Research Methods: Chapter 1 and 3

• An empiricist is basing one's conclusions on systematic observations
• Empiricism or the Empirical Method/Research uses evidence from the senses or from instruments that assist the senses as the basis for conclusions
• Theory-Data Cycle: Scientists collect data to test, change or update theories
• Cupboard Theory of Mother-Infant Attachment: mother is valuable to baby mammal because she is a source of food
• The Contact Comfort Theory was proposed by Harry Harlow
• Contact Comfort Theory: babies are attached to their mothers because of the comfort of their warm, fuzzy fur
• A theory is a set of statements that describe general principles about how variables relate to one another
• Data is a set of observations
• Replication occurs when the study is conducted again to test whether the result is consistent
• Weight of The Evidence refers to the collection of studies, including replications of the same theory
• Universalism is scientific claims that are evaluated according to their merit, independent of researchers' credentials or reputation
• Communality is scientific knowledge created by a community and its findings belong to the community
• Organized Skepticism is where scientists question everything including their own theories, widely accepted ideas, and ancient wisdom
• Disinterestedness is where scientists strive to discover the truth; they are not swayed by conviction, idealism, politics, or profit
• Self-Correcting is discovering own mistaken theories and correcting them
• Translational Research is the use of lessons from basic research to develop and test applications to healthcare, psychotherapy, or other forms of treatment and intervention
• Journalism is a secondhand report about the research, written by journalists or people
• Absolute Deprivation: harmful not to be able to afford basic needs
• Relative Deprivation: harmful to feel poor relative to others
• Catharsis (venting) is expressing your emotion
• Parsimony is the simplest explanation that accounts for all information available
• The Three Claims are:

  1. Frequency Claims
  2. Association Claims
  3. Causal Claims
• A variable is something that varies and has at least two levels or values
• A constant is something that could potentially vary but has one level in the study in question
• Measured Variables are levels that are observed and recorded
• Construct, Conceptual Variable: name of concept being studied
• Conceptual Definition is a careful, theoretical definition of the construct
• Operational Definition, Operationalization is how the construct is measured or manipulated in an actual study
• A claim is an argument someone is trying to make
• Frequency Claims describe a particular rate or degree of a single variable
• Association Claims argue that one level of a variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable
• A Causal Claim is where one variable causes another
• Variables are said to correlate or covary when one variable changes another
• A correlational study is a type of study where variables are measured and the relationship between them is tested
• Positive Correlation: high goes with high and low goes with low
• Negative Correlation: high goes with low and low goes with high
• Zero Correlation: no association between the variables
• Causal Claims use language like cause, enhance, affect, decrease, and change
• Association Claims uses verbs like link, associate, correlate, predict, tie to, and to be at risk for
• The 4 Big Validities Are:

  1. Construct Validity
  2. External Validity
  3. Statistical Validity
  4. Internal Validity