Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Research Methods and Statistics (Carroll)
Graduate Level Research Methods and Statistics
104
Psychology
Graduate
04/03/2012

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Disciplined Inquiry
Definition
Disciplined method of gaining new information, building knowledge, or answering questions; also called disciplined inquiry; implies a systematic investigation with underlying guidelines regardless of the particular research paradigm.
Term
Theory
Definition
A statement or group of statements that explains and predicts relationships among phenomena; a set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and postulations that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables.
Term
Random Assignment
Definition
A random table of numbers (or similarly random process) is used to assign each participant to a group.
Term
Positivistic paradigm/theoretical framework
Definition
A way of thinking about and conducting quantitative research.
Term
Constructivist paradigm/theoretical framework
Definition
Related ways of thinking about research where knowledge is constructed based on experiences; also called the naturalist or qualitative paradigm.
Term
Paradigm
Definition
A way of thinking about and conducting research; it is a philosophy that guides how the research might be conducted.
Term
Mixed methods
Definition
Research study that uses both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Common in program evaluation research.
Term
Pragmatic Approach
Definition
Utilizes exploratory and confirmatory methods (instead of qualitative or quantitative methods), which increases the options for researchers in regard to data collection methods, data analysis tools, and interpretations.
Term
__________ designs provide better control over extraneous variables, while _________ designs are typically more ecologically valid.
Definition
Laboratory; field
Term
T or F
Research designs based on the positivistic paradigm are more sensitive to individual differences than those based on constructivism.
Definition
False
Term
Variable
Definition
A characteristic of a person or situation with two or more values in a study.
Term
Independent variable
Definition
Controlled or selected by the experimenter to determine its relationship to a phenomenon of interest.
Term
Active independent variable
Definition
Manipulated by the researcher
Term
Attribute independent variable
Definition
An unchangeable characteristic of the person or situation under study
Term
Dependent variable
Definition
The outcome of the study
Term
Randomized Experimental
Definition
Features random assignment of participants into groups, and the use of an active independent variable.
Term
Quasi-experimental
Definition
Utilizes an active independent variable, but without random assignment.
Term
Comparative
Definition
Approach in which a comparison is made between/among a few groups based on an attribute independent variable.
Term
Associational
Definition
Approach in which two or more usually continuous variables, for the same group of participants, are related or associated; is also sometimes called correlational approach.
Term
Descriptive
Definition
Approach that answers descriptive questions using only descriptive, not inferential, statistics; summarizes data from the current sample of participants without making inferences about the larger population of interest; no comparisons or associations are made; does not have an independent variable.
Term
The research problem is best described as:
Definition
A question about the relationship between two or more variables.
Term
What is not true of a good research problem?
Definition
That it is broad in scope and implications.
Term
A research problem should hold the promise of...
Definition
Filling a gap in the literature and providing a test of a theory.
Term
Operational definition of a variable
Definition
Describes or defines a variable in terms of the operations or techniques used to make it happen or to measure it.
Term
Pretest
Definition
Measurement of the dependent variable taken prior to the intervention; used to establish a baseline.
Term
Research hypothesis
Definition
Predictive statements about the relationship between variables.
Term
Research problem
Definition
The research problem will set forth the phenomena to be studied, the curiosity as to "why something is as it is."
Term
Research question
Definition
Similar to the research hypothesis but does not entail specific predictions about the relationship and is phrased in question format.
Term
Variable
Definition
A characteristic of the participants or situation for a given study that has different values; a variable must have different values in the study or it is a Constant.
Term
Active versus Attribute Independent Variable
Definition
An active independent variable is a variable, at least one level of which is given to a group of participants, within a specified period of time during the study, they are manipulated by the experimenter. An attribute variable are preexisting attributes of the persons or their ongoing environment that do not change during the study.
Term
Basic versus complex research questions (and statistics)
Definition
Basic questions and statistics use only two variables whereas complex questions and statistics involve more than two variables.
Term
Independent versus Dependent versus extraneous variables
Definition
An independent variable includes any predictors, antecedents, or presumed causes or influences under investigation in the study and can be active or attribute variables. Dependent variables are assumed to measure or assess the effect of the independent variable, it is thought of as the presumed outcome or criterion. Extraneous variables are not of interest in a particular study but could influence the dependent variable so they need to be ruled out or controlled.
Term
Levels of one variable versus a set or group variables
Definition
A level of a variable can include gender as the variable with male and female as the two levels of the variable. Set or group variables include demographics where several similar variables are grouped together, but each still has varying levels.
Term
Ordered versus unordered or nominal variables
Definition
Ordered variables have a set of values that vary from low to high within a certain range, such that a larger value of the variable indicates more of it than a smaller value of the variable. Unordered or nominal variables use labels or names that do not designate value.
