For which of the following questions would the scientific method be an appropriate method for seeking an answer.
What conditions promote student learning in an elementary classroom?
When a hypothesis is testable?
When all of the variables, events, and individuals can be defined and observed.
How would research studies that are intended to answer practical problems be classified?
applied research
While shopping, you observe the behavior of adolescents at the mall and get some ideas about what may be causing the behavior. This is an example of getting research ideas from
casual observation
variables
characteristics or conditions that change or have different values for different individuals.
The three components of informed consent
1. Information 2. Understanding 3. Voluntary participation
negative relationship
A relationship in which the two variables or measurements tend to change together in opposite directions
positive relationship
A relationship in which the two variables or measurements tend to change together in the same direction
single-blind
An experimenter (assistant) who does not know the expected results, the experimenter should not be able to influence the participants.
placebo
An ineffective, inert substitute for a treatment or medication
Counting the number of times a third-grade student leaves his or her seat without permission during a 30-minute observation period is an example of using what modality of measurement?
Behavioral
Which of the following was not mentioned as a safeguard against fraud?
Careful review by the IRB
What term is used for a variable that cannot be observed or measured directly but it useful for describing and explains behavior?
Construct
Psychologists often use hypothetical attributes or mechanisms that help explain and predict behavior in a theory. These are called which of the following?
Constructs
Large error component
If the error component is relatively large, you will find huge differences from one measurement to the next, and the measurements are not reliable.
The Belmont Report is explicit in stating that costs and benefits or participating in research studies must be equally distributed among people. As such, it is not ethical to use those who are economically disadvantaged in a research study which is designed to develop and expensive medical procedure, because economically disadvantages are unlikely to benefit from such an expensive procedure. This principle is referred to as which of the following?
Justice
A score consists of two components: true score and error. When your measure is not reliable, it can be attributed to which of the following?
Large error
You can use PsycINFO to do which of the following?
Literature search
The APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conducts expects you to do which of the following when you are conducting a study involving nonhuman animal subjects?
Make reasonable efforts to minimize discomfort, infection, and pain
Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between validity and reliability?
Measurement cannot be valid unless it is reliable.
Physiological measures
Measurement obtained by recording a physiological activity such as heart rate.
Research results indicate that the more time individuals spend watching educational television programs as a preschool children, the higher their high school grades will be. What kind of relationship exists between educational TV and high school grades?
Positive
A research study reports that participants who scored high on a new test measuring self-esteem made eye contact during an interview, whereas participants who scored low on the test avoided eye contact. Assuming that more eye contact is associated with higher self-esteem, what kind of validity is being demonstrated?
Predictive
Plagiarism
Presenting someone else's ideas or words as one's own.
Results section
Presents the details of the statistical analysis and usually is not important for generating a new research idea.
After measuring a set of individuals, a researcher finds that Bob's score is three times greater than Jane's score. What scale of measurement is being used?
Ratio
In psychology, you can measure anything. For example, you can create a measure of 'weird personality.' However, not all measures are a good measure. One of the characteristics of a good measure is that it produces the same score every time. If your measure produces a different score every time you administer it to a particular individual, your measure is not a good measure because it lacks which of the following?
Reliability
What is meant by saying that "science is objective"?
Science answers are obtained without influence by the researcher's biases or beliefs.
To establish a reliability of a measure, psychologists often administer it multiple times to the same individuals in order to show that the scores are consistent across these multiple trials. This way of showing reliability is known as which of following?
Test-retest reliability
The relationship between reliability and validity
The are related to each other in the reliability is a prerequisite for validity; that is, a measurement procedure cannot be valid unless it is reliable. It is not necessary for a measurement to be valid for it to be reliable. A measure cannot be valid unless it is reliable, but a measure can be reliable without being valid.,
Ceiling effect
The clustering of scores at the high end of a measurement scale, allowing little or no possibility of increases in value.
