Terms : Hide Images
| 68631662 | empirical investigation | an approach to research that relies on sensory experience and observation as research data | |
| 68631663 | operational definition | A statement that describes how to measure (in #s) a variable or define a term | |
| 68631664 | hypothesis | testable prediction, often implied by a theory | |
| 68631665 | scientific method | A research method whereby a problem is identified, a hypothesis stated, and hypothesis is tested | |
| 68631666 | independent variable | the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied | |
| 68631667 | dependent variable | variable that changes as a result of a change in the independent variable | |
| 68631668 | population | all people in a group, from which subjects may be drawn for a study | |
| 68640435 | sample | the small group of participants, out of the total number available, that a researcher studies | |
| 68640436 | random sample | method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected | |
| 68640437 | control group | the group that does NOTreceive the experimental treatment; often recieve the placebo | |
| 68640438 | experimental group | subjects in an experiment to whom the independent variable is administered | |
| 68640439 | confounding variables | anything other than the IV that might affect the DV | |
| 68640440 | single blind | subject does not know what is being tested or what group they are in | |
| 68640441 | double blind | Neither subjects nor researchers know who is in the control group or the experimental group | |
| 68640442 | placebo effect | improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement | |
| 68640443 | self fulfilling prophecy | a situation in which a researcher's expectations influence their own behavior, and thereby influence the participant's behavior | |
| 68640444 | naturalistic observation | research method in which the psychologist observes the subject in a natural setting without interfering | |
| 68640445 | case study | research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or event | |
| 68640446 | survey | research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a fixed set of questions | |
| 68640447 | longitudinal study | research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period | |
| 68640448 | cross sectional study | A research study that examines effects of development (maturation) by examining different subjects at various ages at the same time | |
| 68640449 | correlation | research method which measures the relationship between two variables or sets of data | |
| 68640450 | positive correlation | both variable increases, or both variables decreases; they move in the same direction | |
| 68640451 | negative correlation | a relationship that exists when one set of data values increases while the other decreases | |
| 68640452 | causation | cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable | |
| 68640453 | scatterplot | a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. | |
| 68640454 | frequency distribution | a chart or array of scores, usually arranged from highest to lowest, showing the number of instances for each score | |
| 68640455 | mode | number that occurs most often in a set of data | |
| 68640456 | mean | average (add all values and divide by how many there are) | |
| 68640457 | median | the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it | |
| 68640458 | range | the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution | |
| 68640459 | standard deviation | a measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean | |
| 68640460 | statistical significance | a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance | |
| 68640461 | descriptive statistics | branch of statistics that focuses on describing in numerical format, numbers that describe and summarize a set of research data | |
| 68640462 | inferential statistics | mathematical analysis that allow researchers to draw conclusions regarding the reliability and generalizability of their data | |
| 68640463 | normal curve | symmetrical bell shaped curve in which most scores fall near the average and fewer and fewer individual have scores at either end; normal distribution | |
| 68640464 | central tendency | number that describes something about the average score of a distribution |
