All general terms Flashcards
(149 cards)
1
Q
What is ontology?
A
The branch of philosophy that asks about the nature of reality and what exists.
2
Q
What is epistemology?
A
The branch of philosophy that asks what knowledge is and how we can obtain it.
3
Q
Name the three parts that make up a research paradigm.
A
Ontology, epistemology, and methodology.
4
Q
Define a research paradigm.
A
A shared set of beliefs about how scientific problems should be understood and studied.
5
Q
List the four classic canons of science.
A
Determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and testability.
6
Q
What does determinism assert?
A
All events have systematic, meaningful causes.
7
Q
What does empiricism emphasise?
A
Knowledge comes from systematic observation and measurement.
8
Q
What is parsimony (Occam’s Razor)?
A
The preference for the simplest adequate explanation.
9
Q
What does testability require of a theory?
A
It must make predictions that could be confirmed or falsified.
10
Q
What is positivist epistemology?
A
The view that only phenomena verifiable by science or logic count as knowledge.
11
Q
What is realist ontology?
A
The belief that reality exists independently of human minds.
12
Q
Give two key features of quantitative research.
A
Use of numerical data and objective measurement.
13
Q
Why do scientists say we never truly “prove” anything?
A
Findings offer only tentative support that can be overturned by new evidence.
14
Q
What is the hypothetico-deductive method?
A
Developing hypotheses from theory, then testing them to try to falsify them.
15
Q
What is inductive reasoning?
A
Building general ideas from specific observations (bottom-up).
16
Q
What is deductive reasoning?
A
Testing specific predictions derived from general theory (top-down).
17
Q
Define an operational definition.
A
A specific procedure used to measure or manipulate a construct.
18
Q
Give three hallmarks of a good theory.
A
Testable, parsimonious, and able to predict new findings.
19
Q
What is the major goal of psychological research?
A
To predict and explain behaviour.
20
Q
State one advantage of naturalistic observation.
A
It captures behaviour in its real-world context.
21
Q
State one disadvantage of naturalistic observation.
A
Participant awareness can alter behaviour (reactivity).
22
Q
What distinguishes a field study from a lab study?
A
Field studies occur in natural settings; lab studies in controlled settings.
23
Q
What is the “third variable” problem?
A
A hidden variable causes both variables in a correlation.
24
Q
What is the direction-of-causality problem?
A
Correlations cannot show which variable influences the other.
25
Define the experimental approach.
Systematically manipulating IVs to examine their effect on DVs under control.
26
What is an independent variable (IV)?
The variable deliberately manipulated by the experimenter.
27
What is a dependent variable (DV)?
The outcome measured to see the IV’s effect.
28
Why use random assignment?
To equalise participant characteristics across conditions.
29
What is a confounding variable?
An extraneous variable that varies with the IV and could explain the DV.
30
Give an example of a person confound.
Pre-existing group differences such as age or personality.
31
What is a procedural confound?
Accidentally manipulating another factor along with the IV.
32
What is an operational confound?
Using a measure that taps an unintended construct.
33
Why include a control group?
To compare outcomes when the key treatment is absent.
34
What is a post-test-only design?
DV measured once after the IV; no pre-test.
35
What is a pre-test/post-test design?
DV measured before and after the IV manipulation.
36
Purpose of the Solomon four-group design?
To check whether pre-testing interacts with the treatment.
37
What is a matched-pairs design?
Participants paired on a variable, then split across conditions.
38
What is a repeated-measures design?
The same participants experience every level of the IV.
39
What are order effects?
Practice, fatigue, or carry-over caused by sequence of conditions.
40
How are order effects controlled?
Through counterbalancing the sequence across participants.
41
What is an asymmetrical order effect?
AB produces a different effect than BA.
42
How is a 2 × 3 factorial design interpreted?
Two IVs: one with 2 levels, one with 3 levels.
43
What is a main effect?
The overall impact of one IV averaged across levels of the other IV.
44
What is an interaction effect?
The effect of one IV depends on the level of another IV.
45
Define a quasi-experiment.
