Download Hypothesis - a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Hypothesis - a testable prediction, often
implied by a theory.
Scientific method - a five-step process
for empirical investigation of a hypothesis
under conditions designed to control
biases and subjective judgments.
Empirical investigation - an approach to
research that relies on sensory
experience and observation as research
data.
Independent Variable - a stimulus
condition so named because the
experimenter changes it independently of
all other carefully controlled experimental
conditions.
Random presentation - a process by
which chance alone determines the order
in which the stimulus is presented.
Dependent variable - the measured
outcome of a study; responses of the
subjects in a study.
Experiment - a kind of research in which
the researcher controls all the conditions
and directly manipulates the condition,
including the independent variable.
Controls - constraints that the
experimenter places on the experiment to
ensure that each subject has the exact
same conditions.
Random assignment - each subject the
same sample has an equal likelihood of
being chosen for the experimental group
of an experiment.
Correlational study - a type of research
that is mainly statistical in nature.
Double-blind study – an experimental
procedure in which both researchers and
participants are uniformed about the
nature of the independent variable being
administered.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) - a
committee at each institution where
research is conducted to review every
experiment for ethics and methodology.
Mean - the measure of central tendency
most often used to describe a set of data
calculated by adding all the scores and
dividing by the number of scores.
Median - a measure of central tendency
for a distribution, represented by the score
that separates the upper half of the score
in a distribution from the lower half.
Range - the simplest measure of
variability, represented b the difference
between the highest and lowest values in
a frequency distribution.
Standard deviation (SD) - a measure of
variability that indicates the average
difference between the scores and their
mean.
Normal distribution - a bell-shaped
curve, describing the spread of a
characteristic throughout a population.
Correlation - a relationship between
variables, in which changes in one
variable are reflected in changes in the
other variable—as in the correlation
between a child’s age and height.
Correlation coefficient - a number
between -1 and +1 expressing the
degree of relationship between two
variables
Replicate - in research, this refers to
doing a study over to see whether the
same results are obtained. As a control
for bias, replication is often done by
someone other than the researcher who
performed the original study.
Survey – a quasi-experimental method in
which question are asked to subjects.
Personal bias – the researcher allowing
personal beliefs to affect the outcome of a
study.
Naturalistic observation – a research
method in which subjects are observed in
their natural environment.
Expectancy bias – the researcher
allowing his or her expectations to affect
the outcome study.
Correlational study - a type of research
that is mainly statistical in nature.
Longitudinal study – a type of study in
which one group of subjects is followed
and observed for an extended period of
time.
Hindsight bias - the tendency to believe,
after learning an outcome, that one would
have foreseen it.