Research Methods
What is the purpose of an experiment?
To investigate the relationship between variables, explore cause and effect
What is a confounding variable?
An unforeseen factor other than the independent variable that may cause a result.
What is causation?
A relationship between two variables where a change in one directly affects the other
What does ethics mean in a study? Name each ethical guideline(there are 5).
Ethics in a study are guidelines that protect participants’ safety, rights, and well-being. 1. Informed consent, 2. Protection from emotional/physical harm, 3. Keep participants participation confidential, 4. Debrief, 5. Minors need parental consent
What is Hindsight Bias?
The tendency to believe, after something has already happened, that you “knew it all along.”
In correlational research, what type of correlation is it when both of the factors increase?
Positive correlation
What is the difference and relationship between a dependent and independent variable?
Independent is the cause, dependent is the effect
What is an illusory correlation?
A perception of a relationship between two variables when no such relationship exists
Which ethical guideline is specifically being used?
Before a memory test, participants are told what the study is about, what they’ll be asked to do, and that they can quit at any time. They sign a form agreeing to take part.
Informed Consent
What is the p value?
A number that shows how likely it is that the results of an experiment happened by chance. A smaller p-value means the results are more reliable. P ≤ 5
What are the five research methods?
Experimental, Case Study, Correlational, Naturalistic Observation, and Meta-analysis
What is random sampling and why is it important?
Random sampling is randomly selecting people in a population so that the sample is unbiased and can be generalized.
What is the placebo effect?
A phenomenon where a person’s symptoms improve after receiving a treatment that has no effect
Which ethical guideline is specifically being used?
In a study measuring reaction times, researchers design the tasks so they are physically safe. They avoid using loud noises, disturbing images, or anything that could cause stress or anxiety.
Protection from Emotional/Physical Harm
What is Standard Deviation?
A measure of how spread out the scores are from the average. A small standard deviation means the scores are close together, and a large one means they are more spread out.
What is it called when researchers take one specific entity and focus their study on that entity?
A case study
What is the importance of a control group in an experimental study?
The control group gives researchers a baseline for comparison
What is negative correlation?
A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases while the other decreases
Which ethical guideline is specifically being used?
A team of researchers investigates whether smartphone usage is correlated with depression, anxiety, and addictive behaviors in adolescents aged 13–16.
Parental Consent for Minors
What is an operational definition? And why is it important?
An operational definition explains exactly how a variable is measured or defined in a study. It’s important because it makes research clear, measurable, and repeatable by other scientists.
During experimental research, what is a double blind procedure and why is it useful?
A double blind procedure is when both the participants and the researchers don’t know which group has the real treatment. This is useful because they ensure there is no bias in the study.
What are the two groups that are being studied in an experiment called?
The control group and the experimental group.
What is the key difference between causation and correlation?
Causation implies that one variable directly affects another, whereas correlation indicated a mutual relationship without implying direct influence.
Which ethical guideline is specifically being used?
A researcher runs a medical psychology study on teenagers with anxiety and collects sensitive data like stress levels, sleep habits, and private journal entries. Instead of attaching their names, the researcher codes each participant with a random ID number and stores the data on an encrypted computer.
Confidentiality
What is Overconfidence? What is it a result from?
Overconfidence is a cognitive bias where people overestimate their knowledge or abilities, and it often results from hindsight bias making them believe they “knew it all along.”