Chapter 4 Methodological Issues

interview schedules

a list of questions to be asked orally of a participant

performance checklist

a means to record if a person is engaging in behaviors typically associated with performing a particular task

Interrater reliability

a measure of consistency between the observations made by two or more raters or judges.

experimenter effects

bias occurs when a researcher unintentionally influences participant behavior

sample

little n equals this, the smaller group that is selected from the population and is used in the research to represent the larger population.

undisguised observation

making no attempt to disguise yourself, goodall and fossey

Qualitative research

more concerned with identifying meaningful experiences

convenience sampling

most common sampling method, counselor will select an easily accessible population that most likely does not fully represent the population of interest.

observation forms

contains specific behaviors for the researcher to observe and evaluate and provide a place to document the frequency of such observations

normal curve

distribution of a bunch of sample means is always a

xbar

equals sample mean

observed score

true score plus measurement error, whenever we measure something this is what we get

rating scales

used to provide a score in relation to how a person behaves, it implies a judgment rather than just acknowledgment

action checklist

used to record whether specific behaviors were present or absent during the observation time period.

Homogeneous sampling

selecting a sample where each subject shares some important characteristic

correlation coefficient

-1 to 1 also equals little r

population

Big N equals this, all the people in a particular group

Independent Variable

What does the dependent variable depend on?

Relational, descriptive, causal

What are the 3 major types of research questions?

Independent Variable (IV) Dependent Variable (DV) Confounding Variable (also known as extraneous variable or intervening variable)

What are the 3 types of variables?

Quantitatively, qualitatively, and presence/absense

What are the 3 ways to get manipulating or common way to change variables?

Independent Variable (IV)

a construct that is manipulated or controlled in some way by counselor. Am example would be the amount of medication a group receives. This is the one that is changed to see what happens to the dependent variable.

purposeful sampling

a counselor selects a sample from a population based on who will be most informative about a topic of interest. Participants are selected because they represent needed characteristics

cluster sampling

a sample process in which groups, rather than individuals, are randomly selected

flowcharts

a sheet for recording frequency counts of the behavior as well as the intended direction of the behavior

Research Question

a statement that identifies what a research study hopes to examine.

naturalistic observation

also known as field observation, the presumption that people or animals will display more realistic, natural behaviors, in their natural habitat.

Categorical Variables

also known as qualitative variables, that is, you can manipulate them by changing the quality.

Causal Research Questions

attempt to determine the cause and effect relationship among variables. example would be does studying lead to a higher grade point average?

sample mean

average of the sample represented by xbar

quantitative research/sampling

concerned more with sample size, can be classified as probability and non probability sampling

Descriptive Research Questions

examine and describe what already exist. example would be how many children are in the impact plus program?

Relational Research Questions

examine the relationship between variables (predictive/correlation) example would be what is the relationship between gender and parental styles?

sample bias

gets in the study and confuses the results and is considered bad, also happens when the sample doesnt represent the sample population

disguised observation

here the participants are unaware that the researcher is observing their behavior.

random assignment

individuals are randomly assigned to different groups or treatments

Variable

is any trait, executive, or characteristic that varies. Examples include age, weight, net worth, and IQ. They are contrasted with constants which don't change over time. Examples include color, native language, birthplace, anxiety, self esteem, program type and gender.

Alternate forms reliability

means that different but equivalent tests are given on different occasions to see how individuals score.

random selection

means that individuals are selected randomly as representing a population

Operational Definition

must include how the researcher is going to identify and measure the variables

experimental and casual comparative studies

need a minimum of 30 individuals for a group

correlation studies

need a sample of at least 50

descriptive studies

need a sample with a minimum number of 100

expectancy effect (reactivity)

occurs when the researcher pays more attention to behaviors that they expect, or that support their hypothesis.

Parsimony

only using the number of variables you need

mue

population mean equals

anecdotal records

records containing specific and actual recordings, usually in paragraph form, through observations deemed important to the researcher. based on our experiences or info from others

static checklist

refers to a means of collecting data on characteristics that will not change while the observations are being made

John Henry Effect

refers to participants in the study who are in the control group, these participants try to outperform the subjects in the experimental group and as a result biased the result

ecological validity

refers to research that is conducted in situations that are similar to the everyday life experiences of the participants.

reliability

refers to the consistency for stability of the measuring instrument, consistency

construct validity

refers to the degree that an instrument accurately measures the theoretical construct or trait that is supposed to measure

Face Validity

refers to the extent that a measuring instrument appears valid on its surface. It looks like its capturing what its suppose to measure

content validity

refers to the extent to which a measuring instrument covers a representative sample of the domain of behavior to be measured. Its been looked at and influenced by others, experts way in on it. Its a step up from face validity.

Hawthorne effect

refers to the generally accepted notion that participants are motivated to perform better when they know they are being studied for research (electric plant)

Halo Effect

refers to the tendency to allow one trait of an individual that is usually irrelevant to the purposes of the research to influence how we view other traits that are relevant to the research.

Determining the Methodology

refers to variable selection, population sampling, instrumentation, and bias reduction.

Validity

refers to whether a measure is truthful or genuine, accuracy

stratified random sampling

sample looks exactly like the population

split-half reliability

splitting items on the test in two equivalent halves and correlating the scores on one half of the items with the scores of the other items.

theoretical population

target population

Methodology

the method you use to get the answer to the question. An example would be putting your hand in the shower, to get the right temperature

Dependent Variable (DV)

the outcome variable that is influenced by the independent variable. An example would be level of depression or anxiety.

Confounding Variable

variable that can have an effect on the dependent variable and are not controlled by the researcher. This messes up the results of the study.

Numerical Variables

variables that can be manipulated quantitatively, meaning you can increase or decrease them.

time and motion logs

very detailed observations of group or person that occur over a specified period of time in an effort to understand underlying reasons for behavior.

systematic sampling

when a researcher takes every 4th or 10th or 100th name off of a list.

Judgment sampling

when the research uses his or her judgment to create a sample that is believed to be representative of the population

self fulfilling prophecy/Pygmalion effect

when you intentionally or unintentionally tip people off as to what our expectations are and people pick up on them and perform according to them

sample error

whenever the mean of the sample is different than the mean for the population (not a big deal)

quota sampling

where a certain number of people are provided by request for an interview.