Participant changes
The participant can change between measurements.
confidentiality
The practice of keeping strictly secret and private the information or measurements obtained from an individual during a research study. APA ethical guidelines require researchers to ensure the confidentiality of their research participants.
literature search
The process of gaining a general familiarity with the current research conducted in a subject area, and finding a small set of journal articles that serve as the basis for a research idea and provide the justification or foundation for new research.
Deception
The purposeful withholding of information or misleading of participants about a study.
Ethics
The study of proper action
Predictive Validity
The type of validity demonstrated when scores obtained from a measure accurately predict behavior according to a theory.
deduction or deductive reasoning
The use of a general statement as the basic for reaching a conclusion about specific examples.
Which of the following describes participants taking on the negativistic subject role?
They try to act so that their data are in contrast to the hypothesis.
When you are conducting a literature search, you should use which of the following as your first step in screwing the results?
Title
Which of the following is usually the initial factor for determining whether a specific article is relevant to your research question?
Title
A hypothesis is a _____ statement and a prediction is a ____ statement.
general; specific
Characteristics of a good hypothesis
logical, testable, refutable, positive
A research conducts a study in which 50 college students are assigned to different treatments are tested. In the study the students are called...
research participants
Limitations of the method of authority
(1) it does not always provide accurate information. (2) answers obtained from an expert could represent subjective, personal opinion rather than true expert knowledge. (3) we often assume that expertise in one area can be generalized to other topics. (4) people often accept an expert's statement without question. (5) not all "experts" are experts
limitations of the empirical method
(1) it is fairly common for people to misperceive or misinterpret the world around them. (2) two observers can witness exactly the same event and yet "see" two completely different things. (3) usually time consuming and sometimes dangerous.
Researchers have two basic categories of ethical responsibility
(1) responsibility to ensure the welfare and dignity of the individuals, both human and nonhuman, who participate in their research studies (2) responsibility to ensure that public reports of their research are accurate and honest
Limitations of the rational method
(1) the conclusion is not necessary true unless both of the premise statements are true, even in a valid logical argument. (2) people are not particularly good at logical reasoning.
Six common definitions of validity
1. Face Validity 2. Concurrent Validity 3. Predictive Validity 4. Construct Validity 5. Convergent Validity 6. Divergent Validity
Seven basic IRB criteria
1. Minimization of Risk to Participants 2. Reasonable Risk in Relation to Benefits 3. Equitable Selection 4. Informed Consent 5. Documentation of Informed Consent 6. Data Monitoring 7. Privacy and Confidentiality
Types and measures of reliability
1. Successive measurements (test-retest reliability; parallel-forms reliability) 2. Simultaneous measurements (inter-rater reliability) 3. Internal consistency (split-half reliability)
The APA guidelines identify three specific areas of responsibility
1. The deception must be justified in terms of some significant benefit that outweighs the risk to the participants. The research must consider all alternatives to deception and must justify the rejection of any alternative procedures. 2. The research cannot conceal from the prospective participants information about research that is expected to cause physical pain or severe emotional distress. 3. The researcher must debrief the participants by providing a complete explanation as soon as possible after participation is completed.
Differences between science and pseudoscience
1. The primary distinction is based on the notion of testable and refutable hypotheses. 2. Science demands an objective and unbiased evaluation of all the available evidence. 3. Science actively tests and challenges its own theories and adapts the theories when new evidence appears. 4. Scientific theories are grounded in past science. Pseudoscience tends to create entirely new disciplines and techniques that are unconnected to establish theories and empirical evidence.
Three basic principles of the Belmont Report
1. The principle of respect for persons (autonomy) 2. The principle of beneficence 3. The principle of justice
Limitations of Operational Definitions
1. There is not a 1-to-1 relationship between the variable that is being measured and the actual measurements produced by the operational definition. 2. It is easy for operational definitions to leave out important components of a construct. 3. They often include extra components that are not part of the construct being measured.
