psyc 203 study ch 1,2,3,4,16

Theory

A group of logically organized and deductively related laws;an explanation of how and why something operates as it does.

interviews

data collection method in which an interviewer asks the interviewee a series questions often with prompting for additional information.

Causal description

description of the consequences of manipulating an independent variable.

Cohort-sequential design

design that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal elements by following two or more age groups over time.

research misconduct

fabricating falsifying or plagiarizing the proposing performing reviewing or reporting of research results.

Control

(1) a comparison group, (2) elimination of the influence of extraneous variables , or (3) manipulation of antecedent conditions to produce a change in mental processes and behavior.

research ethics

a set of guidelines to assist the researcher in conducting ethical research

Variable

A characteristic or phenomenon that can vary across or within organisms , situations, or environments.

Paradigm

A framework of thought or beliefs by which reality is interpreted

Revolutionary science

A period in which scientific activity is characterized by the replacement of one paradigm with another.

Logical positivism

A philosophical approach that focuses on verifying hypotheses as the key criterion of science.

Meta -analysis

A quantitative technique for describing the relationship between variables across multiple research studies.

Induction

A reasoning process that involves going from the specific to the general.

Qualitative research study

A research study based on nonnumerical data.

search engines

A software program that seeks out web pages stored on servers throughout the world wide web.

Longitudinal study

A study in which the data are collected at two or more points in time.

Causation

A term whose meaning is debated by philosophers, but in everyday language implies that manipulation of one event produces another event.

Probabilistic Causes

A weaker form of determinism that indicates regularities that usually but not always occur.

beneficence

Acting for the benefit of others

Manipulation

Active intervention by researcher that is expected to produce changes in the dependent variable.

Assent

Agreement from a minor to participate in research after receiving an age-appropriate explanation of the study

psycINFO

An electronic bibliographic database of abstracts and citations to the scholarly literature in psychology.

Laboratory experiment

An experimental research study that is conducted in the controlled environment of a laboratory.

Internet Experiment

An experimental study that is conducted over the internet.

Confounding Variables

An extraneous variable that if not controlled for will eliminate the researcher's ability to claim that the Iv causes changes in the dependent variable.

Focus Group

Collection of data in a group situation with a moderator leads a discussion with a small group of people.

Existing or secondary data

Collection of data that were left behind or originally used for something different than the current research study.

Passive. Consent

Consent is received from a parent or guardian by not returning the consent form

Archived research data

Data (usually quantitative) originally used for a different research project.

Numerical Data

Data consisting of numbers

Non-numerical Data

Data that consists of pictures words, statements, clothing, written records, or documents or a description of situations and behavior.

Dehoaxing

Debriefing the participants about any deception that was used in the experiment

Operational Definition

Defining a concept by the operations used to represent or measure it

problem

Defining research to be solved is the fuel that drives the scientific process, and is the foundation of any research method and experimental design, from true experiment to case study.

Explanation

Determination of the cause or causes of a given phenomenon.

Nonmaleficence

Do no harm to others

Desensitizing

Eliminating any undesirable influences that the experiment might have had on the participant

Causal Explanation

Explaining the mechanisms through which a causal relationship operates.

footnote

Footnotes are numbered consecutively with a superscript Arabic numeral in the order in which they appear in the text of the report most footnotes are content footnotes containing material needed to supplement the information provided in the text. Footnotes are also used to acknowledge copyright permission footnotes appear in the bottom of the page on which they are discussed you can also place footnotes on a separate page after the references. When placed on a separate page, type the word (footnotes) at the top of the page centered in the upper and lower case letters. The first line of each footnote is in dented five spaces or 1/2 inch and the superscript of the footnote should appear in the space just proceeding the beginning of the footnote. Footnotes are tight in the order in which they are mentioned in the text.

Objectivity

Goal in science to eliminate or minimize opinion or bias in the conduct of research.

Privacy

Having control of others access to information about you

Placebo Effect

Improvement due to participants' expectations for improvement rather than the actual treatment.

Animal welfare

Improving the laboratory conditions in which animals live and reduce the number of animals used in research.

Results

In this section, the results of the analysis are presented. How the results are presented will depend upon whether the research study was quantitative or qualitative in nature. This section should focus only on results that are directly related to the research or the problem. Graphs and tables should only be used when there is too much data to efficiently include it within the text. This section should present the results, but not discuss their significance.

Informed consent

Informing the research participant of all aspects of the study that might influence His or her willingness to volunteer to participate

Qualitative Research

Interpretive research approach relying on multiple types of subjective data and investigation of people in particular situations in their natural environment; the type of research relying on qualitative research data.

Anonymity

Keeping the identity of the research participant unknown

Correlational study

Non-experimental research study based on describing relationships among variables and making predictions

Confidentiality

Not revealing information obtained from a research participant to anyone outside the research group

Laboratory observation

Observation conducted in lab setting set up by the researcher

Event sampling

Observations are recorded every time a particular event occurs.

Third variable problem

Occurs when observed relationship between two variables is actually due to a confounding extraneous variable.

