Term
| What is Causal Inference ? |
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Definition
| the process of drawing a conclusion about a causal connection based on the conditions of the occurrence of an effect. In a causal inference, one reasons to the conclusion that something is, or is likely to be, the cause of something else. ( The attribution of an effect or outcome (dv) , to a cause (iv)based on observed data. |
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Term
| What is the fundamental problem of causal inference ? |
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Definition
| "we cannot re-run history to see if the outcome under study occurs when we take away the proposed cause.( for ex: going back in time and taking away the butterfly ballot in Florida to see who would win out of Al Gore and Bush.) |
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Term
| What gives us the best way to overcome the fundamental problem of causal inference? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is Cross-Sectional design ? |
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Definition
| compare 2 or more instances ( Aka cases) of a phenomenon , where the dependent variables ( DV) is measured only once for each case. |
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Term
| What are the four criteria we must satisfy for causality? |
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Definition
| Time Order, Correlation, Causal Mechanism, and No Confounders. |
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Term
| What is a Time-Series Design ? |
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Definition
| Compare one or more cases to themselves over 2 or more time periods . (i.e., measure the DV for each case multiple times.) |
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Term
| Which two things refers to the quality of a causal inference ? |
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Definition
| Internal Validity and External Validity. |
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Term
| What is Internal Validity ? |
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Definition
| When a study is well-put together , and you've satisfied all criteria for causality. Tf, you have "high internal validity" for everything within your study. Internal validty..the validty of things within your study. |
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Term
| What is External Validity ? |
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Definition
| How generalizable is your causal claim beyond the cases that were included in your study.Generalizibity to the EXternal world. |
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Term
| What is an Independent Variable ? |
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Definition
| The Causes ! are the independent variables. A variable whose variation does not depend on that of another. |
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Term
| What is a dependent variable ? |
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Definition
| The Outcomes/Effects ! are the dependent variables. A variable whose value depends on that of another. |
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Term
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Definition
| A mutual relationship, or connection between two or more things. Deals with "going along with " . If two things both increase , and ecrease at the same pace, then there is some sort of correlation , if not , then there isn't any sort of correlation there. There's always a positive correlation if x and y are moving in the same direction. If they are moving in opposite directions, then it is a negative correlation. If either x or y has no change at all, then there is NO CORRELATION whatsoever at all. |
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Term
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Definition
| The proposed cause has to come BEFORE the effect in time. |
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Term
| What is a Causal Mechanism ? |
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Definition
| A logical story about how a proposed cause leads to an outcome. Mechanism ( way, how, explain story, etc. ) |
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Term
| What are "No-confounders" ? |
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Definition
| That 3rd thing, a confounder is something that can affect both the i.v. and the d.v. For example: being sick could be the reason in which you are in the hospital, and the reason you are dying, even though hospital and death may have a correlation with one another. |
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Term
| What can assign the scores on an i.v. and a d.v. ? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a spurious correlation ? |
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Definition
| you observe a correlation between 2 things, but there's a confound. |
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Term
| You can have a correlation , but that does mean that you have a ... ? |
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Definition
| Causal relationship. ( b/c you gotta satisfy all the4 criteria for causality.) |
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Term
| In terms of criteria for time-series, what is history ? |
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Definition
| anything that happened between the point in time when you measure the dependent variable , that could affect the value of the dependent variable . |
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Term
| In terms of criteria for time-series, what is maturation ? |
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Definition
| refers to what people would normally call a trend; For example, growing older, stronger, wiser, and more experienced. The maturation effect is any biological or psychological process within an individual that systematically varies with the passage of time, independent of specific external events. |
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Term
| In terms of criteria for time-series design , what is the measurement effect ? |
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Definition
| it is changes in the way you measure the independent variable anytime you do data on it. For example, giving one person asprin with water, anither asprin with soda, etc. and see how quickly each one of them gets rid of their headaches. You are constantly measuring the i.v. differently each time. |
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Term
| In terms of criteria for time-series, what is Instability ? |
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Definition
| Lack of stability, the state of being unable; the times of measurements are precisely the same. |
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Term
| What is Regression To The Mean ? |
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Definition
| if a variable is extreme on its first measurement, it will tend to be closer to the average on its second measurement—and, paradoxically, if it is extreme on its second measurement, it will tend to have been closer to the average on its first.[1][2][3] To avoid making wrong inferences, regression toward the mean must be considered when designing scientific experiments and interpreting data.Regression toward the mean simply says that, following an extreme random event, the next random event is likely to be less extreme. |
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Term
| In terms of criteria for time-series design, what is the Testing Effect ? |
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Definition
| The phenomenon that taking a memory test not only assesses what one knows, but it also enhances later retention of information. ( true, b/c a lot of the things that I have to study for exams in school end up staying in my memory for a while ) |
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Term
| What is Descriptive Inference ? |
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Definition
| The use of a measure to describe a concept ; using observations about the world, to learn about other unobserved facts. Summarizes things using statistical measures. The process of actually measuring a concept. |
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Term
| What is Conceptual Definition ? |
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Definition
| Defines the central attributes of a concept, and suggests a variable that we can use to stand for the concept. A theoretical (or conceptual) definition gives the meaning of a word in terms of the theories of a specific discipline. This type of definition assumes both knowledge and acceptance of the theories that it depends on. |
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Term
| What is operational definition ? |
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Definition
| Tells us how to move from the variable to an indicator , and how to apply scores to our cases. ( tells us how to operate ) |
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