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Psychology 3/4 > chap 1 key terms > Flashcards

chap 1 key terms Flashcards

1
Q

accuracy

A

o Accuracy- how close a measurement is to the ‘true value’; it cannot be a fixed number, but may be described as more or less accurate.

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2
Q

aim

A

o Aim- question/statement about what researcher intends to investigate; describes purpose of study

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3
Q

anecdote

A

o Anecdote- factual claim based only on personal observation, collected in a casual or non-systematic way.

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4
Q

beneficence

A

o Beneficence- maximising benefits minimising risk/harm during research.

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5
Q

between subject design

A

o Between subject designs- research design where participants are tested only once, usually within an experimental/control group, also called independent groups.

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6
Q

case study

A

o Case study- research investigation focusing on a particular person or event, which is studied in depth, usually involve direct observation and the gathering of qualitative data and provide insight into a particular psychological phenomenon.

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7
Q

conclusion

A

o Conclusion- statement that makes a judgement about the meaningfulness of the findings of the investigation; should answer the question posed in the aim.

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8
Q

confidentiality

A

o Confidentiality- participants rights to privacy and security of their personal information, including not being identifiable in the results.

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9
Q

confounding variable

A

o Confounding variable- a type of extraneous variable that ends up changing the DV in an unwanted way; this confounds the results as its impossible to determine the cause of the change in the DV; interfere with the internal validity of the study.

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10
Q

control group

A

o Control group- in a controlled experiment, the group of participants that is not exposed to the IV; it provides a comparison for the group hat is exposed to the treatment, so ideally, its members are matched to the members of the experimental group or other relevant variables.

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11
Q

controlled experiment

A

o Controlled experiment- type of research investigation where researcher manipulates one or more IV’s and then measures the effect on the DV; researcher attempts to control the influence of other variables that could also affect the DV; usually involves the comparison of outcomes for a control group and an experimental group.

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12
Q

controlled variable

A

o Controlled variable- an extraneous variable whose influence has been eliminated from an experiment so that it cant affect results; it has been controlled using a particular strategy.

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13
Q

convenience sampling

A

o Convenience sampling- a method for selecting participants; they are selected because they are readily available to the researcher.

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14
Q

correlation study

A

o Correlation study- a scientific investigation involving measuring variables in an uncontrolled setting to identify and understand any relationships that may exist between them.

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15
Q

data

A

o Data- the observed facts that constitute the results of an experiment.

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16
Q

debriefing

A

o Debriefing- at the end of a research study, participants are informed of the study’s true purpose, essential in studies where deception has been necessary; mistaken beliefs are corrected and information is provided about services to help with distress resulting from participation.

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17
Q

deception

A

o Deception- withholding information from participants about the true nature of and procedures used in a study; used in cases where giving participants the information beforehand might influence their responses and affect the internal validity of the study.

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18
Q

DV

A

o Dependent variable- the variable that is measured in an experiment; it is expected to change when exposed to the IV, represented in graphs on the y-axis.

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19
Q

descriptive statistics

A

o Descriptive statistics- statistics used to summarize and organise data; includes measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), the range and spread (standard deviation) of data, frequency graphs and tables.

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20
Q

ethical guidelines

A

o Ethical guidelines- considerations about how an investigation may affect human or non-human participants that must be taken into account before an investigation is carried out.

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21
Q

experimental group

A

o Experimental group- in a controlled experiment, the group of participants exposed to the IV.

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22
Q

external validity

A

o External validity- the extent to which the results of an investigation can be applied (or generalised) to people or situations beyond the sample.

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23
Q

extraneous variable

A

o Extraneous variable- any variable, other than the IV, that may change the results; researchers try to control extraneous variables before the research starts by thinking of what they could be and then taking steps to stop their affect.

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24
Q

fieldwork

A

o Fieldwork- a data-collecting technique where an animal or person is observed in their natural environment; there is no experimental control of variables, also known as naturalistic observation.

