What is a hypothesis?
A formal statement of the expected relationship between two variables
What are variables?
A variable is anything that can take on different values.
* In research, variables are what we measure, manipulate, or observe.Measures that can take on two or more variables
What is an independent variable?
What is a dependent variable?
Independent: Variable that predicts or is the cause of variation in a dependent variable
Dependent: Variable that is expected to vary as a result of changes to the independent variable
What is reliability?
What is validity?
Reliability: An index of the consistency of a research subject’s responses
Validity: An index of the extent to which a measure truly reflects subject’s responses
What is Evidence Based Management?
Using scientific research and systematic evidence to guide managerial practices instead of relying on tradition, intuition, or outdated methods.
What are the steps of the scientific method in OB?
- Theory
2. Hypotheses
3. Data collection
4. Verification
What is a theory?
An explanation of why, how, and when variables are related
What makes a good measure of a variable?
- Validity: truly measures what it is supposed to measure.
- Reliability: produces consistent results over time.
Does high reliability guarantee validity?
No — a measure can be consistent (reliable) but not measure the right thing (invalid).
What are the three main OB research techniques?
- Observational → broad, loosely controlled, no causality.
- Correlational → fairly controlled, measures relationships, no causality.
- Experimental → rigorously controlled, random assignment, establishes causality.
Why does “correlation not equal causation”?
Because a third variable may explain the relationship, or the direction of cause-effect may be reversed.
What is internal validity?
The degree to which a study confidently shows that IV causes changes in DV.
What is external validity?
The degree to which study results can be generalized to other people and settings.
What is the trade-off between internal and external validity?
Higher internal validity usually means lower external validity, and vice versa.
What ethical issues must OB researchers consider?
Informed consent, confidentiality, voluntary participation, and avoiding harm to participants.
Which research technique best establishes causality?
Experimental research (because of random assignment and control of variables).