Term
Correlation
Definition
A statistic that indicates the association or relationship between scores on two variables; may be positive (direct relations: as one variable increases, so does the other), negative (inverse relationship: as one variable increases, the other decreases), or zero (no relationship).
Term
Cross-tabulation
Definition
Table that gives frequencies (and often percentages) for values of two categorical variables; way of presenting data about two variables so their relationship is more evident.
Term
Normal curve/distribution
Definition
Probability distribution of the population, the normal distribution is unimodal; the mean, median, and mode are equal; the curve is symmetric, the range is infinite; the curve has no kurtosis; also called normal curve or bell curve.
Term
Standard deviation
Definition
Measure of variability for normally distributed data.
Term
Histogram versus frequency polygon versus bar chart
Definition
Frequency polygons and histograms connect the points between the categories, so they are best used with normally distributed data. Frequency polygons should not be used with nominal data because in that case there is no necessary ordering of the points. Thus for nominal variables it is better to make a bar graph of the frequencies.
Term
Mean versus median versus mode
Definition
The mean or arithmetic average takes into account all of the available information when used to compute the central tendency of frequency distribution. Thus, the mean is usually the statistic of choice if one has normal data. The median or middle score is an appropriate measure of central tendency for ordinal level data. It is a better measure than the mean if the distribution is skewed. The mode, or most common category can be used with any kind of data but provides the least precise information.
Term
Nominal versus Dichotomous versus Ordinal versus Normal levels of measurement
Definition
Nominal levels of measurement occur when each mutually exclusive category stand for the name of the category but have no implied order or value. Dichotomous variables has only two levels or categories. Ordinal variables have three or more ordered categories or levels and the responses are not normally distributed. Normally distributed variables have mutually exclusive categories that are ordered, but the responses or scores are at least approximately normally distributed.
Term
Experimental approach
Definition
Research approach that has at least one active independent variable; may be randomized experimental or quasi-experimental.
Term
Nonexperimental approach
Definition
Research approaches with at least one attribute independent variable and no active independent variable.
Term
What is the purpose of the randomized experimental approach?
Definition
Determine cause
Term
What is the purpose of a quasi-experimental approach?
Definition
Examine causality
Term
What is the purpose of a comparative approach?
Definition
Compare groups
Term
What is the purpose of an associational approach?
Definition
Find Associations/Make Predictions
Term
What is the approach to the descriptive approach?
Definition
Summarize Data
Term
Random sampling
Definition
Selection from the population of interest of study participants using a random selection technique so that the sample is representative of all the possible participants who fit the selection criteria.
Term
Multiple-group time-series designs
Definition
Quasi-experimental design which a baseline is determined to be stable prior to an intervention (via multiple pretests) so that the researcher can conclude that the change in the dependent variable is due to the intervention and not other environmental factors and there is a comparison group that receives the same number of measurements but does not receive the intervention.
Term
One-group posttest-only design
Definition
Nonrandom assignment, experimental group, intervention, posttest observation or measure.
Term
One-group pretest-posttest design
Definition
Nonrandom assignment,experimental group, pretest observation or measure, intervention, posttest observation or measure.
Term
Posttest-only nonequivalent groups design
Definition
Two groups, nonrandom assignment, one experimental group gets intervention, one control group does not get intervention, posttest observation or measure
Term
Pretest-posttest nonequivalent comparison-group designs
Definition
Two groups, nonrandom assignment, one experimental group that receives treatment and one control group that doesn't receive treatment, pretest and postest
Term
Single-group time-series designs with temporary treatment
Definition
Nonrandom assignment, experimental group, several pretests treatment and several posttests
Term
Single-group time-series designs with continuous treatment
Definition
Nonrandom assignment experimental group, pretest, treatment interspersed with observations/measures, than posttests interspersed with treatment
Term
Multi-group time-series designs with temporary treatment
Definition
Nonrandom assignment, two groups, experimental gets treatment, and control doesn't, numerous pretests and posttests
Term
Multiple-group time-series designs with continuous treatment
Definition
Nonrandom assignment, two groups, one experimental receives pretests than treatments interspersed with observations/measures, and control group that receives pretests and observations/measures throughout testing of experimental group
Term
Posttest-only control-group design
Definition
Random assignment, experimental group that receives treatment, and a control group that doesn't, and posttests
Term
Pretest-posttest control group design
Definition
Random assignment, experimental group that receives treatment and control group that doesn't, pretest and posttest
Term
Solomon 4-group design
Definition
Random assignment, two experimental groups that receive treatment one receives pretest and one doesn't, two control groups one receives pretest and one doesn't, all receive posttest
Term
Randomized experimental design with matching
Definition
Matched random assignment, experimental group that receives treatment, control group that doesn't, both receive posttests
Term
Within-subjects or crossover design
Definition
Random assignment, experimental group one receives treatment then posttest one and then control/comparison/other treatment then second posttest. Experimental group two receives opposite of experimental group one.
