Variables
The factor that scientists purposefully change in an experiment, that is the “cause” in a “cause and effect” relationship. An example would be time spent studying: when testing the impact on exam score.
What is a Independent Variable
A way to gather information by having people answer a set of predetermined questions, to reveal information about attitudes, opinions, and beliefs. This cannot prove causation like an experiment can, but is more accessible to a wider audience. An example could be having 10 multiple choice questions for people to answer regarding their favorite places to eat.
What is a survey
Empiricism, which describes planning the method of observation and carefully sticking to it—data must be collected rigorously and systematically; empirical questions, which are defined as any questions that can be answered through systematic empiricism; and public knowledge, meaning that the results must be published or presented with others in some way, opening up the research for critique.
What are the key features of “Science”
A part of the population—the larger group that researchers want to learn about—that is selected to be studied and have drawn conclusions about. To be a good one of these, it is important that every item or person in the population has an equal chance of being selected, and are not selected because of convenience, or self-volunteering. If researchers took a random group of high school students from all over the city of Minneapolis and studied how laptop note taking affected their understanding and proficiency, this smaller group of students is what this term is defined as.
What is a sample
The group that the researchers want to learn more about, that can be (and often is) larger than what is reasonably able to be studied in an experiment, survey, or other research method. An example of this would be that if someone wants to study the effectiveness of laptop notes in Minneapolis high school students, this term refers to the Minneapolis high school students generally.
What is a population
The factor that is not changed by scientists in an experiment, but may be affected by the other variable, that is the “effect” in a “cause and effect” relationship. An example could be the amount of daylight in a day because it depends on the time of year.
What is a dependent variable
A relationship between two variables where one directly affects the other. This has three requirements: covariation (there is a present relationship between the variables), a time-order relationship (the cause comes before the effect), and the elimination of any possible alternative causes. An example of this would be an experiment where the strength of a lightbulb is compared to the heat emitted. Researchers could find that, as the light got brighter, the bulb emitted more heat.
What is causation
Activities or beliefs that may appear to be scientific—but are not— may be believed because of individual motivation, prior knowledge, or trust in the person or entity presenting the information.
What are the key features of Pseudoscience?
In this strategy of participant assignment to different groups, every subject has an equal chance of being selected for the study or a specific testing group. It is entirely random who is selected, on the individual level. An example of this in a study about laptop note taking in Minneapolis high schools would be to put the names of all Minneapolis high school students into a random name selector, and simply choosing however many are desired for the size of the sample.
What is a simple random sample
A controlled environment where researchers change an independent variable, and observe the effects on a dependent variable. A pro of this answer is that, in some instances, they can demonstrate a cause and effect relationship between variables, which is not possible with a design such as correlational research. However, confounding variables can affect the results of the experiment, which is why random assignment on the individual level is needed. An example of this would be a study where researchers had 20 test subjects and 10 were randomly assigned to receive a medicine being studied and the other 10 would receive a placebo.
What are experimental studies
An outside factor that may affect the independent and dependent variables, that researchers must control before causation can be determined between two correlated variables. An example of this is if a researcher collected information about how many of the people who bought ice cream at a stand one day were wearing bathing suits, they may conclude that wearing bathing suits causes a person to buy ice cream. However, this would be ignoring the heat, which affects both.
What are confounding variables
The relationship between two variables described on a scale from -1 (strong negative association) to 1 (strong positive association), with 0 meaning no association. An example of this would be studying how frequently “chocolate” is searched on Google throughout the year via Google’s trend database. The researcher is not changing a variable and cannot prove causation.
What is correlation
In this strategy of participant assignment to different groups, the population is first split into groups of similar people. Then, a random sampling is performed within each group to select the participants for the study. This ensures that the researchers will interact with people from each different group, which simple random sampling does not. In an experiment about laptop notes in Minneapolis high schools, a stratified sampling could start by splitting students first into each of their respective high schools. Then, a random sampling from each school could be selected. This would ensure that an equal number of students from each school is studied, while still maintaining randomness within the groups.
What is a stratified random sample?
In this type of experiment, participants are randomly assigned into certain variables in existing groups, rather than individually. Researchers need to control for possible confounding variables, because existing differences may occur in these groups, which could affect the results in a way that would not exist if participants were assigned individually. An example of this would be studying the impact of a new teaching method on student performance in a specific classroom.
What is quasi-experimental design