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
A committee that examines all proposed research with respect to its treatment of non-human subjects,. IACUC approval must be obtained prior to conducting any research with nonhuman subjects.
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
A committee that examines all proposed research with respect to its treatments of human participants. IRB approval must be obtained prior to conducting any research with human participants.
APA Ethics Code
A common set of principles and standards on which psychologists build their professional and scientific work. This code is intended to provide specific standards that cover most situations encountered by psychologists. Its primary goal is the welfare and protection of the individuals and groups with whom psychologists work.
database
A computerized cross-referencing tool that focuses on an individual topic area; used for searching the literature for articles relevant to a topic.
PsycARTICLES
A computerized database for searching the psychological literature that contains the full text of the original publication
PsycINFO
A computerized database for searching the psychology literature for articles relevant to a research topic. PsycINFO provides abstracts or summaries for each publication.
Title
A concise statement of the content of a paper that identifies the main variables being investigated
secondary source
A description or summary of another person's work, written by someone who did not participate in the research or observations discussed
primary source
A firsthand report of observations or research results written by the individual(s) who actually conducted the research and made the observation
Split-half reliability
A measure of reliability obtained by splitting the items on a questionnaire or test in half, computing a separate score for each half, and then measuring the degree of consistency between the two scores for a group of participants.
Self-report measure
A measurement obtained by asking a participant to describe his or her own attitude, opinion, for behavior.
Behavioral measures
A measurement obtained by the direct observation of an individual's behavior.
method of authority
A method of acquiring knowledge in which a person relies on information or answers from an expert in the subject area. This can mean consulting an expert directly or going to a library or a website to read the works of an expert. For many questions, the method of authority is an excellent starting point; often, it is the quickest and easiest way to obtain answers.
method of intuition
A method of acquiring knowledge in which information is accepted on the basis of a hunch or "gut feeling." For many questions, this is the quickest way to obtain answers. Many ethical decisions or moral questions are resolved by the method of intuition.
Rational method (rationalism)
A method of acquiring knowledge that involves seeking answers by the use of logical reasoning. Begins with a premise statement. All conclusion are tested by ensuring that they conform to the rules of logic
The scientific method
A method of acquiring knowledge that uses observations to develop a hypothesis, then uses the hypothesis to make logical predictions that can be empirically tested by making additional, systematic observations. Typically, the new observations lead to a new hypothesis, and the cycle continues.
Confederates
A person who pretends to be a participant in a research study but actually is working for the researcher to create a false environment
debriefing
A postexperimental explanation of the purpose of the study. A debriefing is given after a participant completes a study, especially if deception was used.
operational definition
A procedure for indirectly measuring and defining a variable that cannot be observed or measured directly. An operational definition specifies a measurement procedure (a set of operations) for measuring an external, observable behavior and uses the resulting measurements as a definition and a measurement of the hypothetical construct
Replication
A replication of a research study using the same basic procedures using in the original.
double-blind
A research study in which both the research and the participants are unaware of the predicted outcome for any specific participant.
Interval
A scale of measurement in which the categories are organized sequentially and all categories are the same size,. The zero point of an interval scale is arbitrary and does not indicate a total absence of the variable being measured. We can determine the direction and magnitude of a difference.
Ratio scales
A scale of measurement in which the categories are sequentially organized, all categories are the same size, and the zero point is absolute or non arbitrary , and indicated a complete absence of the variable being measured. With a ratio scale, we can measure the direction and magnitude of the difference between measurements and describe differences in terms of ratios. Measurements allow us to determine the direction, the magnitude, and the ratio of the difference.
Nominal scale
A scale of measurement in which the categories represent qualitative differences in the variable being measured. The categories have different names but are not related to each other in any systemic way. Measurements from a nominal scale allow us to determine whether two individuals are the same or different, but they do not permit any quantitative comparison. If two individuals are in different categories, we cannot determine the direction of the difference, and we cannot determine the magnitude of the difference. Can tell us only that a difference exists.
