Research Methods and Techniques: Types, Correlation, Bias, and Replication, Exams of Psychology

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Psychology Module 3 Test What is a case study? - One person studied in depth What are the three types of research? - Observational, correlational, experimental Which of the following is a placebo? - sugar pill True or false: The presence of the researcher can be a problem in an experiment. - True Critical thinking - Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments/conclusions Naturalistic observation - Observe behavior firsthand in subject's environment Which of the following is not an example of ethics when researching humans? - Secretive study True or false: correlation = causation - False Experimental group - The group the experiment is performed on Population - All cases in a group which samples are drawn from What is the operational definition? - Statement of methods used to make variable specific/measurable Replication - Repeating a study to see if results can be reproduced Longitudinal Study - Studies same group of individuals over period of time Double-blind study - Researcher and participants don't know expected outcomes Researcher bias - Researcher sees what they want to see Why do people research? - To solve the riddles of man and To question others' conclusions True or false: case studies don't have any disadvantages and are the perfect research method. - False When you research things in their natural habitat through observation it is called... - Naturalistic Observation To recreate an experiment to test its validity is called... - Longitudinal study - is a research technique that follows the same group of individuals over a long period Can provide a rich source of data Can be very expensive and difficult to conduct Cross sectional study - is a research technique that compares individuals from different age groups at one time Study a number of subjects from different age groups and then compare the results Cheaper and easier than longitudinal studies, but group differences may be due to factors other than development Experiment - is a research method in which the researcher manipulates and controls certain variables to observe the effects on other variables Only way to determine a cause-effect relationship Scientific method - is a method of learning about the world through the application of critical thinking, and tools such as observation, experimentation, and statistical analysis Through its use, psychology is thereby considered a science Case study - is a research technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles This technique is very open to bias Difficulty of applying data from one person to everyone Correlational study - is a research project strategy that investigates the degree to which two variables are related to each other Correlations can be positive or negative Expressed in a number between -1 and +1 Not causation Naturalistic observation - observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulating or controlling the situation Participation bias - a tendency for research participants to behave in a certain way because they know they are being observed or they believe they know what the researcher wants Can be reduced by naturalistic observation Be able to identify what a negative correlation graph looks like - As the value of one variable increases, the value of the other variable decreases A perfect negative correlation is -1.0 The closer the correlation is to -1.0, the stronger the relationship Be able to identify what a positive correlation graph looks like - As the value of one variable increases (or decreases) so does the other variable A perfect positive correlation is +1.0 The closer the correlation is to +1.0, the stronger the relationship Be able to identify what a zero correlation graph looks like - There is no relationship whatsoever between the two variables What are some examples of research bias - Observation bias Confirmation bias Participation bias Data collection bias Sampling bias Leaving out data that doesn't have to do with your hypothesis What is a confounding variable - in an experiment, a variable other than the independent variable that could produce a change in the dependent variable Ex. someone studying outside of study hall (the study hall music/no music example) What is the difference between an experimental and a control group ...explain - Experimental group- the participants in an experiment who are exposed to the independent variable Control group- the participants in an experiment who are not exposed to the independent variable What is a hypothesis - a testable prediction about the outcome of research Why is Research Important? - Research is important so that we don't rely on our intuition because our intuition is usually incorrect. Research helps us avoid making false assumptions and relying on what we simply believe to be true. Hindsight Bias: - Our intuition essentially is only correct when following an event or happening, but it isn't correct when something hasn't happened yet in the future - a.k.a. "I-knew-it-all-along-phenomenon". We think past events were predictable, even when they actually weren't. False assumptions: - example: -Bob eating old, fuzzy leftovers from the refrigerator -Correlation can be that fungus caused Bob's hallucinations, but Bob may have been on the verge of a psychotic episode and the fungus was really harmless Explain the difference between causation and correlation: - The difference between causation and correlation is that correlation is a prediction, not a proven cause, such as predicting a certain association between two happenings or a possible cause-and- effect relationship, but it doesn't prove that one caused the other like causation does. EXPERIMENTS: - They allow investigators to isolate different effects by manipulating an independent variable, and keeping other variables constant. What are the two type of groups needed in an experiment?Define these groups - Experimental group - the group that is exposed to the independent variable, and is "messed with". Control group - the group that is the standard in which comparisons are made in the experiment, and is not "messed with". Placebo - An inactive treatment or inert substance Double-blind procedure: - Define: An experiment where the researchers and the participants are blind to who has received the placebo so that there is no bias within the results. explain: When both the researchers and the participants don't know who is the control group and who is the experimental group so that they don't influence the results of the experiment with their own behavior. positive: -no bias or unintentional behavior that is influential negatives:-possible unwanted reaction or side effects of the placebo even though inactive example: -Doing an experiment to determine whether caffeine affects the speed of adult humans navigating a maze. Using three groups, one group is given a placebo, or decaf, experimental group #1 is given a low dose of 100mg caffeine, and experimental group #2 is given 500mg caffeine to see how the dependent variable is affected. Then the results are measured and compared. Independent variable - The variable that can be changed and affects the dependent variable. Dependent variable - The variable that depends on the variable that you can change. It is being measured or tested in the experiment.