research methods

• accuracy


  how close a measure relates to the 'true' value of the quantity being measured
• aim


  a statement outlining the purpose of the investigation
• anecdote


  an informal verbal report of an event that has been casually observed
• behaviour


  any action made by a living person (or animal) that can be observed or measured
• beneficence


  in relation to research ethics, the commitment to maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved in taking a particular position or course of action
• between subjects


  an experimental design in which each participant is assigned to only one group or condition and provides only one score for data analysis
• biased sample


  a research sample that does not adequately represent the key characteristics of its population
• case study


  an intensive, in-depth investigation of some behaviour, event or problem of interest in a single individual, group, organisation or situation
• conclusion


  in relation to research, a decision about what the results obtained from a research study mean
• confidentiality


  ethical guideline for research involving the privacy, protection and security of a participant's personal information, including results
• confounding variable


  a variable other than the independent variable that has affected the results (the dependent variable) and whose effect(s) cannot be separated from that of the independent variable, thereby providing an alternative explanation(s) for the results
• control condition


  in an experiment, the standard against which the experimental condition can be compared; involves the control group who are not exposed to the independent variable
• control group


  the group in an experiment not exposed to the independent variable
• controlled experiment


  an experimental investigation of the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable, whilst controlling all other variables
• controlled variable


  a variable that is considered to have an effect on the dependent variable so it is held constant to remove its potential effect
• correlation


  the degree of a relationship between two variables
• correlational study


  a research method used to investigate the relationship between variables without any control over the setting in which the relationship occurs or any manipulation by the researcher
• correlation coefficient


  a statistic used to describe the relationship between two variables
• counterbalancing


  systematically changing the order of treatments or tasks for participants in a 'balanced' way to 'counter' the unwanted effects on performance of any one order
• debriefing


  ethical guideline requiring that at the end of the experiment, the participant leaves understanding the experimental aim, results and conclusions including wellbeing checks where appropriate
• deception (in research)


  when a researcher deliberately conceals the true purpose of the experiment from participants by misleading or misinforming them
• demand characteristic


  a cue in an experiment that may influence or bias a participant's response, thereby distorting the results
• dependent variable (DV)


  the variable the researcher measures, after selecting the independent variable that is assumed to have an effect on the independent variable
• double blind procedure


  a procedure in which both the participants and the experimenter(s) interacting with them are unaware of the conditions to which the participants have been allocated
• ethical concept


  moral or philosophical idea that focuses on the concept of what is right and wrong
• ethical guideline


  enforceable standards that psychologists use to guide ethical decisions in practice, research, and education
• ethics


  in relation to research, standards that guide researchers to identify good, desirable or acceptable behaviour
• experimental condition


  the condition in an experiment in which participants are exposed to the independent variable; involves the experimental group; sometimes used to mean any or all groups or conditions in an experiment, including the control group (or conditions)
• experimental group


  the group in an experiment exposed to the independent variable
• experimenter effect


  any influence on the results produced by the person carrying out the research; also calledexperimenter bias
• external validity


  the extent to which the results obtained for a study can be applied beyond the sample that generated them, specifically to individuals in a different setting and over time
• extraneous variable


  any variable other than the independent variable that can cause a change in the dependent variable and therefore affect the validity of the results in an unwanted way
• field experiment


  a psychological experiment that is conducted outside the laboratory in a 'real-world' setting
• fixed-response question


  a question that presents a number of fixed alternative answers from which participants are required to choose
• free-response question


  a question which allows participants to answer entirely as they want to
• generalisation


  in research, a decision about how widely the findings of an investigation can be applied, particularly to other members of the population from which the sample was drawn
• independent variable (IV)


  variable that is manipulated (controlled, selected or changed) in order to test its effects on the dependent variable
• informed consent


  ethical guideline requiring that participants understand the nature and purpose of the experiment, including potential risks, before agreeing to participate
• integrity


  in relation to research ethics, the commitment to searching for knowledge and understanding, the honest reporting of all sources of information and results, whether favourable or unfavourable, in ways that permit scrutiny and contribute to public knowledge and understanding
• internal validity


  the extent to which an investigation actually investigated what it set out to investigate and/or claims to have investigated