Natural-ism

Position popular in behavioral science stating that science should justify its practices according to how well they work rather than according to philosophical arguments.

Empirical Adequacy

Present when theories and hypotheses closely fit empirical evidence

Cause and effect relationship

Relationship where changes in one variable produce changes in another variable.

Extraneous Variable

variable that might compete with the independent variable in explaining the outcome

Descriptive research

Research that attempts to describe some phenomenon, event, or situation.

Questionnaire

Self report data collection instrument filled out by research participants.

Pseudoscience

Set of beliefs or practices that are not scientific but claim to be scientific

categorical variable

variable that varies by type or kind

Tests

Standardized or researcher constructed data collection instruments designed to measure personality, achievement and performance.

Cross-sectional study

Study conducted at a single time period and data are collected from multiple groups; data are collected during a single, brief time period.

Rationalism

The acquisition of knowledge through reasoning

Discover-ability

The assumption that it is possible to discover the regularities that exist in nature.

Reality in Nature

The assumption that the things we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste are real.

Cause

The factor that makes something else exist or change.

Ethical dilemma

The investigators conflict in weighing the potential cost to the participant against a potential game to be acquired from the research project

Science

The most trust worthy way of acquiring reliable and valid knowledge about the natural world.

Normal Science

The period in which scientific activity is governed and directed by a single paradigm.

Debriefing

The post experimental discussion or interview about the details of the study including an explanation for the use of any deception

specificity of the research question

The preciseness with which the research questions is stated.

Hypothesis testing

The process of testing a predicted relationship or hypothesis by making observations and then comparing the observed facts with the hypothesis or predicted relationship; the branch of inferential statistics focused on determining when the null hypothesis can or cannot be rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis.

Methods

This section will describe the research design and methodology used to complete to the study. The general rule of thumb is that readers should be provided with enough detail to replicate the study.

structure of research paper

Title Abstract Introduction Literature Review Methods Results Discussion/Conclusion References/Bibliography

Natural Manipulation Research

Type of research in which the independent variable approximates a naturally occurring manipulation, but it is not manipulated by the researcher.

Null Hypothesis

Typically the hypothesis of no difference between means or among the variables being investigated or of no relationship in the population.

Multiple Operational-ism

Using multiple measures to represent a construct

Plagiarism

Using were produced by someone else and calling it your own work

Moderator Variable

Variable that changes or "Moderates" the relationship between other variables.

dependent variable

Variable that is presumed to be influenced by one or more independent variables.

Independent Variable

Variable that is presumed to cause changes in another variable.

Mediating Variable

Variable that occurs between two other variables in a causal chain: its an intervening variable.

Quantitative Variable

Variable that varies by degree or amount

Active consent

Verbally agreeing and signing a form consenting to participate in research

Passive deception

Withholding information from the research participants by not giving them all the details of the Experment

Authority

a basis for acceptance of information, because it is acquired from a highly respected source.

Falsification

a deductive approach to science that focuses on falsifying hypotheses as the key criterion of science.

theory

a group of logical organized and deductively related laws ; an explanation of how and why something operates as it does.

procedure

a methods subsection the reader is told exactly how the study was executed from the moment the participant and the experimenter came into contact to the moment there con tact was terminated consequently this subsection represents a step-by-step account of what both the experimenter and a participant did doing the study. This subsection should include any instructions or stimulus conditions presented in the participants and the response that were required of them, as well as any control techniques used (such as randomization or counterbalancing). In other words, you are to tell the reader exactly what both you and the participants did and how you did it. After reading the procedure subsection, the reader should understand the research design used as well as all the research design was implemented to answer the research question.

Deduction

a reasoning process that involves going from the general to the specific.

Quantitative research study

a research study that is based on numerical data.

Intuition

an approach to acquiring knowledge that is not based on a known reasoning process. + a gut feeling -- that unconscious reasoning that propels us to do something without telling us why or how.

Field Experiment

an experimental research study that is conducted in a real life setting.

Introduction

begins by introducing the broad overall topic and providing basic background information. It then narrows down to the specific research question relating to this topic. It provides the purpose and focus for the rest of the paper and sets up the justification for the research.

Abstract

can be defined as a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, or study that immediately follows the title page. The purpose of an abstract is to give the reader an introduction to see if that article will be particularly helpful in their research. An abstract usually consists of up to 120 words, rather than a full page article, and can be in the form of a poster in a presentation. It can consist of the purpose of the study or article, the questions asked, how many subjects were involved, what the dependent and independent variables are, the hypothesis, and the results. Abstracts are important in research because they allow the reader to understand an experiment prior to reading more about the details. Abstracts also help in keeping research organized and convenient for others to find. Usually the researcher writes the abstract after completing the report because it is a lot easier to summarize the concepts

Participants or subjects

in the method section.......should identify the demographic characteristics of the research but disciplines such as their age sex and ethnic or racial group any other permanent pertinent information regarding the participants should also be included such as eligibility and exclusion criteria the number of participants that were selected for the study but did not complete compete complete it and why and any any in deuce mints that were given to encourage participation you should also state how the sample size was determined example power analysis of animals were used 13 a species strain number and supplier should be specified in addition to their gender age weight and does a physiological condition.

apparatus materials measures and instruments

in this subsection the reader can learn what apparatus what materials were used sufficient detail should be used to enable the reader to attain comparable equipment. In addition, the reader should be told why do you equipment was used. Any mention of commercially want to equipment should be accompanied by the films name and the model number or, in the case of measuring instruments such as an anxiety scale a reference that will enable the reader to obtain the same skill. Custom-made equipment should be described, in the case of complex equipment, a diagram or photograph might need to be included.