Ordinal scale
A scale of measurement on which the categories have different names and are organized sequentially. The categories form an ordered sequence which means there is a directional relationship between the categories. With measurements from an ordinal scale, we can determine whether two individuals are different, and we can determine the direction of difference. Ordinal measurements do now allow us to determine the magnitude of the difference between the two individuals. Tells us the direction of the difference.
Nuremberg Code
A set of 10 guidelines for the ethical treatment of human participants in research. The Nuremberg Code, developed from the Nuremberg Trials in 1947, laid the groundwork for the current ethical standards for medical and psychological research
Pseudoscience
A set of ideas based on nonscientific theory, faith, and belief
National Research Act
A set of regulations for the protection of human participants in research, mandated by Congress in 1974
hypothesis
A statement that provides a tentative description or explanation for the relationship between variables
Belmont Report
A summary of the basic ethical principles for protecting humans in research published in 1979 by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects in Biomedical and Behavioral research. Today's federal regulations for protecting human participants are based on the Belmont Report.
Divergent Validity
A type of validity demonstrated by using two different methods to measure two different constructs. Convergent validity then must be shown for each of the two constructs. Finally, there should be little or no relationship between the scores obtained for the two different constructs when they are measured by the same method. The goal is to differentiate between two conceptually distinct constructs by measuring both constructs and then showing there there is little or not relationship between the two measurements.
method of faith
A variant of the method of authority in which people have unquestioning trust in the authority figure and, therefore, accept information from the authority without doubt or challenge.
Consent form
A written statement by the researcher containing all of the elements of informed consent and a line for the participants signature. The consent from is provided before the study so that potential participants have all the information they need to make an informed decision regarding participation
face validity
An unscientific form of validity that concerns whether a measure superficially appears to measure what it claims to measure. It is the simplest and least scientific definition of validity. It concerns the superficial appearance, or face value, of a measurement procedure. Based on subjective judgment and is difficult to quantify.
demand characteristics
Any potential cues or features of a study that (1) suggest to the participants what the purpose and hypothesis are, and (2) influence the participants to respond or behave in a certain way.
Small error component
As long as the error component is relatively small, your scores will be relatively consistent from one measurement to the next, and the measurements are said to be reliable.
When you conduct a research study to answer theoretical questions or gather knowledge for the sake of new knowledge, you are engaged in which of the following research?
Basic
You learned about a theory indicating that emotional arousal enhances memory by activating a part of the brain called amygdala. Since you also read about how the brain deteriorates as you grow older, you decide to study whether emotional arousal also enhances memories of older adults. In this case, the source of your idea was which of the following?
Behavioral theories
Which principle of the Belmont Report corresponds to the guideline of "No Harm"?
Beneficence
At the end of a research study, it is ethical for researchers to provide a full description of the true purpose of the study along with any deception that was used to accomplish the goal. This process is known as which of the following?
Debriefing
You are creating a measure of 'happiness,' however, you need to show that your measure is not simply measuring 'self-esteem.' In other words, you must show which of the following about your measure?
Divergent validity
Tips for starting a review of the literature
Do your homework, keep an open mind, focus, take one step at a time
The three important principles of scientific method are which of the following?
Empirical, public, and objective
Which of the following is one of the categories of ethical responsibility researchers have?
Ensure the welfare and dignity of the individuals, both human and nonhuman
External Stimulus -> construct ->
External Stimulus -> construct -> External Behavior
What is the first step in conducting a research study?
Find a research idea
The guidelines for nonhuman subjects in research are similar to the guidelines for human participants but also include extra provisions concerning what additional topic(s)?
Housing, medical care, daily maintenance
To enforce compliance with the ethical treatments of human research participants, the National Institute of Health (NIH) requires each institutions that receive Federal funding to review all the research studies before these studies are conducted. Such a review is conducted by which of the following?
