Biological approach
Part of the limbic system, this part of the brain appears to play a key role in the consolidation of memory from short-term to long-term, as well as play a role in spatial navigation.
Hippocampus
A helper of a researcher who pretends to be a real participant.
Confederate
An observation in which the identity of the researcher, the nature of the research project, and the fact that participants are being observed are hidden from those who are being studied.
Covert observation
A type of interview in which the interviewer asks a particular set of predetermined questions. The questions are created in advance and all participants are asked the same questions in the same order.
Structured interview
Participants agree to be part of a study after being told what the study is about, what the possible outcomes of the study are, and what their rights are as a participant.
Part of the limbic system, this part of the brain is believed to play a key role in emotion and memory. In addition, there is evidence that it plays a role in aggression, sexual orientation, trust, and alcoholism.
Amygdala
The researcher measures two or more variables without manipulating an independent variable and with little or no attempt to control extraneous variables.
Correlational research
Collecting data to gain information about individuals' past about an outcome that has already happened when the study is being conducted.
Retrospective research
An interview in which there is no specific set of predetermined questions. The interviews are more like an everyday conversation and tend to be more informal and open-ended.
Unstructured interview
When the researchers give incorrect information to the participants about the study. This could include giving them a false aim of the study.
Deception by commission
A neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers. It also helps regulate emotional responses. This deficiency results in Parkinson's Disease and people with a lower number of the neurotransmitter receptor sites may be more prone to addiction.
Dopamine
An experimental procedure in which neither the researcher doing the study nor the participants know the specific type of treatment each participant receives until after the experiment is over
Double-blind testing
A sampling technique where research participants recruit other participants for a study.
Snowball sampling
Is a group interview used to study what people think or feel about a topic. The group size usually ranges from five to ten people.
Focus group
Refers to collecting data without obtaining any personal, identifying information
Anonymity
A group of neurons interconnected by synapses to carry out a specific function when activated.
Neural networks
The process by which the researcher decides how a variable will be measured. For example, "marital satisfaction" cannot be measured directly, so the researcher would have to decide what traits will be measured in order to measure the construct.
Operationalisation
The degree to which the results of qualitative research can be generalized or transferred to other contexts or settings.
Transferability
A study that attempts to find a correlation between two variables by collecting data early in the life of participants and then continuing to test them over a period of time to measure change and development.
Prospective research
A study participant in a clinical trial has a right to end participation in that trial at will.
Right to withdraw
When a neurotransmitter decreases the likelihood that the neuron will fire an action potential. This depends on the receptor site.
Inhibitory function
When an experiment was conducted using appropriate controls so that it supports the conclusion that the independent variable caused observed differences in the dependent variable.
Internal validity
a measure of the consistency and agreement between two or more observers in their assessments, judgments, or ratings of a particular phenomenon or behaviour.
Inter-rater (inter-observer) reliability
A data analysis technique used to interpret textual material. This is done by looking for data or themes in a text - for example, a transcript of an interview.
Content analysis
The percent of an original sample that drops out of a study over time. If too many participants drop out, or if too many of one type of participant drop out, the sample may become less representative of the target population.
Attrition rates