Independent Variable- whatever is being manipulated in the experiment
Dependent Variable- whatever is being measured in the experiment
Confounding Variable- anything that could cause a change in B that is not A; an extra variable
Hawthorne Effect- knowing you are in an experiment changes the results
Operational Definition
- explains what is meant in the hypothesis
- will the variables be measured in "real life" terms?
Sampling- identify the subject population; must be representative of the population you want to study
Experimental Method- attempting to prove casual relationships; Cause = Effect
Correlational Method- expresses a relationship between two variables; does not show causation
- Positive Correlation- variables go in the same direction
- Negative Correlation- variables go in opposite directions
Survey Method- most common type of study in psychology and measures correlation
- cheap and fast
- needs a good random sample
Naturalistic Observation- watching subjects in their natural environment ,but does not manipulate the environment
Correlation Coefficient- number that measures strength of relationship; range is from -1 to 1; relationship gets weaker the closer it is to zero
Case Studies- detailed study of one or a few subjects; great story but just descriptive research; does not give correlation data
Statistics- recording results from studies
- common language is needed for understanding
- Descriptive Statistics- describes sets of data
- Range- distance from highest value to lowest value
Standard Deviation- variance of scores around the mean; higher variance = more distribution spread
Z Scores- unit that measures the distance of one score from the mean
- + = above the mean
- - = below the mean
Ethical Guidelines For Research
Animal Research
- must have a clear purpose
- must be treated in humane way
- must acquire animals legally
- least amount of suffering possible
Human Research
- no coercion, must be voluntary
- informed consent
- anonymity
- no significant risk
- must debrief
