Exam 1 Flashcards
(73 cards)
1
Q
Methods of knowing
A
Ways in which a person can know things or discover answers to questions
2
Q
Method of tenacity
A
“It’s true because I always believed it”
- Beliefs held despite lack of supporting evidence or contrary evidence
ex: clichés, stereotypes, superstitions
3
Q
Method of Intuition
A
“I believe it because it feels right; my instinct tells me it’s right”
- Hunches/ gut feelings
- difficult to separate accurate from inaccurate knowledge
4
Q
Method of authority
A
“I believe it because an expert tells me to believe it”
-reliance on physicians, lawyers, scientists, professors
5
Q
Method of faith
A
Also can be Method of Authority. Unquestioned trust in important figures -Authority may be legit, but not always accurate *questionable credentials *authorities can be biased *authority opinion may be biased
6
Q
The Rational Method (rationalism)
A
Seeking answers by logical reasoning
-All 3 year old children are afraid of the dark
-Amy is a 3-year-old girl
-Therefore, Amy is afraid of the dark
Can be problematic if premises are inaccurate or relevant premises aren’t included
7
Q
Premise statements
A
describe facts or assumptions that are presumed to be true
8
Q
argument
A
a set of premise statements that are logically combined to yield a conclusion
9
Q
The Empirical Method (empiricism)
A
“I won’t believe it unless I see it”
Use of direct sensory experience or observation to obtain knowledge
Can be useful but taken to extremes, misinterpreted, or bias
10
Q
The Scientific Method
A
Formulating specific questions and then systematically finding answers through data
- hypothesis generation
- study design
- data collection
11
Q
Steps in Scientific Method
A
- Observe behavior or read existing literature:Identify what you want to understand
- Form a tentative answer or explanation (hypothesis)
- Develop a specific hypothesis/testable prediction
- Design a study and collect data that allow you to evaluate the prediction
- Use observations to refine and rethink
12
Q
variables
A
A characteristic that changes and/or has different values for different individuals
13
Q
Induction
A
Involves reaching a general conclusion based on a few specific examples. Generalization
^^^^^(FEW to ALL)^^^^^
ex: I ate three green apples and all were sour. Therefore, all green apples are sour.
14
Q
Deduction
A
Going from a general theory to specific claims
(ALL to FEW)
ex: All green apples are sour. Therefore, if I eat a green apple it will be sour
15
Q
Good scientific hypothesis (LTRW)
A
- Logical: founded on established theories, previous research
- Testable: must be possible to observe and measure all variables involved
- Refutable: must be possible to obtain results contrary to prediction
- Worded positively: worded in terms of existence,
16
Q
Nature of Science
A
- Empirical: observations are systematic that they are performed under a specified set of conditions
- Public: makes observations available for evaluation by others
- Objective: the observations are structured so the researcher’s biases & beliefs do not influence the outcome of the study
17
Q
Sources of topics for research
A
- Personal Interests & Curiosities
- Casual observation
- Practical problems/questions
- Vague & fleeting thoughts/ flashes of inspiration
- Reading reports of others’ observations
- Behavioral Theories
18
Q
PsychInfo
A
- tool for conducting literature search
1. Finding limiting conditions
2. Try to explain conflicting findings across 2 or more articles
3. Look at “limitations” or “future directions” sections of articles - use advanced search
- thesaurus to refine
- title, abstract, intro, keywords,author names
19
Q
Primary sources
A
A firsthand report of observations or research results written by the individual(s) who actually conducted the research and made the observations
20
Q
Secondary Sources
A
A description or summary of another person’s work. Written by someone who did not participate in the research or observations being discussed
21
Q
Sections of a research article
A
- Introduction: literature review, research ?, hypothesis, outline, prediction
- Method: participants/ subjects, procedures
- Results: findings, stats, figures &tables
- Discussion: conclussions, applications, ideas
- References: bibliographic info
22
Q
Suggestions for Future Research
A
Look for them as explicit statements in the journal articles you already have.