Study with no random assignment where groups are pre-existing.
46
What is an interrupted time-series design?
Repeated measures before and after a naturally occurring event.
47
What is a cross-sectional design?
Comparing different age cohorts at one time point.
48
What is a longitudinal design?
Following the same participants over multiple time points.
49
What is a cohort-sequential design?
Tracking several cohorts longitudinally and comparing them.
50
Describe a single-N design.
Intensive study of one (or very few) participants across time.
51
What is an A-B single-case design?
Baseline (A) followed by treatment phase (B).
52
Define reliability.
The consistency or stability of a measure.
53
Define validity.
The extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to.
54
What is internal validity?
Confidence that IV manipulation, not confounds, caused the DV.
55
What is external validity?
The degree to which findings generalise beyond the study.
56
What is construct validity?
How well operational definitions capture the intended construct.
57
What is statistical conclusion validity?
Whether appropriate statistics support the stated conclusions.
58
What is test-retest reliability?
Correlation between scores on two administrations of the same test.
59
What is inter-observer reliability?
Agreement between independent raters.
60
What is split-half reliability?
Correlation between two halves of the same test.
61
Acceptable Cronbach’s alpha for a new scale?
Usually ≥ 0.70 is considered acceptable.
62
What is content validity?
The measure covers all relevant facets of the construct.
63
What is convergent validity?
High correlation with other measures of the same construct.
64
What is discriminant validity?
Low correlation with measures of different constructs.
65
What is sampling bias?
Systematic over- or under-representation of population segments.
66
Describe random sampling.
Every population member has an equal chance of selection.
67
What is stratified sampling?
Population divided into strata and sampled proportionally.
68
What is cluster sampling?
Randomly selecting naturally occurring groups, then sampling within.
69
What is convenience sampling?
Using whoever is readily available.
70
What is snowball sampling?
Existing participants refer others who fit criteria.
71
One trait linked to volunteer bias?
Higher openness to experience.
72
Define survey research.
Systematic self-report measurement of attitudes or behaviours.
73
What is an open-ended question?
Respondent answers freely in their own words.
74
What is a closed-ended question?
Respondent chooses from predefined options.
75
How many points does a typical Likert scale have?
Five or seven equally spaced points.
76
What is a semantic differential scale?
Rating along a line between bipolar adjectives.
77
Why are extreme p-values problematic for item difficulty?
Items that almost everyone gets right or wrong add little information.
78
What does item discrimination measure?
How well an item distinguishes high vs low scorers on the test.
79
What is an item-total correlation?
Correlation between one item and the sum of all items.
80
Main purpose of pilot testing a survey?
Detect problems and refine items before the main study.
81
What is an attention-check item?
A question that verifies the participant is paying attention.
82
Define social desirability bias.
Tendency to answer in a manner viewed favourably by others.
83
What is acquiescence bias?
Tendency to agree with statements regardless of content.
84
What is the purpose of a power calculation?
Determine the sample size needed to detect an effect.
85
Why is GDPR relevant to researchers?
It governs how personal data must be handled and protected.
86
What is pre-registration?
Publicly specifying hypotheses and analysis plans before data collection.
87
Give one benefit of pre-registration.
Reduces risk of undisclosed analytic flexibility (“p-hacking”).
88
What is the primary goal of qualitative research?
To understand meaning and experience in context.
89
What does phenomenology study?
The lived, subjective experience of individuals.
90
Core idea of social constructionism?
Reality is co-created through social and linguistic processes.
91
Purpose of discourse analysis (DA)?
To examine how language constructs versions of reality.
92
What is the aim of IPA?
To explore how people make sense of their personal and social world.
93
How many phases are in Braun & Clarke’s thematic analysis?
Six sequential phases.
94
Define reflexivity.
Researchers’ critical self-reflection on their role in the research.
95
What is personal reflexivity?
Reflecting on how one’s characteristics influence the study.
96
What is epistemological reflexivity?
Reflecting on how methodological assumptions shape findings.
97
What does credibility mean in qual research?
Trustworthiness and plausibility of interpretations.
