Methodology & Statistics

Question 1

scientific method

Answer 1

system of gathering data so that bias and error in measurement are reduced

Question 2

hypothesis

Answer 2

tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations

Question 3

replication in research

Answer 3

repetition of a study or experiment to see if the same results will be obtained in an effort to demonstrate reliability of results

Question 4

What are the 5 steps of the scientific method?

Answer 4

1) Perceiving the question, 2) Forming a hypothesis, 3) Testing the hypothesis, 4) Drawing conclusions, 5) Reporting your results

Question 5

observer effect

Answer 5

tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed

Question 6

participant observation

Answer 6

a naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a participant in the group being observed

Question 7

observer bias

Answer 7

tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

Question 8

case study

Answer 8

study of one individual in great detail

Question 9

representative sample

Answer 9

randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects

Question 10

population

Answer 10

the entire group of people or animals in which the researcher is interested

Question 11

correlation

Answer 11

a measure of the relationship between two variables

Question 12

correlation coefficient

Answer 12

a number derived from the formula for measuring a correlation and indicating the strength and direction of a correlation

Question 13

experiment

Answer 13

a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships

Question 14

operational definition

Answer 14

definition of a variable of interest that allows it to be directly measured

Question 15

independent variable

Answer 15

variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter

Question 16

dependent variable

Answer 16

variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the experiment

Question 17

experimental group

Answer 17

subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable

Question 18

control group

Answer 18

subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment

Question 19

random assignment

Answer 19

process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control group randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group

Question 20

placebo effect

Answer 20

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Question 21

experimenter effect

Answer 21

tendency of the experimenter’s expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study

Question 22

single-blind study

Answer 22

study in which the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group

Question 23

double-blind study

Answer 23

study in which neither the experimenter nor the subjects know if the subjects are in the experimental or control group

Question 24

critical thinking

Answer 24

making reasoned judgments about claims

Question 25

descriptive statistics

Answer 25

a way of organizing numbers and summarizing them so that patterns can be determined

Question 26

inferential statistics

Answer 26

statistical analysis of two or more sets of numerical data to reduce the possibility of error in measurement and to determine if the differences between the data sets are greater than chance variation would predict

Question 27

statistic

Answer 27

a measure of central tendency or variability computed from a sample

Question 28

sample

Answer 28

group of subjects selected from a larger population of subjects, usually selected randomly

Question 29

parameter

Answer 29

a number representing some measure of central tendency or variability within a population

Question 30

statistics

Answer 30

branch of mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretations of numerical data

Question 31

frequency distribution

Answer 31

a table or graph that shows how often different numbers or scores appear in a particular set of scores

Question 32

histogram

Answer 32

a bar graph showing a frequency distribution

Question 33

polygon

Answer 33

line graph showing a frequency distribution

Question 34

normal curve

Answer 34

a special frequency polygon in which the scores are symmetrically distributed around the mean, and the mean, median, and mode are all located on the same point on the curve, with scores decreasing as the curve extends from the mean

Question 35

bell curve

Answer 35

alternate name for the normal curve, which is said to be shaped like a ball

Question 36

skewed distribution

Answer 36

frequency distribution in which most of the scores fall to one side or the other of the distribution

Question 37

negatively skewed

Answer 37

a distribution of scores in which scores are concentrated in the high end of the distribution

Question 38

positively skewed

Answer 38

a distribution of scores in which scores are concentrated in the low end of the distribution

Question 39

bimodal distribution

Answer 39

frequency distribution in which there are two high points rather than one

Question 40

measure of central tendency

Answer 40

numbers that best represent the most typical score of a frequency distribution

Question 41

mean

Answer 41

the arithmetic average of a distribution of numbers

Question 42

median

Answer 42

the middle score in an ordered distribution of scores, or the mean of the two middle numbers; the 50th percentile

Question 43

mode

Answer 43

the most frequent score in a distribution of scores

Question 44

bimodal

Answer 44

condition in which a distribution has two modes

Question 45

measures of variability

Answer 45

measurement of the degree of differences within a distribution or how the scores are spread out

Question 46

range

Answer 46

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Question 47

standard deviation

Answer 47

the square root of the average squared deviation from the mean of scores in a distribution; a measure of variability

Question 48

statistically significant

Answer 48

referring to differences in data sets that are larger than chance variation would predict

Question 49

t-test

Answer 49

type of inferential statistical analysis typically used when two means are compared to see if they are significantly different

Question 50

significant difference

Answer 50

a difference between goups of numerical data that is considered large enough to be due to factors other than chance variation

Question 51

correlation coefficient

Answer 51

a number that represents the strength and direction of a relationship existing between two variables