Can design a study that fixes the problems that a researcher has already worked on
23
Q
Extend an existing study
A
Examining and questioning each element of an existing study can be effective for creating new research idea.
24
Q
Combine/ contrast existing
A
Can combine two existing results to create a new research idea.
Constantly developing and growing as new studies spring from past results
25
Applied research
Intended to answer practical questions or solve practical problems
26
Basic research
Research studies intended to answer theoretical questions or gather knowledge simply for the sake of new knowledge
27
Constructs
Hypothetical attributes or mechanisms that help explain and predict behavior in a theory
-self esteem
28
Operational definition
A procedure for measuring and defining a construct
| -external, observable behavior & uses the resulting measurements as a definition & measurement of hypothetical construct
29
Face validity
"Does it look right?"
| Least scientific validity, concerns superficial appearance, or face value, of a measurement procedure.
30
Concurrent Validity
"Does the measure correlate with an established measure of the construct?"
Demonstrated when scores obtained from a new measure are directly related to scores obtained from a more established measure of the same variable.
31
Predictive validity
"Does the measure predict a behavior or outcome of theoretical interest?"
Demonstrated when scores obtained from a measure accurately predict behavior according to a theory
32
Convergent validity
"Do 2 different methods of measuring the same construct relate to eachother?"
Validity demonstrated by a strong relationship between the scores obtained from 2 different methods of measuring the same construct.
33
Divergent validity
"Is measure distinct from other (related) measures?"
Validity demonstrated by using 2 different methods to measure 2 different constructs. Convergent valid.. must be shown for each of the 2 constructs. There should be little or no relationship between the scores for 2 different constructs when measured by the same method.
34
Validity of measurement (FCPCD)
```
Face
Concurrent
Predictive
Convergent
Divergent
```
35
Construct validity
Scores obtained from measure behave like the variable itself, it takes many studies to establish construct validity
-Based on many research studies & grows gradually as each new study contributes more evidence
36
Reliability
The stability or consistency of the measurement
37
Types of reliability (TII)
- Test-retest reliability: Does instrument yield consistent results in the same people across administrators?
- Internal reliability: Do individual items in the measurement instrument correlate highly? (We want high correlation)
-Inter-rater reliability: Do observers / scorers agree on measurement? (relevant for measures that require observations & coders-- observers count "aggressive" acts on playground)
38
Scales of Measurement
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
39
Nominal scales
categories; indicate *Qualitative* differences in the variable
ex: sex, race, college major
40
Ordinal Scales
Variable levels reflect sequential order
-levels indicate differences in quantity, but not degree of difference
ex: rankings 1st - 3rd place, socioeconomic class(lower,middle, upper), amount of stress(small,medium,large)
41
Interval scales
Reflect sequential order, but all levels are the same size
- difference between #'s on scale is meaningful
ex: thermometers, age
42
Ratio scales
Similar to interval scales, but have "true" zero point
-allows comparison of levels in terms of ratios
ex: height, weight, test scores, # of piercings, minutes
43
Modalities of measurement
- Self-report: Questionnaires, responses to direct question
- Physiological: measure "threat" using GSR; blood pressure, measure attention using MRI, measure sexual arousal using penile plethysmograph
- Behavioral: measure aggression by counting behaviors, intelligence via test performance, reaction time
44
Basic categories of ethical responsibility
1. Responsibility to ensure the welfare & dignity of the individuals, both human and non human, who participate in their research studies
2. Responsibility to ensure that public reports of their research are accurate and honest
45
Historical highlights of treatment of human participants
- Nuremberg Code
- National Research Act
- Belmont Report
46
Nuremberg Code
Nazi war crimes resulted in Nuremberg trials (45-46)
-A set of 10 guidelines for the ethical treatment of human participants in research. Laid groundwork for current ethical standards for medical & psychological research
47
Nuremberg Code
- Voluntary informed consent
- Likelihood of some good results
- Based on prior research
- Avoidance of physical or physiological harm
- Benefits should outweigh risks
- Proper experience of researcher
- Right to withdraw consent
- Research must stop if harm is resulting
48
National Research Act
A set of regulations for protection of human participants in research, mandated by Congress in 1974.
