psychology research methods

    Cards (21)

    • Falsifiability
      The ability to prove or disprove research findings
    • Falsifiability is a key feature of science
    • Time sampling

      • Observing and recording behavior at fixed time intervals (e.g. every 5 minutes) during an observation period
    • Event sampling

      • Observing and recording each occurrence of a behavior as it happens during an observation period
    • When the behavior occurs too frequently

      Time sampling may be more effective than event sampling
    • Questionnaire
      May elicit more honest answers than an interview, as they are anonymous
    • Observation techniques

      • Tallying behaviors
    • Tallying behavior within 30 minutes
      Write a tally whenever the behavior pops up
    • Time sampling
      Observe for 30 minutes, record what's happening every 5 minutes
    • Time sampling is used when the behavior occurs too frequently for event sampling to be effective
    • Thematic analysis

      Analyzing emerging themes from qualitative data
    • Content analysis

      Analyzing predetermined themes from qualitative data
    • Spearman's and Pearson's are used to analyze correlations, but not the range
    • Range
      A measure of dispersion, not a measure of central tendency
    • Confounding variable
      A variable that systematically changes with the dependent variable, making it appear the independent variable is responsible
    • Extraneous variable
      A variable that the researcher has not managed to control
    • Test-retest reliability
      Repeating a test and checking for consistent results
    • Inter-rater reliability

      Checking consistency between multiple researchers rating the same thing
    • Calculating the mean
      Add up all the scores, divide by the number of scores
    • 26 out of 50 people taking SSRIs noticed an improvement, while 13 out of 50 people taking a placebo noticed an improvement
    • Converting to percentages
      Divide the number who noticed improvement by the total, multiply by 100
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