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25
Q

hypothesis

A

o Hypothesis- a testable prediction about the relationship between two variables; it is based on prior knowledge, so it is also considered to be an educated guess.

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26
Q

IV

A

o Independent variable- the variable systematically manipulated by the experimenter to gauge its effect on the DV; represented in graphs on the x axis.

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27
Q

informed consent

A

o Informed consent- before participating, the researcher must explain the nature and purpose of the experiment, the potential risks and the participants rights; participants then give their consent in writing should they wish to proceed.

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28
Q

integrity

A

o Integrity- when completing research, the commitment to searching for knowledge, the honest reporting of all sources of information and results (whether favourable or unfavourable) in ways that permit scrutiny and contribute to public knowledge and understanding.

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29
Q

internal validity

A

o Internal validity- refers to whether the study was carried out following scientific procedures; in particular, variables putting pressure on yourself to be perfect or fear of public speaking.

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30
Q

justice

A

o Justice- the moral obligation to ensure that there is fair consideration of competing claims; that there is no unfair burden on a particular group and that there is fair distribution and access to the benefits of an action.

31
Q

literature review

A

o Literature review- a method of scientific inquiry that involves collating, analysing and synthesising the existing scientific literature on a specific topic, with the goal of determining the ‘state of the art’ in the field, to provide the background to a new investigation, and/or to determine the extent of current consensus of views on the topic, articulate the other viewpoints and recommend directions for future research in the field.

32
Q

logbook

A

o Logbook- a complete, permanent record of how an experiment or research project was conducted; it shows what was done at every step along the way.

33
Q

mean

A

o Mean- a measure of central tendency that gives the numerical average of all the scores in a data set; calculated by adding all the scores in a data set, then dividing the total by the number of scores in the set.

34
Q

measure of central tendency

A

o Measure of central tendency- a measure of tendency for a majority of scores to fall in the mid-range of possible values.

35
Q

median

A

o Median- a measure of tendency, the middle score in a data set; calculated by arranging scores in a data set from the highest to lowest and selecting the middle score.

36
Q

mixed design

A

o Mixed design- a research design that includes both within and between subjects conditions as IV’s.

37
Q

mode

A

o Mode- a measure of central tendency, it’s the most frequently occurring score in a data set.

38
Q

non-maleficence

A

o Non-maleficence- a research ethic meaning to avoid causing harm; when it is not avoidable, the harm resulting from any course of action should be disproportionate to the benefits from that course of action.

39
Q

non-scientific ideas

A

o Non-scientific ideas- knowledge that has not been obtained through the use of the scientific method.

40
Q

opinion

A

o Opinion- a statement describing a personal belief or thought that cannot be tested (or hasn’t been tested) and is unsupported by evidence (unless its provided by an expert who uses evidence to support it).

41
Q

order effect

A

o Order effect- where prior knowledge of a task or situation influences a participants performance, which in turn influences the results of the experiment (also known as the practice effect).

42
Q

outlier

A

o Outlier- data readings that lie a long way from other results; they may occur by chance or be the result of measurement and recording errors.

43
Q

population

A

o Population- the entire group of people that is of interest to a researcher, from which a sample will been drawn.

44
Q

precision

A

o Precision- how close a set of measurements are to one another if conditions aren’t changed; precise measurements are repeatable and reproducible.

45
Q

primary data

A

o Primary data- data generated in a study by researcher.

46
Q

psychological construct

A

o Psychological construct- a concept used in psychology to describe a mental process, psychological state or trait; they are used to describe something that is believed to exist, because we can measure its effects, but we cannot directly observe or measure it.

47
Q

psychological model

A

o Psychological model- a construct built from current theoretical understandings to make theory more concrete and testable; models can have limitations, including incorrect assumptions or oversimplifications.

48
Q

psychological theory

A

o Psychological theory- an organised set of interrelated psychological constructs, mechanisms and processes that describes and/or explains a psychological system, process or experience.

