| Term |
Response |
| Variables | the conditions that researchers measure and study |
| Subject | the participant or focus of a study |
| Sample | the subjects selected that should represent the population |
| Population | the group the researcher wants to study, the sample is taken from here |
| Purpose of Research | to measure & describe behavior, explain and predict behavior |
| Scientific Method | method to gather & test data, test predictions to form theories |
| Theory | organizing information so that it creates an explanation |
| Hypothesis | a prediction of expected results given certain conditions used in research |
| Naturalistic Observation | study of subject in their natural setting |
| Case Study | in-depth investigation of a subject |
| Survey | Polling of a sample of the population to see what they think |
| Experiment | a study that compares different conditions, controls variables, to be able to predict behavior |
| Operational Definition | how you will measure a variable, ie: attraction can be operationalized as number of times you call a person of times |
| Correlation | statistical method that measures the relationship between 2 variables described as positive, when 1 variable increases so does the other or as negative when 1 variable increases the other decreases. Correlation is not causation. |
| Correlation Coefficient | Mathimatical measure of the strength of a relationship, ranging between a +1 (positive) to -1 (negative), the closer to either end the stronger the relationship. ie: A .9 is stronger than a .5 & a -.9 is stronger than a -.3 |
| Reliability | produces the same result when performed again. |
| Validity | Actually measures the trait it claims to measure. The 2 types are Content: includes all the elements & Criterion: not only measures the trait but an aspect of the trait. |
| Independent Variable | The conditions studied, the variables you are comparing. |
| Dependent Variable | What you are measuring ie: Data |
| Controlled Variables | Variables or aspects that are kept the same for all subjects. Different from a control group a group of subjects that does not get a treatment. |
| Subject Selection Error | Group does not represent the population , is not selected randomly from the population. Also known as Sampling Bias |
| Random Assignment Error | Subjects are not assigned to experimental groups randomly |
| Confounding Error | A different variable that could of caused the result |
| Control Error | An important aspect was not kept the same for all subjects |
| Demand Effect | Subject Bias, Hawthorne Effect. Subject expectations can change how they behave by trying to please the experimenter, the study sets up an expectation. Remedies are single blind (subject does not know which condition they are in) or use of a placebo |
| Bias Error | Experimenter might influence data, use a double blind study where neither the subject or experimenter knows who is in what condition |
| Practice Effect | If subjects have multiple trials they will naturally show improvement, randomly change the order of trials. |
