PGS 101 Ch. 2
Terms
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- hypothesis
- tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables
- variables
- any measurable conitions, events, characteristics, or behaviors that are controlled or observed
- theory
- a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations
- operational definition
- the actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable
- participants / subjects
- the persons or animals hose behavior is systematically observed in a study
- data collections techniques
- procedures for making empirical observations and measurements
- journal
- a periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, usually in a narrowly defined area of inquiry
- research methods
- differing approaches to the observation, measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies
- experiment
- a research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result
- independent variable
- a condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable
- dependent variable
- the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable
- experimental group
- consists of the subjects who receive some special treament in regard to the independent variable
- control group
- consists of similar subjects who do not receive the special treament given to the experimental group
- extraneous variables
- any variables othe than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study
- a confounding of varialbes
- occurs when two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects
- random assignment
- occurs when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group of condition in the study
- correlations
- exists when two variables are related to each other
- correlation coefficient
- a numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables
- naturalistic observation
- a researcher engages in careful observation of behaior without intervening directly with the subjects
- case study
- an in-depth investigation of an individual subject
- survey
- researchers use questionnaires or inerviews to gather info about specific aspects of participants' behavior
- replication
- repitition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated
- sample
- the collection of subjects selected for observation in a empirical (observational) study
- population
- the larger collection of animals or people (from which sample is drawn) that researchers want to generalize about
- sampling bias
- exists when a sampl is not representative of the population from which it was drawn
- placebo effects
- occur when participants' expectations lead tehm to experience some change even though they receive empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment
- social desirability bias
- a tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself
- experimenter bias
- occurs when a researcher's expectations or perferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained
- dobule-blind procedure
- a research study in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control group