Test #1 Terms Flashcards
Goals of scientific research
describe, predict, determine cause, and understand
What to expect in a research article
1) Abstract: summary of the research report
2) Introduction: researcher outlines problem, past research, states hypothesis
3) Method: exactly how study will be conducted, details needed for replication, participant description, procedure
4) Results: findings
5) Discussion
6) References
Finding journal articles
Psychinfo: psychology related fields
Web of science: scientific articles
Other library databases: if you don’t have access to these
Internet: most widely available information source
Two basic research designs
1) non-experimental method: relationships are studied by observing variables and seeing if there is a correlation between them
2) Experimental method: direct manipulation and control of variables
•The variables do not vary together (one is introduced to see if it impacts the other
4 most common relationships found in research
1) Positive linear relationship: increases in one variable are accompanied by increases in the second variable
2) Negative linear relationship: increases in one variable are accompanied by decreases in the second variable
3) Curvilinear relationship: increases in one variable are accompanied by increases and decreases in the second variable (inverted U)
4) No relationship: flat line
Correlation coefficient
Mediating variable
CC: a numerical index of the strength of the relationship among variables
MV: a psychological process that occurs between two variables, helping explain the relationship between them
•A certain behaviour can provide insight into how variables relate to each other
Behavioural vs Physiological measure
BML: direct observation of behaviours
PM: recording of response of the body
Additional considerations when measuring variables
1) sensitivity: particularly important when using behavioural measures as tasks vary in difficulty from person to person, resulting in a ceiling effect
•CE: the IV might appear to have no effect on the DV because participants quickly reach max performance (too easy)
•Floor effect: opposite (task is too difficult)
2) Multiple measures: multiple measures to assess the same variable (order may become an issue)
3) Cost
Pilot study
The researcher does a trial run with a small number of participants from the same population (must have ethical support)
•Good for finding issues in your study