49
The Belmont Report (1979)
Summarizes the basic ethical principles indentified by National Commission, used as the foundations of federal regulations for protecting human participants are based.
50
The Belmont Report: Principle 1
Beneficence: Research should maximize benefits & minimize possible harmful effects of participation. Risks - physical, psychological harm, loss of confidentiality.
Benefits - knowledge gained, education, insight
51
The Belmont Report: Principle 2
Autonomy(respect for persons): treat participants as capable of making delibrate decisions about whether to participate in research
- Must explain research
- Informed consent
- Threats = special pops (children), coercion, withholding information, deception.
52
The Belmont Report: Principle 3
Justice: fairness in risks and benefits of research
53
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
A committee that examines all proposed research with respect to its treatment of human participants. Approval must be obtained prior to conducting any research with human participants
54
Categories of risk
- No risk
- Minimal risk
- Greater than minimal risk
55
No Risk Research
Educational tests, anonymous surveys, aptitude tests, observations of non-sensitive public behaviors
-no informed consent needed
56
Minimal risk research
"Risks of harm are no greater than risks encountered in daily life or in routine physical or physiological tests"
-Require informed consent
57
Greater than minimal risk research
Physical stress, invasion of privacy, measure of sensitive information
- Full IRB review required
58
Ethical Issues & Scientific Integrity
- Fraud in science: explicit effort of a researcher to falsify or misrepresent data
- Error v. Fraud: Error is an honest mistake. Replication.
- Plagiarism: The representation of someone else's ideas or words as one's own, and it is unethical.
59
Population
The entire set of people/individuals of interest to a researcher
60
Sample
A set of people selected from the population.
* Goal is to generalize from sample to population*
- It's too expensive to use entire population
61
Representative sample
Sample with the same characteristics as population
62
Probability sampling methods
- Simple random
- Stratified random
- Proportionate stratified random
- Cluster
- The Gold Standard
- Difficult, time consuming to develop list of population
- Easiest with clearly defined pop
63
Probability Sampling
"Each person in a population has a specifiable probability of selection"
And random process is used to sample based on probabilities
64
Nonprobability Sampling
Sampling based on ease or availability
- Odds of selecting particular person not known
- Most college studies based on this
65
Simple random sampling
Each person in population has an equal chance & independent chance of being chosen
- Clearly Define population
- List all members of population
- Use random process to select individuals from list (coin flip, random # table, online random # generator)
- Pop = KU students
66
Stratified random sampling
Population divided into subgroups; equal-sized random samples selected from each subgroup
-after stratifying, use same approach as simple random sampling(ex. sex, race, minorities).
-guarantees all subgroups represented (problem-some groups small some groups big).
BUT every person does not have an = chance of being selected (small groups overrepresented)
67
Proportionate stratified random sampling
Population divided into subgroups; from each group, random samples selected in proportion to population
68
Cluster sampling
Randomly select clusters (pre-existing groups) from list of all clusters within a population
ex: schools within a district; classrooms within schools
69
RANDOM DOES NOT MEAN
- wandering around campus & picking random people
- using psych 104 students
- choosing a few random classes & talking to random people
70
Nonprobability sampling methods
- Convenience sampling
- Quota Sampling
- Most commonly used method in Psychology
71
Convenience sampling
Use easy-to-get sample
-Students walking near Wescoe
-Readers of a particular magazine
Biased but not representative.
72
Quota Sample
Identifying groups to be included; then establish quotas for individuals to be selected from each subgroup. (using convenience method)
Allows researcher to control composition, but probably biased.
73
Sample Size
- Law of large numbers: Larger the sample size, more likely the values obtained from sample will be similar to actual values for the population
- Margin of error is 3% under or over actual value
