Psychology 296
Some Research Methods Terms & Concepts
 Levels of Measurement: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio
Types of Statistics: Descriptive, Inferential
 Types of Research Questions: Descriptive, Correlational, Quasi-Experimental, (True)
Experimental
 Types of Research: Survey, Archival research, Natural observation/field study, Participant
observation, Case study, Content analysis, Reliability/Validity studies, Experimental,
Qualitative, Program Evaluation, Meta-Analysis
 Ways of Knowing: Tenacity, Authority, Emotion, Common Sense, Intuition, Sense
Experience, Logic, Science
 Circle of Scientific Research: Observations, hunches, informal hypotheses, etc. perhaps
organized into a theory  specific hypothesis  method for testing hypothesis & specific
prediction of outcome  conduct the test/research  analyze the data  interpret the results
 use conclusions to support or refute (or complicate) the original theory
 Common Problems with Non-experimental Research: lack of generalization (sampling
issues), existence of unknown variables, unreliable data, invalid data (problems with how
questions are written or how variables are operationally defined, biased data (especial self
report or archival data), difficulty with objectivity of measurement and/or interpretation,
statistics (descriptive and correlational) may be misleading or incorrectly interpreted
 Essentials of Experimentation: Manipulation, Measurement, Control
Some basic concepts:
 Independent variable
Quasi-independent variable
(ex-post facto)
 Subject Variable
 Dependent Variable
 Operational Definition
 Spurious variable (3rd
variable)
 Extraneous variable
 Confounding variable
Reliability of a variable
Measurement reliability
Test-retest reliability
Inter-rater reliability
Alternative-form reliablity
 Literature search
 Psychological
Abstracts/Psych Info/
Psych Lit
Mental Measurements
Yearbook
 Annual Review of
Psychology
ERIC
 Theoretical Population
 Sampling Frame/Real
Population
 Response Rate
 Random Sampling
 Stratified random sampling
 Proportionate random
sampling
Cluster sampling
 Convenience
(haphazard)Sampling
 Quota sampling
Targeted Sampling
 Random Assignment to
Conditions
Matched-pairs
Matched samples
Inferential statistic
Null & Alternative
Hypotheses
Type I & Type II errors
Alpha level
p-value
Effect size
Power of a test
Post-hoc test
Marginally significant effect
One-shot Study
One group Pretest-Posttest
Static Group Comparison
-----Multiple Groups Posttest
Matched Group Posttest
Multiple Groups PretestPosttest
Solomon Four Group
Informed Consent
Institutional Review Board
Risks vs. Benefits
Deception
Omission vs. Commission
Debriefing
Confidentiality
Subject at Minimal Risk
Validity of a variable
Face validity
Construct validity
Concurrent validity
Predictive validity
Convergent validity
Divergent validity
Internal validity (of a scale)
Reactivity of a measurement
Condition/Group/Treatment
 Level of an IV
 Between-subject IV
 Within-subject IV
 Repeated measures
 Experimental group
 Control group
 Placebo group
Likert Scale
Structured Response Format
(closed)
Open-Ended Questions
Double-Barreled Questions
Leading Questions
Extraneous Variable
Confounding Variable
Individual Differences
Variable
Demand Characteristics
Social Desirability Bias
Placebo Effect
Experimenter Bio-social
Effects
Experimenter Expectancy
Floor & Ceiling Effects
Counterbalancing
Order effect
Practice effect
Fatigue effect
Carry-over effect
Latin-square design
Experiment Validity:
 Construct validity
 Internal Validity
 External Validity
 Ecological validity
 Statistical validity
 Ethical validity
Threat to internal validity
(confounds)
History
Maturation
Testing
Instrumentation
Statistical Regression
Subject Mortality
Subject Selection (no
random assignment to
conditions)
Factorial design
Completely BetweenSubjects
Completely WithinSubjects
Mixed Designs
Main Effect
Interaction Effect
ANOVA Source table
(logic)