Key Science Skills

• Psychology


  The scientific study of human mental states and behaviour
• Science


  A field and practice that obtains knowledge and generates theories through observation and experiment
• Empirical evidence


  Information obtained through direct and systematic observation or experimentation
• Non-science


  Ideas formed without empirical evidence or the use of scientific methods or principles
• Pseudoscience


  Beliefs, theories, and practices that are mistakenly regarded as, or claim to be scientific, but are not because they do not use the methods of science
• The scientific method


  1. Hypothesis formulation

  2. Testing

  3. Retesting through processes of experimentation, observation, measurement, and recording
• Model


  A representation of a concept, process, or behaviour, often made to simplify or make something easier to understand
• Theory


  A proposition or set of principles that is used to explain something or make predictions about relationships between concepts
• Aim


  A statement outlining the purpose of an investigation
• Hypothesis


  A testable prediction about the outcome of an investigation
• Variable


  A condition or component of an experiment that can be measured or manipulated
• Population (also known as research population)


  The group of people who are the focus of the research and from which the sample is drawn
• Controlled experiment


  A type of investigation in which the causal relationship between two variables is tested in a controlled environment; more specifically, the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable is tested while aiming to control all other variables
• Independent variable (IV)


  The variable for which quantities are manipulated (controlled, selected, or changed) by the researcher, and the variable that is assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable
• Dependent variable (DV)


  The variable the researcher measures in an experiment for changes it may experience due to the effect of the independent variable
• Controlled variables


  Variables other than the IV that a researcher holds constant (controls) in an investigation, to ensure that changes in the DV are solely due to changes in the IV
• Investigation methodologies (also known as research methodologies)

  Any of the different processes, techniques and/or types of studies researchers use to obtain information about psychological phenomena
• Case study


  An in-depth investigation of an individual, group, or particular phenomenon (activity, behaviour, event, or problem) that contains a real or hypothetical situation and includes the complexities that would be encountered in the real world
• Correlational study


  A type of non-experimental study in which researchers observe and measure the relationship between two or more variables without any active control or manipulation of them
• Classification


  The arrangement of phenomena, objects, or events into manageable sets
• Identification


  A process of recognition of phenomena as belonging to particular sets or possibly being part of a new or unique set
• Fieldwork


  Any research involving observation and interaction with people and environments in realworld settings, conducted beyond the laboratory
• Literature review


  The process of collating and analysing secondary data related to other people's scientific findings and/or viewpoints in order to answer a question or provide background information to help explain observed events, or as preparation for an investigation to generate primary data
• Modelling


  The construction and/or manipulation of either a physical model, such as a small- or large-scale representation of an object, or a conceptual model that represents a system involving concepts that help people know, understand, or simulate the system
• Product, process, or system development

  The design or evaluation of an artefact, process, or system to meet a human need, which may involve technological applications, in addition to scientific knowledge and procedures
• Simulation


  A process of using a model to study the behaviour of a real or theoretical system
• Experimental group


  The group of participants in an experiment who are exposed to a manipulated independent variable (i.e. a specific intervention or treatment)
• Control group


  The group of participants in an experiment who receive no experimental treatment or intervention in order to serve as a baseline for comparison
• Within-subjects design (also known as repeated measures or withingroups design)


  An experimental design in which participants complete every experimental condition
• Between-subjects design (also known as independent-groups design or between-groups design)


  An experimental design in which individuals are divided into different groups and complete only one experimental condition
• Mixed design


  An experimental design which combines elements of within-subjects and between-subjects designs
• Sample


  A subset of the research population who participate in a study
• Generalisable (also known as generalisability)


  The ability for a sample's results to be used to make conclusions about the wider research population
• Sampling technique


  The way a sample is selected from the population for a study
• Convenience sampling


  Any sampling technique that involves selecting readily available members of the population, rather than using a random or systematic approach
• Random sampling


  Any sampling technique that uses a procedure to ensure every member of the population has the same chance of being selected
• Stratified sampling


  Any sampling technique that involves selecting people from the population in a way that ensures that its strata (subgroups) are proportionally represented in the sample
• Allocation


  The process of assigning participants to experimental conditions or groups
• Extraneous variable


  Any variable that is not the independent variable but may cause an unwanted effect on the dependent variable
• Confounding variable


  A variable that has directly and systematically affected the dependent variable, apart from the independent variable