9/7 Research Methods Francesca

How might one go about trying to eliminate the confounds of an experimental study? Explain

A double blind procedure. In a double blind procedure participants do not know what treatment they are getting and the experimenter does not know what treatment they are giving to the participants.

What is a sample?

A number of people selected to serve as an example of that population.

Name three possible confounds in an experimental study.

Placebo effect- when receiving special treatment or something new effects human behavior. Participant demand- participants behave in a way they think the experimenter wants them to behave. Experimenter expectations- when the expectations of the experimenter influence the study.

What is the difference between an experimental study and a quasi experimental study?

Quasi experimental studies do not require random assignment.

probability value

the highest possible likelihood acceptable in a study that an observed result could have occurred by chance

inductive reasoning example

the neighbors dog just barked. all dogs can bark

Accurate detection

the researcher's conclusion mirrors reality

Participant demand

When participants behave in a way that they think the experimenter wants them to behave.

What does an r value of -.91 signify.

A strong negative correlation

Which of the following claims is not falsifiable? a. It will rain this week b. there are six moons orbiting the planet Pluto c. soon, a great opportunity will be made available to you d. eating too many vegetables is one of the causes of cancer

C

Who was Karl Popper, and how did he contribute to research methods?

He was a scientist who lived at the time of Freud. He did not like how Freud made after the fact claims. No matter what the result was Freud had a way to explain it. Example of perfectionist. Popper said you had to articulate how your hypothesis could be proven wrong before you tested it.

What does it mean if something is significant at a p<0.05 level?

If the study were to be repeated 100 times this result would occur by chance less than five times. It is unlikely to occur by chance so it is likely that the result is due to the factor in question.

inductive vs. deductive reasoning

Inductive: Developing generalizations from specific observations Deductive: Developing specific predictions from general principles

Name a reason you might choose to do a quasi experimental design rather than a true experimental design.

It is not ethical or possible to randomly assign participants to a condition

Are we 100 percent certain that scientific theories are true?

No, they are open to revision if new evidence comes to light.

Name one similarity and two differences between scientific hypotheses and everyday hypotheses

Similarity: Both use induction, drawing general conclusions from specific observations. Differences: scientific claims are falsifiable, meaning that you can prove they are wrong, also scientific claims are associated with probabilities, scientific claims are not about things that are a personal opinion. Scientific claims are specific. for example all healthy dogs bark when threatened rather than all dogs bark.

Why do we not say evidence from a single study proves a hypothesis? Give an example

The result of the study could be a freak occurrence. Also there are many questions left unanswered. For example, if a scientist was trying to prove caffeine enhances memory, with the study mentioned in the textbook, we would still not know how long the memory boost lasts and if it works better in people of certain ages than others.

How will the dots on a scatter-plot line look if there is a strong correlation

They will be tightly grouped along a line.

Describe type I and type II error

Type I - We conclude there is a relationship when there is actually not one. Type 2: We conclude there is not a relationship when there actually is one.

What is a disadvantage of a quasi-experimental design?

Without randomization, it can be difficult to verify that all confounding variables have been accounted for. For example if you are studying married people vs non-married people and you observe that married people tend to be happier, it could be that happier people tend to get married (the causation is reversed) or that people who have more money get married and happiness is caused by money.

To identify the most popular exhibits at a science museum, visitors were asked every day for six weeks to rate how much they enjoyed each exhibit. The data were analyzed to look for age and sex differences in exhibit preferences. This was an example of a. survey research b. experimental research c. naturalistic observation d. case study research

a.

deductive reasoning example

all dogs bark. the dog that just walked by can bark.

scientific theory

an explanation of observations or events that is based on knowledge gained from many observations and investigations, that is empirically (verifiably) supported, consistent and predictive.