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PSY4122 - The Social Self > Variables, measurement and identifying participants > Flashcards

Variables, measurement and identifying participants Flashcards

1
Q

Variables

A

A term used to describe a

  • Characteristic or condition that can vary across individuals or take on different values.
  • Age, gender, scores on test, levels of stress
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2
Q

Observe

A

Act of recording visual appearance or notable features of an item

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3
Q

Measure

A

Act of determining the value of a variable

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4
Q

Correlational Research

A

When two variables are related to each other

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5
Q

Manipulate

A

To intentionally to change a variable

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6
Q

Experimental Research

A

Manipulation of variables to see the impact on other variables

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7
Q

Independent Variable

A

The variable that is manipulated

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8
Q

Dependent Variable

A

The variable that changes due to IV manipulation

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9
Q

Quasi-Independent Variables

A

Variable that contains pre-existing characteristics, which can be assigned to a group

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10
Q

Operational Definition

A

Term used to describe exactly how a study will measure or quantify the variables.

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10
Q

Subject Variables

A

Characteristics that vary among participants but cannot be manipulated by the researcher.

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11
Q

Control

A

A term used to describe the removal of environmental or external factors that will influence a research study, so that the variable in question is the main focus.

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12
Q

Participant or Subject Variables

A

Things that come along with a participant.

  • Eg, being left or right handed.
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13
Q

Extraneous Variables

A

A term used to describe variables that might have an effect on the relationship between the IV and the DV, however they are not the variable of interest, so should be removed from the study.

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14
Q

Random Variables

A

Things that cannot be predicted.

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14
Q

Situational or Environmental Variables

A

Things like, the time of day, the temperature, lighting, noise.

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15
Q

Experimenter Variables

A

Characteristics about a person running the experiment that might effects the participants.

  • How nice the researcher is.
  • The Sex, appearance, behaviours or mannerisms of the participant.
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16
Q

Confounding Variables

A

Anything that can cause a systematic effect on the outcome.

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17
Q

Alternative Explanation

A

A term used to describe:

  • When there seems to be relationship between the IV and the DV, however an extraneous variable has influenced the results.
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18
Q

Reliability

A

A term used to describe the measure’s stability or consistency over time. A reliable measure will:

  • Produce an identical or nearly identical measurement each time.
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19
Q

Test- Retest Reliability

A

Describes doing the same test on different occasions.

  • If nothing has changed, the reliable instrument will give the same measurement each time.

Poor test/retest reliability will give a different measure each time.

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20
Q

Parallel or Equivalent Forms

A

When the reliability of a new test is uncertain, it can be compared to another test that is reliable. Different instruments that measure the same thing.

  • If they give the same reading, the new test is reliable as the old one.
21
Q

Inter-Rater Reliability

A

Refers to the consistency of scores between multiple individuals when measuring the same behaviour.

  • When the scores at the end of the instrument are close to each other.
22
Q

Split-Half Reliability

A

When a measure of something is equally split in half, the scores for one half should match the other half.

  • Two halves of the test should be measuring the same thing, as if they were separate tests.
23
Q

Self-Report

A

Is a tool in the form of:

  • Questionnaires, surveys or interviewing.
    Used to gather information about a participants:
  • Perception of how they think, act, feel.
  • Demographic information, such as age and gender.
  • Presence or absence of behaviours, attitude or feelings.

Advantages:

  • Inexpensive and easy to administer.
  • Takes into account subjective perspectives and ways of thinking.

Disadvantages:

  • Relies on the participants honesty in responses.
  • Accuracy in recalling memories and self-awareness.
24
Q

Test

A

Is a tool used to assess Individual differences in various content areas, such as: Personality and ability.
Personality tests:

  • Use self-report measures of how a person behaves, thinks and feels.
    Ability tests:
  • Determine achievement, performance and aptitude itself.
25
Q

Physical Measures

A

Uses a physical tool / equipment to measure an individual’s bodily functions / activity.

Advantage:

  • Uses objective measurements rather than subjective measures.

Disadvantages:

  • Equipment may not be calibrated appropriately, or may be faulty.
25
Q

Behavioural Measures

A

Uses observation and recording behaviour.

