Psychology 120 Research Methods
Terms
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- Define basic research.
- Research conducted to advance scientific knowledge
- Define applied research.
- Research designed to solve practical problems
- What are the six steps to the scientific method?
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1) Identify questions of interest and review literature
2) Develop a testable hypothesis
3) Select a research method and collect the data
4) Analyze the data and accept or reject the hypothesis
5) Publish, replicate, and seek scientific review
6) Build a theory - What is a specific prediction about how one variable relates to another?
- Hypothesis (must be falsifiable)
- What is an interrelated set of concepts that explain a body of data?
- Theory
- Define informed consent.
- A participant’s agreement to take part in a study after being told what to expect
- Define debriefing.
- Informing participants after the research about the purpose of the study, the nature of the anticipated results, and any deceptions used
- What guidelines has the APA developed to regulate research with human participants?
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Informed consent
Voluntary participation
Restricted use of deception
Debriefing
Confidentiality
Alternate activities - What are the four key research methods?
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Experimental
Descriptive
Correlational
Biological - What is a carefully controlled scientific procedure that involves manipulation of variables to determine cause and effect?
- Experiment
- Define independent variable.
- An experimental factor that is manipulated to determine its causal effect on the dependent variable
- Define dependent variable.
- An experimental factor that is measured; it is affected by (or dependent on) the independent variable
- Define experimental group.
- A group receiving treatment in an experiment.
- Define control group.
- A group receiving no treatment in an experiment
- What are some potential problems with the researcher in an experiment?
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Experimental bias – researcher influences results in expected direction
Ethnocentrism – believing one’s culture is typical of all cultures or correct - What are some potential problems with the participant in an experiment?
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Sample bias – the participants are not representative of the larger population
Participant bias – experimental conditions influence the participant’s behavior or metal processes - What is a research method that observes and records behavior without producing casual explanations?
- Descriptive research
- What are the three types of descriptive research?
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Naturalistic observation
Surveys
Case studies - What is the observation and recording of behavior in the participant’s natural site or habitat?
- Naturalistic observation
- What is a research technique that questions a large sample of people to assess their behaviors and attitudes?
- Survey
- What is an in-depth study using a single research participant?
- Case study
- What is a scientific study in which the researcher observes or measures (without directly manipulating) two or more variables to find the relationships between them?
- Correlational research
- What are the three types of correlation?
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Positive – two variables move (or vary) in the same direction
Negative – the two factors vary in opposite directions
Zero – no relationship - What is a scientific study of the brain and other parts of the nervous system?
- Biological research