Running head

is an abbreviated title typed flush at the top of the first title page and on all subsequent pages it is typed in all the uppercase letters it is not more than 50 characters in length counting letters punctuation and spaces between words

Author Note

is centered on the title page below the author affiliation and tight in upper and lower case letters this note is used to identify each authors institutional affiliation and to provide acknowledgments disclaimers and point of contact each paragraph should start with an indent the first paragraph identifies the apartment till affiliation each author with the city and state if there is no institutional affiliation country should be provided if outside the United States the second paragraph states the author affiliation if the subsequent to the time of study the third paragraph identifies the grants or other support received for the study as well as any acknowledgments for assistance given in the con duct or completion of the study . The fourth and last paragraph identifies the person to contact for correspondence regarding the manuscript including the mailing address and email of that person.

Psychological experiment

objective observation of phenomena that are made to occur in a strictly controlled situation in which one or more factors are varied and the others are kept constant.

Naturalistic Observation

observation conducted in real world situations.

Time-interval sampling

observations are recorded during pre-selected time intervals

Operational-ism

representing constructs by a specific set of operations

Observation

researcher watches and records events or behavioral patterns of people.

page number

should appear in the upper right-hand corner of the manuscript pages all pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page.

Prediction

the ability to anticipate the occurrence of an event.

Empiricism

the acquisition of knowledge through experience.

determinism

the belief that mental processes and behaviors are fully caused by prior natural factors.

Hypothesis

the best prediction or a tentative solution to a problem

Logic of justification

the deductive or theory-testing part of the scientific process.

Effect

the difference between what you would have happened and what did happen when a treatment is administered.

Logic of discovery

the inductive or discovery part of the scientific process.

Description

the portrayal of a situation or phenomenon

research hypothesis

the predicted relationship among the variables being investigated.

Replication

the reproduction of the results of a study in a new study

Experimental research

the research approach in which one attempts to demonstrate cause any fact relationships by manipulating the independent variable.

research

the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Reference section

this section as you might expect is to provide an accurate and complete list of all the works cited in the text of the report all the works cited in the text must be cited and presented in alphabetical order using a hanging indent format this means the first line of each work cited is set blush left and subsequent lines are indented.

Discussion

this section should contain five main parts. They do not need to be written necessarily in the following order, but you should try to devote at least a paragraph to each point. ---Hypothesis You should always begin your discussion by reiterating your original hypothesis, and state whether or not your results supported the hypothesis. You can go into some detail here; for instance if your results did not support the hypothesis but instead displayed a different pattern, you should discuss what you actually found. NEVER say your results "proved" your hypothesis or a theory. In science we can't ever prove a theory correct (but we can disprove a theory by giving enough opposing evidence). ----Previous Research Whether your results supported the hypothesis or not, refer back to previous research and compare your results to theirs. Keep in mind the differences between your methodology and that of other researchers! What does your study contribute to the pre-existing literature on your topic? ----Limitations Discuss what aspects of your study design and procedure could have been improved to get better results, while still testing the same variables. Some questions to keep in mind when assessing limitations: Were your operational definitions precise? That is, did the variables you tested really reflect the psychological process you want to study? Was your procedure consistent across conditions? Was there some aspect of the participant group that could have skewed results? (For instance, would having an all-female, or all first-year participant group influence findings?) Did the TF/researcher give clear directions for how to perform the experiment? Don't just list your limitations: also discuss how they could be fixed in the future. -----Future Research In this section, you should discuss the "what now" aspect of your experiment. You should propose some suggestions for future research on your topic. Suggestions should not just fix the limitations you've discussed in the previous section. Rather, just as you thought about the questions raised in previous studies, think about the questions that went unanswered in your study. For instance, what would be the effect of changing one of your variables? -----Impact By now, you've made it to the bottom of the hourglass: your discussion should then focus on the impact of your results on the "real world." We encourage you to be creative here, because what's the point of doing research if you can't use the results anywhere? How do your results relate to individual people like you or me? How could they be used to solve problems in the community? How could these results be applied to things like legislative policy or education? -----References Your reference page includes all the sources you used to write your lab report. In contrast to MLA format, sources are listed in the order that they appear in your lab report, NOT in alphabetical order. On your reference page, make sure to type/write out the honor code and sign with your University ID. When listing your references, begin on a new page. For a more detailed explanation of how to construct your reference section, check out our Writer's Web guide to referencing sources in APA.