IRB
Theories
In the behavioral sciences, statements about the mechanisms underlying a particular behavior. Theories help organize and unify different observations of the behavior and its relationship with other variables. A good theory generates predictions about the behavior.
Artifact
In the context of a research study, an external factor that could influence or distort measures. Artifacts threaten the validity of the measurement, as well as both internal and external validity.
When you go from a set of specific observations to a general statement, you are relying on which of the following thinking processes?
Induction
What kind of reasoning uses a few specific observations to produce a general hypothesis?
Inductive reasoning
If a researcher explains what will happen in a research study using language that potential participants cannot understand, then what ethical guideline is being violated?
Informed consent
Which of the following is a responsibility for the IRB but is not mentioned in the responsibilities for the IACUC?
Insuring informed consent
Although it has been controversial in the past, a general consensus is that a rating scale such as 5-point Likert type scale is based on which of the following scales of measurement?
Interval
You can perform a mathematical operation such as addition, subtraction, or multiplication when your scale of measure is which of the following?
Interval or ratio
When you are reading an article based on a research study, you must read which of the following sections to get to know the hypothesis?
Introduction
What questions should you ask when reading an introduction to a research article?
Is the literature review up-to-date? Is the hypothesis related to the literature reviewed? Does the prediction logically follow the hypothesis?
What kind of research was the focus for most of the early attempts to establish ethical research guidelines?
Medical research with humans
When you are reading an article based on a research study, you need to read which of the following sections to find out what participants did in Condition A?
Method
Which of the following is an example of fraud in science?
Modifying data in order to confirm the hypothesis
Refutable
Must be possible to obtain research results that are contrary to the hypothesis
Which of the following is an unethical use of deception according to the APA guidelines?
Not disclosing the factors that may cause physical hard or sever emotional distress.
Ethical treatments of human research participants attracted attention of the public and scientists alike after which of the following historical events?
Nuremberg Trial of 1947
An elementary school teacher separates students into high, medium, and low reading skill groups. What scale of measurement is being used to create the groups?
Ordinal
reactivity
Participants' modification of their natural behavior in response to the fact that they are participating in a research study or the knowledge that they are being measured.
Deceptions are often used in psychological research in order to keep participants from knowing the true purpose of the study. There are two types of deception. When information if intentionally withheld from participants (because we don't want them to know), it is known as which of the following types of deception?
Passive
Using a PET scan to measure brain activity while participants solve mathematics problems is an example of using what modality of measurement?
Physiological
Participants may behave unnaturally just because they are in a research study. Such a problem is referred to as which of the following?
Reactivity
increasingly scientists and the public alike are concerned that most of the published results are not real. To instill confidence, psychologists are encouraged to repeat the studies that have been published in the past in order to confirm that the published results are real. This process of repeating previous studies is known as which of the following?
Replication
The principle of justice
Requires fair and non exploitative procedures for the selection and treatment of participants so that the costs and benefits of participation are distributed equally, such as participants are representative of the people who may benefit from the research.
The principle of respect for persons (autonomy)
Requires that individuals should consent to participate in studies and those who cannot give consent, such as children, people with diminished abilities, and prisoners, need special protection. Milgram's study and the Tuskegee study violated the principle of respect. Milgram's participants did not know that they were in an experiment on obedience, and the Tuskegee participants were not informed that there was an effective treatment for their disease.
The principle of beneficence
Requires that the research does not harm the participants, minimizes risks, and maximizes possible benefits. Clearly both Milgram's study and the Tuskegee study caused hard to the participants.
In 1979, the National Commission publish The Belmont Report articulated the principles of ethical treatment of human research participants. This report emphasized the important of three core principles. Among these, which of the following is the basis of the requirement that participants provide explicit consent to participate in a research study>
Respect for persons
Using an anonymous questionnaire to determine how many times students send or receive text messages during class is an example of using what modality of measurement?
Self-report
Premise statements
Sentences used in logical reasoning that describe facts or assumptions.