Term
Validity
Definition
The general term most often used by researchers to judge quality or merit.
Term
Internal Validity
Definition
The extent to which we can infer that the independent variable caused the dependent variable.
Term
External Validity
Definition
The extent to which the findings will generalize to other populations, settings, measures, and treatments.
Term
Measurement Validity
Definition
The quality of accuracy of individual measures or scores. The extent to which a score measures what it was intended to measure.
Term
Research validity
Definition
Quality or merit of the whole study.
Term
What are threats to internal validity related to equivalence of groups?
Definition
Statistical regression, attrition/mortality, and selection.
Term
Statistical regression
Definition
Scores from the low group improve relative to the scores on the pretest even without the intervention. (use of extreme groups)
Term
Attrition
Definition
Participant dropouts.
Term
Selection Bias
Definition
Bias in assignment to groups, problems arise from how participants were assigned to a particular group (comparison or intervention), not from how they were selected (sampled) from the population.
Term
What are threats to internal validity based on control of extraneous variables?
Definition
Maturation, history, testing, instrumentation, additive and interactive threats, and ambiguous temporal precedence.
Term
Maturation
Definition
Changes due to time or growth and development.
Term
History
Definition
Extraneous environmental events, something other than the independent variable happens between the pretest and the posttest.
Term
Testing
Definition
Repeated testing, carryover effect
Term
Instrumentation
Definition
Instrument or observer inconsistency (instrument changes in some way or the observer changes between pre- and posttest).
Term
Additive and Interactive Threats
Definition
Combinations of two or more threats
Term
Ambiguous temporal precedence
Definition
Did the independent variable actually occur before the dependent variable? (Which came first the chicken or the egg?)
Term
What helps to eliminate threats to internal validity?
Definition
Random assignment
Term
What internal validity threats does random assignment not eliminate?
Definition
Mostly caused by contamination such as resentful or demoralized participants, over-compensating participants. Also expectation effect (Hawthorne effect) participant believing they are in the treatment or control group. And observer or experimenter bias.
Term
What is a sample?
Definition
The smaller group
Term
What is the population?
Definition
The larger group that you pull the sample from.
Term
Participants, cases, or elements
Definition
The people or objects or events that are of interest in a particular study.
Term
Theoretical or target population
Definition
Includes all of the participants of theoretical interest to the researcher and to which he or she would like to generalize.
Term
Accessible population
Definition
(Sampling frame) The group of participants to which the researcher has access.
Term
Selected sample
Definition
The smaller group of participants selected from the larger accessible population by the researcher and asked to participate in the study.
Term
Convenience sample
Definition
Nonprobability sampling technique in which participants are selected on the basis of convenience or availability rather than attempting beforehand to select participants that are representative of the theoretical population.
Term
Actual sample
Definition
The participants that complete the study and whose data are actually used in the data analysis.
Term
Probability sampling
Definition
Selection of participants in a way that is nonbiased.
Term
Nonprobability sampling
Definition
No way of estimating the probability that each participant has of being included in the sample.
Term
What are the probability sampling methods?
Definition
Simple random sampling, systematic (random) sampling, stratified random sampling, cluster (random) sampling, and multistage sampling.
Term
Simple random sampling
Definition
Every unit has an equal chance of selection from the frame. Problem is members of a subgroup may not be included and can be time-consuming.
Term
Systematic (random) sampling
Definition
Every nth unit in the frame is selected. Problems may be that you must watch for recurring patterns within the sampling frame.
Term
Stratified random sampling
Definition
The study population is grouped according to meaningful characteristics or strata. Problems include sample sizes must be calculated for each stratum and can be time-consuming and costly.
Term
Cluster (random) sampling
Definition
Natural groups or clusters are sample with ALL members of each selected group included. Problems include clusters selected need to represent the clusters not selected.
Term
Multistage sampling
Definition
Natural groups or clusters are sampled, with members of each selected group subsampled afterward.
Term
What are the nonprobability sampling methods?
Definition
Quota sampling, purposive sampling, convenience sampling, and snowball sampling.
Term
Quota sampling
Definition
Researcher sets quotas for various subgroups, but research assistants have latitude in selection. Some problems are members of a subgroup of interest may not be included in appropriate proportions and there is much room for bias that can't be evaluated.
Term
Purposive sampling
Definition
On purpose, hand-picked participants that you believe will be representative of the typical of the population. Problems include distinguishing from having inclusion or exclusion criteria.
Term
Convenience sampling
Definition
Select participants who are accessible with little regard given to the theoretical population. Problem is that your sample is probably not representative.
Term
Snowball Sampling
Definition
A special type of convenience sampling where participants are asked to provide names of other possible participants. Problem is that it is not in any way representative.
Term
What are the fundamental characteristics that all assessments should share?
Definition
They should be reliable, valid, standardised, and free from bias.
Term
What is psychometrics?
Definition
The science of psychological assessment.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!