variable
the element/feature/thing that changes
peer review
peers review the quality and research of a project and make sure its ethical and able to be replicated
double blind procedure
neither the people conducting the study or participants know whos in the control group vs the experiment group however the researcher does
cons of correlational research
what is cannot be used to draw inferences about cause and effect
cons of experimental research
cannot experimentally manipulate many important variables
may be unethical or time-consuming and hard to recreate
empirical observation
evidence obtained through sense experience or experimental procedure
theory
a developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena, and are all repeatedly checked against the world and tend to be too complex to test all at once
experimenter bias
refers to the tendency that a researcher might interpret results in favor of their hypothesis
cons of descriptive research
what is does not assess relationships among variables and cannot be used to draw inferences about cause and effect
research design
research design is the specific way a researcher collects analyzes and interprets data
induction
using observations that can be verified to form theories
single blind procedure
participants are unaware of if they are in an experiment group or a control group while the researcher and people conducting the study know whos in what group
scientific method step 7
develop general theories
pros of descriptive research
provides a relatively complete picture of what is occurring at a given time and allows development of questions for further study
experimental research
focused on assessing cause and effect. by conduction experiments researchers can determine if one variable directly influences another
operational definition
how a variable is measured
placebo effect
peoples expectations or beliefs influence their experience in a given situation
scientific method step 4, 5, and 6
develop testable predictions, gather data, refine alter expand or reject hypothesis
pros of correlational research
allows testing of expected relationships between and among variables and the marking of predictions and can assess these relationships in everyday life events
correlational research
aims to find relationships between and among two or more variables helps researchers see how variables might be related to each other
deduction
testing theories against observations that can be verified
hypothesis
a testable prediction on how the world will behave often worded in an if-then statement
scientific method step 1, 2, and 3
make observations, think of questions, formulate hypotheses
pros for experimental research
allows conclusions to be drawn about the causal relationships among variables
descriptive research
aims to give a snapshot of the present situation. Includes case studies, surveys and tests, naturalistic observation, and laboratory observations. often used for individuals with rare characteristics