Steps of the research process
Step 1: Find a research idea: Select a topic and search the literature to find an unanswered question. Step 2: Form a hypothesis. Step 3: Determine how you will define and measure your variables. Step 4: identify the participants or subjects for the study, decide how they will be selected, and plan for their ethical treatment. Step 5: Select a research strategy. Step 6: Select a research design. Step 7: conduct the study. Step 8: evaluate the data. Step 9: report the results. Step 10: refine or reformulate your research idea.
The steps of the scientific method
Step 1: Observe behavior or other phenomena Step 2: Form a tentative answer or explanation (a hypothesis) Step 3: Use your hypothesis to generate a testable prediction Step 4: Evaluate the prediction by making systematic, planned observations Step 5: Use the observations to support, refute, or refine the original hypothesis
Range effect
The clustering of scores at one end of a measurement scale. Suggest a basic incompatibility between the measurement procedure and the individuals measured.
Floor effect
The clustering of scores at the low end of a measurement scale, allowing little or not possibility of decreases in value
Common Rule
The code of federal regulation, which is based on the principles of the Belmont Report and provides a common set of federal regulations for protecting human participants. It is used by review boards.
Inter-rater reliability
The degree of agreement between two observers who simultaneously record measurements of a behavior. Can be measured by computing the correlation between the scores from the two observers or by computing a percentage of agreement between the two observers.
Reliability
The degree of stability or consistency of measurements. If the same individuals are measured under the same conditions, a reliable measurement procedure will produce identical (or nearly identical) measurements.
Accuracy
The degree to which a measure conforms to the established standard.
validity
The degree to which the measurement process measures the variable it claims to measure
Subject roles
The different ways that participants respond to experimental cures based on whatever they judge to be appropriate in the situation
Peer review
The editorial process that many articles undergo when a researcher submits a research report for publication. In a typical peer-review process, the editor of the journal and a few experts int eh field of research review the paper in extreme detail. The reviewers critically scrutinize every aspect of the research with the primary purpose of evaluating the quality of the study and its contribution to scientific knowledge. Reviewers are also likely to detect anything suspect about the research or the findings.
Clinical equipoise
The ethical issue requiring clinicians to provide the best possible treatment for their patients, thus limiting research to studies that compare equally preferred treatments.
Informed consent
The ethical principle requiring the investigator to provide all available information about a study so that a participant can make a rational, informed decision regarding whether to participate in the study.
Fraud
The explicit efforts of a researcher to falsify and misrepresent data.
Observer error
The individual who makes the measurements can introduce simple human error into the measurement process, especially when the measurement involves a degree of human judgment.
Experimenter bias
The influence on the findings of a study from the experimenter's expectations about the study.
Active deception (commission)
The intentional presentation of misinformation about a study to its participants. The most common form of active deception is misleading participants about the specific purpose of the study.
Passive deception (omission)
The intentional withholding or omitting of information whereby participants are not told some information about the study.
Why is an artifact like experimenter bias a threat to the validity of measurement?
The measurements may be distorted by the artifact
Which method of knowing is being used by a student who believes that his performance on tests is influences by wearing a lucky hat?
The method of tenacity
Method section
The method section presents detail concerning the participants and the procedures used in the study. Often, a new research study is created by changing the characteristics of the participants or by modifying the procedures.
Anonymity
The practice of ensuring that an individual's name is not directly associated with the information or measurements obtained from that individual. Keeping records anonymous is a way to preserve the confidentiality of research participants.
Research ethics
The responsibility of researchers to be honest and respectful to all individuals who may be affected by their research studies or their reports of the studies' results. Researchers are usually governed by a set of ethical guidelines that assist them to make proper decisions and choose proper actions. In psychological research, the American Psychological Association (APA) maintains a set of ethical principles for research.
Why is the range effect known as "ceiling effect" a problem for researchers?
The scores are already so high that there is no chance for measuring improvement
Scales of measurement
The set of categories used for classification of individuals. The four types of measurement scales are nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.
