| A | B |
|---|
| Anecdotal evidence | personal stories about specific incidents and experiences |
| Case study | in-depth investigation of a individual subject |
| Confounding of Variables | occurs when two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects |
| Control Group | consists of similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to experimental group |
| Correlation | exists when two variables are related to each other |
| Correlation coefficient | numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables |
| Data collection techniques | procedures for making empirical observations and measurements |
| Dependent variable | variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable |
| Descriptive statistics | used to organize and summarize data |
| Double-blind procedure | a research stragey in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups |
| Experiment | Research method in which investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result |
| Experimental group | consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to independent variable |
| Extraneous variable | variable other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study (AKA secondary or nuisance) |
| Hypothesis | A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables |
| Independent variable | condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable |
| Inferential statistics | used to interpret data and craw conclusions |
| Journal | a periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, usually in narrowly defined areas of inquiry |
| Mean | arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution |
| Median | score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution of scores |
| Mode | most frequent score in a distribution |
| Meta-analysis | combines the statistical results of many studies of the same question, yielding an estimate of the size and consistency of a variable’s effects |
| Naturalistic observation | a researcher engages in careful observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects |
| Operational definition | Describes the actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable |
| Participants | (subjects) |
| Placebo effects | occur when participants’ expectations lead them to experience some change ever though they receive empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment |
| Population | much larger collection of animals or people (from which the sample s drawn) that researchers want to generalize about |
| Random assignment | occurs when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition in the study |
| Replication | the repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated |
| Research methods | differing approaches to the observation, measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies |
| Response set | a tendency respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions |
| Sample | collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study |
| Sampling bias | exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn |
| Social desirability bias | a tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself |
| Standard deviation | index of the amount of variability in a set of data |
| Statistical significance | said to exist when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low |
| Statistics | the use of mathematics to organizem summarize, and interpret numerical data |
| Subjects | the persons or animals whose behavior is systematically observed in a study |
| Survey | researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather info about specific aspects of subjects behavior |
| Theory | System of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations |
| Variability | how much the scores in a data set vary from each other and from the mean |
| Variables | Any measurable condition, event, characteristic, or behavior that is controlled or observed in a study |
| Experiment bias | occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained |
