Research And Program Evaluation Flashcards

1
Q

What is the purpose of applied research?

A

Its conducted to advance our knowledge of how theories, skills and techniques can be used in terms of pratical application

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the most valuable type of research?

A

Experiments aimed to discover cause and effect relationships

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Whats a quasi-experiment?

A

Its when the researcher uses preexisting groups and the IV cannot be altered (ex: gender, ethnicity). Can determine cause/effect.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is internal validity?

A

Refers to whether the DVs were truly influenced by the experimental IVs or whether other factors had an impact

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Whats external validity?

A

Whether or not the experimental results can be generalized to large populations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are some threats to internal validity?

A
  • Maturation of subjects (psychological and physical changes including fatigue)
  • Instruments used to measure bx
  • Mortality (subjects withdrawing)
  • Statistical regression
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What does it mean when experiments emphasize parisomy?

A

Interpreting the results in the simplest way

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Occams Razor suggests that experimenters…

A

Interpret the results in the simplest manner

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Parisomy is equivalent to the word…

A

Parsimony

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is an “ex post facto study?”

A

Meaning “after the fact”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Whats an IV?

A

The variable the experimenter manipulates, controls, alters, or wishes to experiment with

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Whats a DV?

A

Expresses the outcome or data in regards to factors you wish to measure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is a control group?

A

They do not recieve the IV. Only the experimental group recieves the IV.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

If you cannot randomly assign subjects, what type of experiment would it be?

A

Quasi-experiments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

How many ppl do you need for a true experiment?

A

At least 30

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Who’s work is closely related to hypothesis testing?

A

R.A. Fisher

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Whats a null hypothesis?

A

Asserts there will not be a significant difference between the experimental group and control group (samples will stay the same)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

When does a null hypothesis take place?

A

When an IV does not affect the DV

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Whats an experimental hypothesis?

A

Suggests that a difference will be evident between the control and experimental group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Whats an affirmative hypothesis?

A

Asserts that the IV has indeed caused a change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Whats a percentile rank?

A

Its a descriptive stat that explains what percentage of the cases fell below a certain level

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Whats a between subjects design?

A

When theres different subjects for each condition. Each subject recieves only one value of the IV.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Whats a within-subject design?

A

When the same subjects are employed (also referred to as repeated measures). 2 or more values/levels are administered to each subject

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What does the letter P refer to in relation to a test of significance?

A

Probability/ level of significance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Whats a parameter?

A

Summarizes the characteristics of a population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Whats ethnographic research?

A

Involves research that is collected via interviews, observations and inspection of documente

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What is the accepted probability level in social sciences?

A

.05 or less

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Whats another way to refer to the level of significance?

A

Confidence level

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Whats a type I error?

A

Alpha

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Whats a type II error?

A

Beta

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

When does the type I (alpha error) occur?

A

When the researcher rejects the null hypothesis when its true

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Whats a type II (beta) error?

A

When the researcher accepts the null when its false

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

What happens when you lower the statistical level (ex: .05 to .01)

A

Lowers Type I errors but raises the chance of committing type II errors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

How do you test for significant differences between groups?

A

t Tests

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

How do you test for significance with more than 2 groups?

A

ANOVAs. They test when theres more than one level of the single IV.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Whats an ANCOVA?

A

Tests 2 or more groups while controlling for extraneous variables

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

What test do you use for two IVs?

A

Two way ANOVA

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

What table do you look at for ANOVAs?

A

Consult a table for F values

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

Whats a correlation coefficient?

A

Statistic that indicated the degree or magnitude of the relationship between 2 variables

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

Whats the range for correlation coefficients?

A

0.00 (no relationship) to 1.0 or -1.0

44
Q

Whats a negative correlation coefficient?

A

Means that as one variable goes up, the other goes down

45
Q

Whats a biserial correlation?

A

Indicates that one variable is continuous while the other is dichotomous

46
Q

When is the term bivariate utilized?

A

When correlational data describe the nature of 2 variables

47
Q

What does N stand for?

A

Number of people being studied

48
Q

Whats a single blind study?

A

When participants dont know which group they are in, but the experimenter does

49
Q

Whats a double blind study?

A

Both parties are unaware of groups and hypothesis

50
Q

What are experimenter effects?

A

When the experimenter unconsciously communicates his or her intent or expectations to the subjects

51
Q

Whats an ABA design?

A

Baseline (A) is secured, then intervention is implemented (B) then the outcome is examined via new baseline (A)

52
Q

What designs are used when theres more than 1 target bx?

A

Multiple baseline designs

53
Q

Whats the 68-95-99 rule?

A

In normal distribution, 68% of scores fall in the 1st SD of the mean, 95% within 2 SDs of the mean, 99.7% within 3 SDs

54
Q

When do you use factorial designs?

A

When several experimental variables are investigated (2 or more IVs) sometimes the IVs are referred to as levels.

55
Q

What will be the highest point in a distribution, regardless of shape, when displayed graphically?

A

The mode

56
Q

What would a graphic look like if everyone did bad on a test?

A

Scores would fall on the left/low side of the distribution. Graphically the tail would point to right or positive side

57
Q

What do graphs look like if everyone scores really high?