What additional information is obtained by measuring on an interval scale compared to an ordinal scale?
The size of the differences
Parallel-forms reliabiltiy
The type of reliability established by comparing scores obtained by using two alternate version of a measuring instrument to measure the same individuals and calculating a correlation between the two sets of scores.
Test-retest reliability
The type of reliability established by comparing the scores obtained from two successive measurements of the same individual and calculating a correlation between the two sets of scores.
Convergent Validity
The type of validity demonstrated by a strong relationship between the scores obtained from two different methods of measuring the same construct, and then showing that the two methods produce strongly related scores. The goal is to demonstrate that different measurements procedures "converge"-or join-on the same construct.
Construct Validity
The type of validity demonstrated when scores obtained from a measurement behave exactly the same as the variable itself. Construct validity is based on many research studies and grows gradually as each new study contributes more evidence.
Concurrent validity
The type of validity demonstrated when scores obtained from a new measure are directly related to scores obtained from a more established measure of the same variable. Establishes consistency between two different procedure for measuring the same variable, suggesting that the two measurement procedures are measuring the same thing.
induction (inductive reasoning)
The use of a relatively small set of specific observations as the basis for forming a general statement about a larger set of possible observations.
Methods of Acquiring Knowledge
The variety of ways in which a person can know things or discover answers to questions.
Environmental changes
There are small changes in the environment from one measurement to another, and these small changes can influence the measurements.
Which of the following would be a danger of relying upon a primary source?
There is no danger because you can rely on primary sources for accurate information.
Operational definitions are often used in psychology because these definitions enable researchers to measure something invisible, such as 'ego.' However, one of the limitations of operational definitions is which of the following?
These definitions may include extra components that may not accurately reflect the construct.
The apprehensive subject role
These participants are overly concerned that their performance in the study will be used to evaluate their abilities or personal characteristics
The faithful subject role
These participants attempt to follow instructions to the letter and avoid acting on any suspicions they have about the purpose of the study
The negativistic subject role
These participants have identified the hypothesis of the study and are trying to act contrary to the investigator's hypothesis
The good subject role
These participants have identified the hypothesis of the study and are trying to produce responses that support the investigator's hypothesis.
What is the goal of an operational definition?
To provide a definition and a method for measuring a hypothetical construct
A measure is only useful when it measures what it measures what is intended to measure. For example, a measure of intelligence should measure intelligence instead of something else. When a measure does not accomplish this goal, it is said to be lacking in which of the following?
Validity
A research is intrigued by an explanation of children's problem-solving strategies found in a journal article and develops a research study to determine whether the article's ideas are correct. How would this study be classified?
basic research
Which of the following methods of acquiring knowledge is based on a philosophy that all knowledge is acquired through the senses?
empiricism
The final step in the research process is...
identifying a topic and searching the literature to find a research question
The three important principles of the scientific method are that...
it is empirical (answers are obtained by making observations), it is public (other individuals should be able to repeat the same step-by-step process that led to the observations so that they can replicate the observations for themselves), and it is objective (observations are structure so that the researcher's biases and beliefs do not influence the outcome of the study)
Common sources of research topics
personal interests and curiosities, casual observation, reports of others' observations, practical problems or questions, behavioral theories
Last year Time and his friend Jack were both too short to ride the roller coaster. Jack went to the park this year and was tall enough to ride. Time knowns that he is taller than Jack, so he knows that he will be able to ride the roller coaster as well. Which method of knowing is Tim using?
rational method
applied research
research studies that are intended to answer practical questions or solve practical problems
basic research
research studies that are intended to answer theoretical questions or gather knowledge simply for the sake of new knowledge
qualitative research
research that is based on observations that are summarized and interpreted in a narrative report. Involves careful observation of participants, usually accompanied by extensive note taking.
Discussion section
typically begins by summarizing the results of the study, stating the conclusions, and noting any potential applications