Psych 303 Exam 1

informed consent

part of autonomy learn about the project, know the risks and benefits, and decide if they want to participate

snowball sampling

participants recommend a few acquaintances for the study

zero association

two variables are not related

deception

researchers giving false information to participants

split half reliability

test if one half of the test correlates with the other half

content validity

the measure spans the universe of all content of a construct

translational research

the use of lessons from basic research to develop and test applications to healthcare, psychotherapy, and other forms of treatment and intervention bridge from basic research to applied research

availability bias

things that come to mind easily guide our thinking

negatively worded questions

unnecessarily complicated can cause confusion

empiricism

use evidence from the sense or from instruments that assist the senses as the basis for conclusions

known groups/concurrent validity

use the measure to differentiate between groups and behaviors

quantitative variable

variable that is coded with meaningful numbers

correlational design

variables are measured, not manipulated efficient way to get lots of data higher external validity observe relationships and make predictions

motivational bias

want to think what we want examples: present/present bias, confirmatory hypothesis testing

hypothesis

way of stating the specific outcome the researcher expects to observe if the theory is accurate

relationship between reliability and validity

we can have reliability without validity, but we cannot have validity without reliability

present/present bias

we fail to look for absences and only notice what is present

double-barreled question

asks two questions in one

cluster sampling

clusters of participants within a population are randomly selected an all individuals in the cluster are used

theory data cycle

collect data to test, change, or update theories

institutional review board

committee responsible for interpreting ethical principles and ensure research with human participants is conducted ethically

comparison group

compare what would happen both with and without the thing we are interested in used in systematic data collection

things to watch when writing questions

complexity double-barrleed loaded negative wording response sets

operationalization

concrete definitions of variables that can be manipulated/measured

internal consistent reliability

consistent pattern of answers no matter how question is phrased measured with cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability

journal

contains research papers that have been peer reviewed different from journalism

cronbach's alpha

correlational-based statistic shows if scales have internal reliability closer the number is to 1, the better the internal reliability

reliability

how consistent the results of a measure are 3 types: test-retest, inter-rater, internal consistent

positive association

if one variable increases, so does the other

negative association

if one variable increases, the other decreases

convergent validity

if the measure correlates strongly with other measures of the same construct

discriminant validity

if the measure correlates with measures of different constructs

order of questions

important questions first simple questions first, sensitive questions later with multiple topics, use logical order background/demographic questions last

case study

in depth study of one case

cognitive bias

influenced by a story that makes sense or what comes to mind easily example: availability bias

causal claim

one variable is responsible for change the other must have correlation, temporal precedence, and high internal validity

response set

nondifferentiation type of shortcut respondents can take consistent way of answering all questions

naturalistic observation

observe behaviors in real world settings

longitudinal research

observe same subjects over a long period of time

purposive sampling

only want to study certain kinds of people so recruit in a non-random way

categorical variable

operational variable that is a category

two types of biases

1. cognitive biases 2. motivational biases

3 conditions for causal relationships

1. correlation/covariation 2. temporal precedence 3. elimination of confounds

4 ethical classifications

1. exempt (no risk) 2. minimal risk (chance of harm) 3. greater than minimal risk 4. not reserach

features of good scientific theories

1. supported by data 2. falsifiable 3. parsimonious

theory data cycle steps

1. theory 2. research questions 3. research design 4. hypothesis 5. data 6. data either supports theory, or leads to revisions in theory and/or research design

manipulated variable

a researcher controls its levels, usually by assigning participants to different levels

commission

actively lying

construct validity

adequacy of operational definitions does it measure what we want it to measure

parsimony

all other things equal, the simplest solution is the best

confirmatory hypothesis testing

also called positive test bias select questions that lead to a particular, expected answer not scientific

confound

alternate explanation occurs when you think one thing caused an outcome, but other things changed as well so you don't really know what caused the outcome hard to isolate in personal expieriences, can control variables in a research setting

dependent variable

always measured predicted/affected by the independent variable

experimental design

an independent variable is manipulated only way to establish causality other confounding variables are controlled with experimental control and random assignment

convenience sample

biased using sample or people who are readily available to participate

random assignment

can eliminate alternative explanations increases internal validity

conceptual definition

definition of a construct at theoretical level

research design

depends on the nature and the number of variables involved types: experimental, correlational

frequency claim

describes rate or degree of a single variable

survey/poll

descriptive observe and describe attitudes, opinions and behaviors

problems with interviews

discomfort if sensitive topics interviewer bias

Belmont report

done because of tuskegee and milgram study laid out basics for doing research 1. beneficience 2. justice 3. autonomy

applied research

done with a practical problem in mind want to directly apply findings to the solution of that problem in a particular real-world context

enticing people to do surveys

easy to do not too long small rewards anonymity/confidentiality

interval scale

equal distances between levels no true 0 (cannot get it)

ratio scale

equal distances between levels true 0 (0 is meaningful)

historical/archival

examine existing data to test hypotheses

mediating variable

explains association between two variables needs to be shown statistically

internal validity

extend to which our finds provide evidence of causality 3 conditions

external validity

extend to which research claims generalize to other samples, situations, and settings

face validity

extent to which it appears to experts that an operational definition is a possible measure of the variable

scientific fraud

fabricating data

omission

failing to mention certain details

principle of justice

fair balance between types of people who participate and the kinds of people who benefit from it

inter-rater reliability

get the same data regardless of who measures

test-retest reliability

get the same result every time the measure is used

basic research

goal is to enhance the general body of knowledge may be applied to real-world problems later on

measured variable

levels are observed and recorded

problems with correlational studies

little control need larger samples because harder to find effects cannot establish causality with certainty (but can rule out causality if no correlation is found)

panel study

longitudinal research design same people participate for several years

problems with experiments

low external validity some variables cannot be manipulated

independent variable

manipulated in experiments, measured in non-experimental designs predicts/affects dependent variable

criteron-related validity

measures validity of construct three types: known groups/concurrent, convergent, discriminant

autonomy

principle of respect for persons individuals are free to make up their mind if they want to participate some people have less autonomy so are entitled to special protection can withdraw at anytime without penalty don't have to answer all questions if they don't want to

principle of beneficience

protect participants from harm and ensure their well-being

difference between journalism and journal

public reads journalism scientists read journals journalists may publish research, beneficial if the story is important and accurate

simple random sampling

raffle anyone could get selected

multistage sampling

random clusters are selected then random samples are taken from those clusters

probability sampling

random sampling everyone has an equal chance of being selected

ordinal scale

ranked order

plagiarism

representing the ideas or words of others as ones own

socially desirable responding

respondents give answers that make them look better

problems with questionnaires

response rates and missing data misrepresentation of participants misunderstanding

alternatives to deception

role playing simulation studies honest experiments

association claim

says that one level of a variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable correlates/covaries/relates two or more variables, measured not manipulated

stratified random sampling

selects particular demographic categories on purpose then randomly selects individuals within each category

theory

set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another

falsifiable

some hypotheses that when tested may fail to support the theory

study validity

success with which a study has demonstrated a relationship two types: internal and external

debrief

telling participants about the study's hypotheses after the study deception revealed communicate purpose and importance return participants to original state of mind