A

Scores would fall on the right side of the curve, which would give you a long tail that points to the left, indicative of a negative skew

58
Q

How can you tell if a distribution is positively or negatively skewed?

A

The tail…tails on the right are positive, tails on the left are negative

59
Q

Whats the benefit of standard scores vs raw data?

A

Standard scores allow you to analyze data in relation to the properties of a normal bell shaped curve

60
Q

What type of distribution can be graphically displayed like a bar graph?

A

A histogram

61
Q

Whats the mesokurtic?

A

Peak of the curve

62
Q

What goes on the x axis?

A

The IV scores

63
Q

What is the x axis also known as?

A

The abscissa

64
Q

What goes on the Y axis?

A

The frequency of the DVs

65
Q

Whats the Y axis also known as?

A

The ordinate

66
Q

What’s a scattergram (aka scatterplot)?

A

A pictorial diagram or graph of 2 variables being correlated

67
Q

What’s the John Henry Effect?

A

A threat to the internal validity of an experiment that occurs when subjects strive to prove that an experimental treatment that could threaten their livelihood really isn’t all that effective

68
Q

What is the variance?

A

A measure of dispersion of scores around some measure of central tendency. It is the standard deviation squared.

69
Q

How do you calculate the standard deviation?

A

It is the square root of the variance

70
Q

What are Z-scores?

A

They are the same as standard deviations, they are sometimes called standard scores

71
Q

What are T scores?

A

T scores have a mean of 50 with every 10 points landing at a standard deviation above or below the mean

72
Q

What does platykurtic refer to?

A

The peakedness of a frequency distribution

73
Q

What does a platykurtic distribution look like?

A

It is flatter and more spread out than the normal curve

74
Q

What does a leptokurtic distribution look like?

A

It is when the curve is very tall, thin and peaked (distribution leaps tall buildings)

75
Q

What is a nominal scale?

A
  • It is qualitative
  • Used to distinguish logically separated groups
  • Classifies, names, labels and identifies by group
  • No order, or zero point
76
Q

What is an ordinal scale?

A
  • Rank orders variables

- Relative distance between elements is not always equal

77
Q

What is an interval scale?

A
  • Has numbers scaled at equal distances but has no absolute zero point
  • You can add or subtract
  • Most tests used in school fall into this category
78
Q

What’s an example of an interval scale?

A

IQ tests

79
Q

What’s a ratio scale?

A
  • An interval scale with a true zero point

- Can add, subtract, multiply or divide

80
Q

What are some examples of a ratio scale?

A
  • Time
  • Height
  • Weight
  • Temperature
81
Q

What does 2X3 refer to?

A
  • Factorial notation
  • First variable has 2 levels (ex: boy, girl)
  • Second independent variable has 3 levels
82
Q

Whats the Rosenthal Effect?

A

The experimenter expectancy effect. Occurs when the experimenters beliefs about the individual may cause the individual to be treated in a special way so the individual begins to fill the experimenters expectations.

83
Q

What is the acceptable return rate for questionnaire surveys?

A

50-75% (with a sample size of at least 100)

84
Q

What are some survey problems?

A
  • Low return rates
  • Lack of random subjects
  • Not representative of the population
  • Poor construction of the instrument
85
Q

Whats the Hawthorne Effect?

A

When someones performance improves merely bc they are apart of an experiment. The subject reacts to the presence of the investigator.

86
Q

Whats the Halo Effect?

A

The Halo effect occurs when a trait which is not being evaluated (ex: attractiveness) influences a researchers rating on another trait

87
Q

Whats a trend analysis?

A
  • Refers to a statistical procedure performed at different times to see if a trend is evident
  • Describes an application of the ANOVA to see if performance on one variable mimics the same trend on a second variable
88
Q

What is statistical regression?

A

Predicts that very high and very low scores will move toward the mean if a test is administered again

89
Q

What is a quartile?

A

Refers to the points that divide a distribution into 4ths

90
Q

What is a cross-sectional study?

A

Clients are assessed at one point in time

91
Q

Whats ipsative mean?

A

Implies a within person analysis rather than a normative analysis between individuals (looking at an individuals own patterns)

92
Q

What’s a chi-square used for?

A

Its used to determine whether an obtained distribution differs significantly from an expected distribution. Must have mutually exclusive categories.

93
Q

What is random sampling?

A

Each subject has the same probability of being selected and the selection of one subject does not affect the selection of another

94
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A

When you select based on special characteristics which need to be represented (ex: race, gender, educational degree, age)

95
Q

What is quota sampling?

A

A type of stratified sampling where a specific number of cases are needed for each strata

96
Q

What is a cluster sample?

A

Uses an existing sample or cluster of people or selects a portion of an overall sample (ex: high school seniors)

97
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A

With this approach you take every nth person

98
Q

What’s an operational definition?

A

It outlines a procedure so that other researchers can attempt to replicate the experimental procedure

99
Q

What is a matched design?

A

The subjects are “matched” in regard to any variable that could be “correlated” with the DV

100
Q

What is inductive logic/reasoning?

A

Research that goes from specific to generalization

101
Q

What is deductive logic/reasoning?

A

Reduces the general to the specific

102
Q

What is the standard error of measurement (SEM)?

A

Tells the counselor what would most likely occur if the same individual took the same test again