Research Ethics (Chapter 4)
What is the main responsibility of researchers in terms of ethics?
To be honest and respectful to all individuals affected by their research.
What is the difference between a population and a sample?
A population is the entire group of interest, while a sample is the subset of individuals selected to participate in the study.
What is the goal of the descriptive research strategy?
To provide a detailed description of individual variables without examining relationships.
What is the difference between internal validity and external validity?
Internal validity ensures that changes in the dependent variable are due to the independent variable, while external validity determines how well the results generalize to other situations.
What is informed consent, and why is it important?
The process of informing participants about a study’s purpose, risks, and their rights before participation to ensure ethical treatment.
What are the three ethical principles outlined in the Belmont Report?
Respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
What is a biased sample, and why is it problematic?
A sample that does not accurately represent the population, leading to misleading research results.
What is a correlational research strategy, and how does it differ from experimental research?
It examines the relationship between two variables without manipulating them, unlike experimental research, which manipulates variables to establish causation.
What is selection bias, and how does it threaten external validity?
It occurs when the sample is not representative, making it difficult to generalize results to the broader population.
What is a placebo effect, and how can researchers control for it?
When participants experience changes due to their expectations rather than the treatment; controlled using a placebo group.
What was the major ethical violation in the Tuskegee Study?
Researchers withheld penicillin from participants with syphilis without their knowledge, even after it became the standard treatment.
What is the law of large numbers, and why is it important in sampling?
The larger the sample, the more likely it is to be representative of the population.
What is the difference between experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental research strategies?
Experimental establishes causation, quasi-experimental approximates causation but lacks full control, and nonexperimental only demonstrates relationships.
Name two common threats to internal validity.
Confounding variables and participant variables.
What is double-blind research, and why is it useful?
Neither participants nor researchers know who is in the experimental or control group, preventing experimenter bias.
What is the role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)?
To review and approve research proposals to ensure the ethical treatment of human participants.
What is the difference between probability sampling and nonprobability sampling?
Probability sampling ensures that each individual has a known chance of selection, while nonprobability sampling does not.
Why does correlation not imply causation?
Because a relationship between two variables does not prove that one causes the other; there could be a third variable influencing both.
What is an extraneous variable, and how can it become a confounding variable?
An extraneous variable is any variable other than the independent variable that could influence results; it becomes confounding if it systematically varies with the independent variable.
What is systematic sampling, and how does it differ from simple random sampling?
In systematic sampling, every nth person is selected, unlike simple random sampling, where every individual has an equal chance of being chosen randomly.
What are the two types of deception used in research, and how do they differ?
Passive deception (omission) involves withholding information, while active deception (commission) involves providing false information.
What is the difference between proportionate and stratified random sampling?
Stratified random sampling selects equal numbers from each subgroup, while proportionate stratified sampling selects numbers based on their proportion in the population.
What are the five main research strategies used in behavioral sciences?
Descriptive, correlational, experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental.
What is an artifact, and how can it impact research validity?
An external factor that unintentionally influences results, such as experimenter bias or demand characteristics.
What is experimenter bias, and how can it be minimized?
When a researcher’s expectations unintentionally influence the study; minimized through double-blind studies and standardized procedures.