Chapter 8 Practice Questions Flashcards
Describe the process of refining initial ideas into a problem statement.
Initial ideas are converted into problem statements based on the search of the lierature and/or making initial observations of the phenomeon.
What concepts do we combine to produce the research hypothesis?
The research hypothesis is a combination of the statement of the problem and the operational definition of the variables.
What is the function of the research hypothesis?
The function of the research hypothesis is to state a specific, testable hypothesis that can be evaluated with data.
What three hypotheses must be tested to evaluate the research hypotheses?
The research hypothesis includes the statistical hypothesis, the confounding variable hypothesis and the causal hypothesis.
Why is ruling out potential confounding variables so important?
We cannot accept the casual hypothesis until all confounding variables are ruled out.
Describe how we can develop several research hypotheses from one problem.
Problem statements can be worded in different ways that imply differnt research designs. Futhermore, the variables can be operationally defined in different ways, each creating a different research hypothesis.
What is validity?
It refers to the methodological soundness or appropriateness.
Define the various types of validity.
Statistical validity addresses the question of whether statistical conclusions are resonables. Construct validity refers to how well the study’s results support the theory behind the research. Exernal validity refers to the degree to which generalisation is possible. Internal validity concerns the question of whether the independent variable was responsible for the observed effect.
Which type of validity is concerned with the accuracy of conclusions about the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable?
Internal validity is concerned with the accuracy of the conclusions about the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
What is the difference between the confounding variables of history and maturation?
Maturation refers to the normal and expected changes that occur over time, whereas history refers to the effect of external events that occur during a study.
If your hometown team wins this year’s World series, what prediction would make for next year based on the concept of regression?
Based on regression to the mean, the winner of the this year’s series is unlikely to win next years.
What design has to contend with the confounding variable of sequence effects?
Sequence effects are found only in within subjects designs.
What are subject effects?
Subject effects are any changes the behaviour of participants that are due to being in the study rather than to the variables under study.
How can demand characteristics lead to subject effects?
Demand characteristics are uninetntional cues about how participants are expected to behave that might influence the behaviour of participants.
How can experimenter expectancies lead to experimenter effects?
Experimenter expectancies might cause researchers to bias their observations or lead them to produce unintended demand characteristics.
