UNIT 0: Research methods

Question 1

confirmation bias

Answer 1

The tendency to search for and use information that supports our preconceptions and ignore information that refutes our ideas.

Question 2

Hindsight bias

Answer 2

A tendency to falsely report, after an event, that we correctly predicted the outcome of the event.

Question 3

Overconfidence

Answer 3

The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements which can hinder problem solving.

Question 4

Sample

Answer 4

The subgroup of the population that participated in the study e.g. a sample of 20, 15 year old girls took part

Question 5

Population

Answer 5

All of the individuals in the group to which the study applies e.g. the findings from this study is used to generalise to the population of teenagers globally.

Question 6

Hypothesis

Answer 6

Prediction of how two or more variables are likely related

Question 7

Falsifiable

Answer 7

The idea that a hypothesis or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment.

Question 8

Peer review

Answer 8

Scientific experts who review a research article’s theory, originality and accuracy.

Question 9

Independent Variable (IV)

Answer 9

The factor the researcher manipulates in a controlled experiment (the cause).

Question 10

Dependent variable (DV)

Answer 10

The behavior or mental process that is measured in an experiment (the effect).

Question 11

Operationalised

Answer 11

Describing the specific procedure used to determine the presence of a variable (e.g ‘happiness’ measured by a Likert scale 1-5). It is important for replication of research.

Question 12

Experimental group

Answer 12

The conditional group where the IV is being used

Question 13

Control group

Answer 13

The baseline or comparison group that has no IV

Question 14

Random assignment/Allocation

Answer 14

The division of the sample into groups in a way that every individual has an equal chance of being allocated e.g. assigning participants to conditions using a random wheel generating AI tool.

Question 15

Confounding variables

Answer 15

In a controlled experiment, confounding variables are factors that cause differences between the experimental group and the control group, other than the chosen independent variable.
For example, when exploring if alcohol (IV) affects driving ability, the researchers found a CV that not all participants had the same driving ability which caused significant differences in the DV.

Question 16

Generalizable

Answer 16

Generalizability is the degree to which you can apply the results of a study to a broader context of most people, most context and most of the time.

Question 17

Internal validity

Answer 17

Internal validity refers to whether the design and conduct of a study are able to support the proposal that a cause and effect relationship exists between the independent and dependent variables.
It ensures that no other variables except the independent variable caused the observed effect on the dependent variable. In essence, it is a marker that you are truly testing what you sought to test.

Question 18

External validity

Answer 18

The extent to which the results from a study apply to all other contexts beyond the original study e.g. if it is a laboratory experiment, can the results be found in normal, everyday observations?

Question 19

Demand charecteristics

Answer 19

Clues participants pick up on that help them discover the purpose of the study and suggest to them how researchers would like them to respond/behave

Question 20

Social Desirability Bias
(a very specific type of Self-Report Bias)

Answer 20

-People answering in a way that they think is socially acceptable, rather than their own beliefs or experiences
-threat of SDB is strongest when individuals are being asked questions about behaviours that are commonly thought of as bad e.g. smoking, drinking in excess, taking drugs etc

Question 21

Experimenter Bias

Answer 21

The unintentional influence of the experimenter’s expectations, beliefs, or preconceived notions on the outcome of a study or research experiment
-Experimenter bias is not a conscious act to invalidate the results, often researchers do not know they are
doing it

Question 22

Random sample

Answer 22

Every person in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample group

Question 23

Representative Sample

Answer 23

A sample that accurately represents the characteristics of a larger population. Mostly assured by the use of Random sampling

Question 24

Convenience Sampling

Answer 24

Gathering participants who are readily accessible to the researcher

Question 25

Sampling Bias

Answer 25

When the method used to obtain a sample tends to favour one part of the population over another. In theory, it cannot happen with Random sampling.

Question 26

Single Blind Procedure

Answer 26

Participants are not told the true aim of the experiment at the beginning of a study. Other details may also be kept from them such as which condition they are in and whether there is another condition at all. It is used to try and prevent demand characteristics.

Question 27

Double blind procedure

Answer 27

Neither the participants nor the researcher who conduct the study, is aware of the aims or hypotheses of the investigation

Question 28

Placebo

Answer 28

A physical or psychological treatment given to the control group that resembles the treatment given to the experimental group, but contains NO active ingredient

Question 29

Placebo effect

Answer 29

A physical or psychological response to the belief that the treatment will have an effect - whilst the drug has no active ingredient, the mere idea of taking a treatment can sometimes elicit a response from participants

Question 30

Quantitative research

Answer 30

Data in numerical form that is analysed statistically and can be easily converted into graphs, charts etc.

Question 31

Qualitative

Answer 31

Words e.g. pages of written material, answers to lots of questions. A transcript from an interview, an extract in a diary or notes recorded in a counselling session would all be qualitative data

Question 32

Measure of Central Tendency

Answer 32

A single summary score that represents a whole set of scores. Measures of Central Tendency are: Mode, Median or Mean.

Question 33

Bimodal Distribution

Answer 33

When there are two frequency occurring scores.

Question 34

Regression toward the mean

Answer 34

The tendency for unusual scores to fall back to the mean over time.

Question 35

Percentile Rank

Answer 35

Is the percentage of scores that are less than a given score

Question 36

Range

Answer 36

A simplified measure of data variation and is calculated by the largest score minus the smallest score

Question 37

Standard deviation

Answer 37

The best measure of variation. It is calculated by measuring how much scores deviate from the mean. The higher the standard deviation, the more spread out (distributed) the scores are from the mean.

Question 38

Distributions

Answer 38

Normal Curve Positively Skewed Negatively Skewed

Question 39

Correlations

Answer 39

Positive Correlation Negative Correlation Correlation Coefficient (Effect Size) Scatterplot Third Variable Problem Directionality Problem

Question 40

Statistical Significance

Answer 40

The likelihood that the difference found is being caused by chance. The threshold for this is 0.05 - anything less than this shows that the results are caused by the IV and not by chance.

Question 41

Ethics

Answer 41

Institutional Review Boards Right to withdraw Deception Protection of participants from harm Informed Consent Informed Assent Confidentiality Anonymity Debrief