98
What is an idiographic approach?
Focused study of individuals rather than groups.
99
What is the “double hermeneutic” in IPA?
Researcher makes sense of the participant making sense of experience.
100
What does discursive psychology examine?
How people use language to perform social actions.
101
What is Foucauldian discourse analysis concerned with?
Power relations and subject positions created by discourse.
102
Narrative analysis focuses on what?
How people construct meaning through the stories they tell.
103
Why use mixed-methods research?
To integrate numeric trends with rich contextual insights.
104
Distinguish a research question from a hypothesis.
RQ asks; hypothesis predicts a specific relationship or difference.
105
Why is instrument validity crucial?
Invalid tools produce meaningless results.
106
Cronbach’s alpha increases when you do what?
Add more consistently inter-correlated items.
107
What is face validity?
The test appears (on its face) to measure the construct.
108
Define criterion validity.
Correlation of a measure with an external standard.
109
What is concurrent validity?
Correlation with a criterion measured at the same time.
110
What is predictive validity?
Measure accurately forecasts future outcomes.
111
Guideline for item pool size during scale design?
Create 2–3 times as many items as you’ll keep.
112
What is a dichotomous item?
Question with two response options (e.g., yes/no).
113
What is a polytomous item?
Question with three or more ordered response options.
114
Why include reverse-scored items?
To detect acquiescence and keep attention.
115
Key feature of a semi-structured interview?
Flexible open questions with a guiding schedule.
116
Ideal size for a focus group?
About six to eight participants.
117
One advantage of the diary method.
Captures experiences close in time to when they occur.
118
Give one visual data-collection method.
Participant photo-elicitation.
119
What is data saturation?
Point at which no new themes emerge from additional data.
120
What is coding in thematic analysis?
Labeling chunks of data that relate to the research question.
121
Define a theme.
A patterned meaning or idea found across the data set.
122
What is a master theme in IPA?
A superordinate concept capturing several related sub-themes.
123
What is internal consistency?
Degree to which test items measure the same construct.
124
Relationship between reliability and validity?
A test must be reliable to be valid, but reliability alone isn’t enough.
125
What is attrition (mortality) threat?
Differential participant dropout across conditions.
126
What is maturation threat?
Changes in participants over time unrelated to the IV.
127
What is a history threat?
External events occurring during the study that affect outcomes.
128
What is regression to the mean?
Extreme scores tend to move toward the average on retesting.
129
What is instrumentation threat?
Changes in measurement tools or observers during the study.
130
What is testing threat?
Pre-test influences post-test scores.
131
What is selection bias threat?
Group differences exist before the IV manipulation.
132
Contrast random error and systematic error.
Random error varies unsystematically; systematic error biases results.
133
When is the median preferred over the mean?
In skewed distributions.
134
Why is the median robust to outliers?
It depends only on order, not magnitude of extreme values.
135
Purpose of inferential statistics.
To draw conclusions about populations from sample data.
136
Define a Type I error.
Incorrectly rejecting a true null hypothesis (false positive).
137
Define a Type II error.
Failing to reject a false null hypothesis (false negative).
138
What is a p-value?
Probability of observing data as extreme as yours if H₀ is true.
139
Why report effect size?
It conveys the practical magnitude of findings.
140
What is a confidence interval?
Range likely to contain the population parameter with a given probability.
141
Define standard deviation.
Average amount scores deviate from the mean.
142
What is NHST?
Null-hypothesis significance testing comparing data to chance expectations.
143
How does sample size affect power?
Larger samples generally increase statistical power.
144
What is informed consent?
Participants’ voluntary agreement based on full information.
145
Why is debriefing important?
It explains study purpose and addresses any distress.
146
Confidentiality vs anonymity—difference?
Confidentiality protects data; anonymity means identities aren’t recorded.
147
What are “positive ethics”?
Designing studies that actively benefit participants or society.
148
What is a research impact statement?
Explanation of who may benefit from the study’s findings.
149
What is meant by the “golden thread” in a proposal?
Clear alignment between aims, questions, methods, and analysis.