49
Q

qualitative data

A

o Qualitative data- non-numerical data that describes the attitudes, behaviours or experiences of participants, often collected using questionnaires or interviews and includes descriptions of feelings and experiences.

50
Q

quantitative data

A

o Quantitative data- data that is numerical, collected through systematic and controlled procedures and can be graphed and statistically analysed.

51
Q

random allocation

A

o Random allocation- a procedure for assigning participants to either the experimental group or control group in an experiment, ensuring that all participants have an equal chance of being allocated to either group.

52
Q

random error

A

o Random error- unpredictable variations that are present in all measurements (except counting) and that result in a spread of readings; they affect the precision of a measurement.

53
Q

random sampling

A

o Random sampling- a sampling technique that uses chance to ensure that every member of a population of interest has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study.

54
Q

repeatability

A

o Repeatability- a procedure is considered repeatable if successive measurements that are carried out in the same way (using the same procedure, observer, equipment and location) produce the same or very similar results.

55
Q

representative sample

A

o Representative sample- a randomly selected group that accurately reflects the characteristics of a larger population from which it is drawn; the group becomes the participants in the study.

56
Q

reproducability

A

o Reproducibility- the closeness of the agreement between measurements of the same quantity that have been taken under different conditions; when findings aren’t reproducible, they may lack credibility.

57
Q

respect

A

o Respect- psychologists must conduct themselves showing respect for other people through their actions and language.

58
Q

risk assessment

A

o Risk-assessment- procedure to identify potential risks and hazards associated with an experiment.

59
Q

sample

A

o Sample- a group of participants selected to participate in a study, taken from a population of research interest.

60
Q

sample size

A

o Sample size- the number of participants in a study.

61
Q

sampling

A

o Sampling- the process of selecting participants from a population of interest; sampling techniques can be random, stratified or a sample of convenience.

62
Q

secondary data

A

o Secondary data- data that existed before a current research project was conducted and was collected by someone else; it may have been statistically summarised.

63
Q

standard deviation

A

o Standard deviation- a statistical measure representing how far each value in a set of data set is from the mean.

64
Q

stratified sampling

A

o Stratified sampling- a sampling technique used to ensure that a sample contains the same proportions from each nominated strata that exist in the population.

65
Q

systematic error

A

o Systematic error- an error that causes readings to differ in the same way each time a measurement is made, so that all the readings are shifted in one direction (up or down) from the true value; systematic errors affect the accuracy of a measurement.

66
Q

true value

A

o True value- the value (or range of values) that would be found if the quantity could be measured without error.

67
Q

uncertainty

A

o Uncertainty- potential sources of variation cause uncertainty in all measurements; the level of uncertainty in a measurement influences all interferences and conclusions that are based on that measurement.

68
Q

validity

A

o Validity- whether a questionnaire or scale actually measures what its supposed to measure; an investigation has internal validity when the study produces results that can be interpreted meaningfully in relation to the aims of the study; interpreted meaningfully in relation to the aims of the study; an investigation has external validity when the results can be meaningfully generalised from the sample to the population.

69
Q

variability

A

o Variability- a single number that tells us the degree to which scores in a distribution are spread out or clustered together.

70
Q

variable

A

o Variable- any condition that can have a range of values; can be manipulated or measured in an investigation.

71
Q

voluntary participation

A

o Voluntary participation- when participants willingly agree to take part in an experiment free from pressure or fear of negative consequences, after understanding what is required of them.

72
Q

withdrawal rights

A

o Withdrawal rights- participants are entitled to leave an experiment for any reason at any stage without any negative consequences; participants are informed of the right to withdraw before agreeing to participate.

73
Q

within-subject design

A

o Within-subject design- a research design where the same group of participants makes up both the experimental and control groups, also known as repeated measures.  

Psychology 3/4 (22 decks)

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