Advantages:

  • Researchers can observe an individual, rather than rely on self-reports.

Disadvantages:

  • The individual may be more reactive knowing that they are being watched.
26
Q

Scale of Measure

A

Categories that are used to determine how a variable will be categorised or measured.

27
Q

Nominal

A

A measurement scale that is qualitative and organises data into discrete categories without any intrinsic order to them. Such as:

  • Marital status: single, married, divorced, widowed.
  • Political affliction: Labour, Liberal, Greens or Independent.
28
Q

Ordinal

A

A measurement scale that is qualitative and organises data into discrete categories that contain implicit orders. Such as:

  • Competitive sports: first, second and third place.
29
Q

Interval

A

A measurement scale that is quantitative and contains an equal distances between adjacent values. Does not contain a “true zero.”
Includes:

  • Temperatures in degrees Celsius.
  • Measurements on a ruler / measuring tape.
30
Q

Ratio

A

A measurement scales the is also quantitative and also contains equal distances between adjacent values, However it does contain “true zero.”

Includes:

  • Height, weight, age, money.
  • Amount of sales, price, customers, market shares
31
Q

Validity

A

Refers to whether the test accurately measures what it is suppose to measure.

32
Q

Content Validity

A

Depends on an instruments ability to accurately represent the entire range of content that defines the construct being measured.

33
Q

Face Validity

A

Refers to how well as test accurately measures the constructs its measuring.

  • A personality test for extraversion might measure social behaviour.
34
Q

Criterion Validity

A

Refers to how well a measure relates to other measures that we believe are a good measure of our construct.

35
Q

Construct Validity

A

Is crucial in measuring the construct being measured.
- Involves checking if the measure relates to other measures that claim to measure the same construct.

36
Q

Research Question

A

Is a question that is generally always about a population of interest.

37
Q

Population

A

A specific group of people that are of interest for the research question.

38
Q

Sample

A

A smaller subset of individuals that will represent the population of interest.

39
Q

Representative

A

A term used to describe how closely the characteristics of the sample match with the characteristics of the population of interest.

40
Q

Generalisable

A

A term used when the sample findings are representative of the population of interest. It is assumed that the results will closely match the wider population.

41
Q

Descriptive Statistics

A

A term used for describing what has happening within the sample. Includes:

  • Means, standard deviations and correlation coefficients.
42
Q

Inferential Statistics

A

A term used for the mathematical process to confirm whether or not what has been measured, is also likely to be representative in the population, if the larger group was to be measured.

43
Q

Sample Size

A

The amount of individuals in a sample to represent the population.

43
Q

Biased Sample

A

A term used to describe when the characteristics of the sample do not approximate that of the population of interest. This is used when the sample is not representative.

44
Q

Power Calculation

A

A term used to determine the most appropriate amount of participants for a specific study.

45
Q

Sampling Techniques

A

A term that describes strategies used to select a subset of individuals from a larger population to study and draw inferences about the entire population.

Includes 2 basic categories:

  • Probability sampling (simple random sample).
  • non-probability sampling (convenience sample).
46
Q

Simple Random Sample

A

A sampling method that is:

  • better than convenience sampling.
  • Is not used often in practice.
  • Expensive, and can be impractical.
47
Q

Convenience Sample

A

A sampling method that is:

  • The most practical
  • Forms connections with health clinics or relevant organisations.
  • Is non-random.
  • Need to be aware of systematic bias.
48
Q

Strata

A

A sampling method that is:

  • Focused on dividing the population into distinct subgroups that share similar characteristics.
  • Subgroups are then sampled individually, using random sampling techniques within each subgroup.
  • Ensures representation from different segments of the population.
  • Can help increase accuracy and representation of the sample.
49
Q

Quotas

A

A sampling method that is:

  • Focused on setting specific targets or “quotas” for certain characteristics within a sample.
  • Instead of random selection, intentional selection is used to meet predetermined quotas based on demographic or other relevant factors.
  • Ensures diversity in the sample,
  • May introduce bias, if the quotas are not appropriately selected or not appropriately random within each quota.
  • Needs caution when implementing quota sampling to maintain representativeness of the sample and generalizability of their findings to the population of interest.

PSY4122 - The Social Self (8 decks)

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