Terminology + Concepts to Prioritise

• Program Evaluation

  Tests the efficacy of social reforms and innovation that occur in our government infrastructure.
• Covariation

  As one variable increases or decreases the other variable follows suit.
• Empiricism

  The use of observation and/or direct sensory experience to obtain knowledge to answer and support a question or hypothesis.
• What are the four goals of scientific research?

  1. Describe Behaviour
  2. Predict Behaviour
  3. Determine Behaviour
  4. Understand/Explain Behaviour
• What is the core benefit of learning about research methods?

  Applying the scientific method helps us avoid biased conclusions because it systematically seeks high-quality evidence.
• Define the four goals of scientific research in psychology?

  • Describe: Involves careful observations and measurement which can be used as a foundation for future work.
  • Predict: When what we're observing shows regularity, two events are systematically related to one another, it becomes possible to predict behaviour.
  • Determine: Used to identify cause-and-effect behaviour; if we know the cause we can change behaviour.
  • Understand/Explain: Additional research is needed to explore other possible causal explanations.
• Abstract

  A summary of the research report. It is often 250 words or less and includes the hypothesis, procedure, and the pattern of results.
• Citations

  A formal reference to a source, typically including information such as the author, title, publication, and source location. It is used to acknowledge and provide credibility to the information and ideas presented in the study.
• Discussion

  Reviews research from various perspectives, presents methodological weaknesses and strengths, explains how the results compare with past results and includes suggestions for practical applications and suggestions for future research.
• Introduction

  Summarises past research and relevant theories, outlines problems investigated, and hypotheses, are introduced, and connected to past research.
• Literature review

  A written overview of major writings and others.
• Method

  Overview of design, characteristics of participants, procedure, equipment, or testing materials.
• Prediction

  A statement about the expected results of an experiment or controlled observation.
• PSYCInfo

  The APA's searchable computer database system.
• References

  Throughout the paper, authors put a brief in-text citation at the end of sentences; the reference section gives details of these papers.
• Research Hypothesis

  A specific and testable statement or prediction about the relationship between variables, giving the direction of the study and informing the formulation of research questions and experimental designs.
• Results

  Description in narrative form and statistical language, material in table or graph.
• Theory

  A system of logical steps that are proposed to explain a particular phenomenon.
• Internal Validity

  A study is internally valid when it meets the three criteria: establishes temporal precedence and covariation and eliminates alternative explanations.
• Third-Variable Problem

  The possibility that two variables appear to be related when in actuality they are both influenced by a third variable which causes them altogether.
• Operational Definition

  A procedure for indirectly measuring and defining a variable that cannot be observed or measured directly.
• Participant Variable

  Any characteristic or aspect regarding an individual that may affect the results.
• Concurrent Validity

  Scores on the measure are related to a criterion at the same time.
• Construct Validity

  
  

  The degree to which the operational definition of a variable actually reflect the true theoretical meaning of the variable.
• Measurement Error

  The difference between an observed value and the actual value that are being measured.
• Reliability

  Stability or consistency of the measurements produced by a specific measurement procedure.
• Content Validity

  When the content of the measure captures all aspects of the intended construct.
• True Score

  Theoretical value that represent the participant's score.
• Cronbach's Alpha

  Based on the average of all the inter-item correlations and the number of items in the measure; how the items in the scale correlate with each other and if it's highly.
• Discriminant Validity

  Scores on the measure are not related to other measures that are theoretically different.
• Face Validity

  The content of the measure appears to reflect the construct being measured.
• Predictive Validity

  Scores on the measure predict behaviour on a criterion measured at a time in the future.
• Internal Consistency Reliability

  How consistent the measure across items is intended to measure the same concept.