Week 1: Introduction to Research Methods

Question 1

Results from multiple research investigations that provide similar findings

Answer 1

Converging Evidence

Question 2

The process of applying critical thinking in evaluating the truth of a claim

Answer 2

Skepticism

Question 3

An article or reference in which the author describes research that has previously been published

Answer 3

Secondary source

Question 4

An article or reference that describes the results of original research that was conducted by the author(s) of the article

Answer 4

Primary source

Question 5

The process through which either the original researcher or the researchers from an independent laboratory repeat the investigation and obtain the same or highly similar results

Answer 5

Replication

Question 6

Scholarly journals whose editors send any submitted article out to be evaluated by knowledgeable researchers or scholars in the same field

Answer 6

Peer-reviewed journals

Question 7

An approach to thinking about a situation that may lead you to respond in a particular manner that may be flawed

Answer 7

Cognitive bias

Question 8

Mental shortcuts that assist people in finding adequate but often imperfect solutions to difficult problems

Answer 8

Heuristic

Question 9

A cognitive bias that leads individuals to attend to only a small amount of information to preserve mental energy

Answer 9

Cognitive miser model

Question 10

A cognitive process that leads individuals to overestimate the likelihood of events that come easily to mind

Answer 10

Availability Heuristic

Question 11

A cognitive bias that leads individuals to favour anecdotal evidence over more detailed information that is available

Answer 11

Discounting base-rate information

Question 12

A heuristic that leads individuals to use a particular value as a base for estimating an unknown quantity and adjust their estimate based on that quantity, even if the value given is entirely arbitrary

Answer 12

Anchoring

Question 13

A cognitive bias caused by seemingly inconsequential differences in wording in a question or problem that lead respondents to vary their choices

Answer 13

Framing effect

Question 14

The tendency to assume that two events are causally related because of proximity of time and place, when in fact no such causal relation exists

Answer 14

Causality bias

Question 15

The tendency to give the most weight to information that supports your theory, potentially discounting or ignoring data that go against your strongly held theoretical bias

Answer 15

Confirmation bias

Question 16

Practices, beliefs, or claims that are presented as scientific but do not have a scientific basis or empirical support

Answer 16

Pseudoscience

Question 17

An approach that seeks to generate explanations for observable phenomena with an emphasis on objectivity and verifiable evidence

Answer 17

Scientific method

Question 18

Approaching knowledge as a quest for the truth, rather than as an attempt to find results that support one’s beliefs or theory

Answer 18

Objectivity

Question 19

Approaching knowledge from the standpoint of an individual’s own beliefs, experiences, and interpretations

Answer 19

Subjectivity

Question 20

The idea that an investigation or measurement tool should yield consistent findings if researchers use the same procedures and methods repeatedly

Answer 20

Reliability

Question 21

Research that generally seeks to address a practical issue or problem

Answer 21

Applied research

Question 22

Research that strives to advance knowledge within a particular area of science

Answer 22

Basic research