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A research question differs from a hypothesis because it:
doesn't involve a prediction
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What are some examples of research methods?
- - structured observation
- - clinical interview
- - naturalistic observation
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An example of a research design is a:
field experiment
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What is a limitation of a case study?
findings cannot be applied to individuals other than the participant
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Observation of behavior in a laboratory is a description of:
structured observation
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One limitation of ______ is that observations may not be typical of the way participants behave in everyday life.
structured observations
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What approach can easily be converted to a test or questionnaire?
structured interview
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What is a frequently used psychophysiological method?
measures of autonomic nervous system activity
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Ethnography's main purpose is to study:
culture
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The consistency, or repeatability, of measures of behavior best defines:
reliability
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Correlational designs do not permit:
inference about cause and effect
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A certain study attempts to relate prosocial activity with church attendance. This would be a ______ design.
correlational
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In an experimental study, the experimenter typically manipulates the _____ variable.
independent
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In an experimental study, the experimenter typically attempts to show causality by measuring the ______ variable.
dependent
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A natural experiment is best defined as:
a research design in which the investigator studies already existing treatments in natural settings by carefully selecting groups of participants with similar characteristics
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Failure to select participants who are representative of the population of interest in a study best defines:
biased sampling
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Cross-sectional designs are frequently used...
because they are an efficient strategy for describing age-related trends
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What are advantages of the longitudinal-sequential design?
- - it controls cohort effects
- - it makes longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons
- - the design is efficient
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One reason debriefing is different from informed consent is...
debriefing is used when the research involves deception
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Validity
whether or not the research reflects what it was intended to measure
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reliability
involves assessing whether the patterns and themes identified by the researcher are grounded in evidence and are plausible
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correlational design
- - examines relationships between variables without altering the people's experiences
- - do not permit cause-and-effect inferences
- - used when it is difficult or impossible to control the variables of interest
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correlational coefficient
measures the association between variables
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experimental design
- - permits cause and effect inferences
- - independent variable is manipulated by exposing groups of participants to two or more treatment conditions
- - random assignment and matching
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confounding variables
reduce the internal validity of experimental findings
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laboratory experiments
- - achieve a high degree of control
- - findings may not apply to everyday life
- - less precise and rigorous than true experimental design
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field experiment
researchers randomly assign participants to treatment conditions in the real world
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natural/quasi experiments
compare existing treatments involving groups of people whose characteristics are much alike
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longitudinal design
- - participants are studied repeatedly at different ages
- - used to identify common patterns and individual differences in development
- - used to find the relationship between early and later events and behaviors
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problems with longitudinal design
- - biased sampling
- - selective attribution
- - practice effects
- - changes in accepted theories and methods during long term studies
- - validity threatened by cohort effects
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cohort effects
difficulty generalizing to children growing up during different time periods
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cross-sectional design
- groups of participants differing in age are studied at the same time
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benefits and problems of cross-sectional design
benefit: avoids problems of selective attention, practice effects, theoretical and methodological changes in field
problems: limited to comparisons of age-group averages; can be threatened by cohort effects
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sequential design
- - allows researchers to test for cohort effects
- - makes longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons
- - gathers information about developmental efficiency
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microgenetic design
- researchers track change as it occurs to gain insights into processes of development
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problems with microgenetic design
- - time required for children to change is hard to anticipate
- - practice effects can bias findings
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Structured observation
the investigator sets up a laboratory situation that evokes the behavior of interest so that every participant has an equal opportunity to display the response
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problems and benefits of structured observations
Benefits: gives all children same opportunity to display behaviors
Problems: not always representative of everyday, true life
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specimen record
- - an observation on the child's behavior or development
- - may be natural and accurate but less controlled
- - may be controlled but less accurate
- - can be quick but is then limited with a small amount of data
- - can be long but is then more general with a wide amount of data
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event sampling
an observational procedure in which the researcher records all instances of a particular behavior during a specified time period
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strengths and weaknesses of event sampling
- Strength:
- - efficient due to information on only one or a few kinds of behavior being needed
- - can be used to study infrequent behaviors
- - notes antecedents and consequences of behavior
- Weaknesses:
- - focus on only one or a few behaviors
- - does not have as much detail as running record
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time sampling
researcher records whether certain behaviors occur during a sample of short intervals
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strengths and weaknesses of time sampling
stregths: efficient, quick
weakness: short time period so all behaviors might not be observed
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clinical interviews
interview method in which the researcher uses a flexible, conversational style to probe for the participant's point of view
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strengths and weaknesses of clinical interviews
- strengths:
- - very close to how participants think in every day life
- - greath breadth and depth of information can be obtained in a short time
- weakness:
- - may not be an accurate reporting of info
- - flexible procedure makes comparing difficult
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structured interview
interview method in which each participant is asked the same questions in the same way
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strengths and weaknesses of structured interviews
- strengths:
- - permits comparisons of responses
- - efficient data collection
- - researchers can specify answer alternatives that may not be thought of in an open ended interview
- weakness:
- - does not yield same depth of information as a clinical interview
- - responses are subject to inaccurate reporting
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definition of psychophysiological methods
- - research methods that measure relationship between physiological processes and behavior
- - measures of autonomic nervous system
- - measures of brain funcitoning
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examples of psychophysiological methods
- - EEG
- - ERP
- - fMRI
- - PET
- - NIROT
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EEG
- - electroencephalogram
- - researchers examine brain wave patterns for stability and organization (signs of mature functioning of the cortex)
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ERP
- - event related potentials
- - detects the general location of cortical activity when a child processes a particular stimulus
- - used to study pre-verbal infants' responsiveness to various stimuli
- - used to study impact of experience on development of regions of cerebral cortex
- - used to study atypical brain functioning in children at risk for learning and emotional problems
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Neuroimaging techniques
- - yield detailed, three-dementional computerized pictures of the enitre brain and its active areas
- - provides most precise information about which brain regions are specialized for certain capacities and about abnormalities in brain funcitoning
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fMRI
- - functional magnetic resonance imaging
- - child lies in tunnel-like apparatus
- - detects increases in blood flow and oxygen metabolism throughout the brain magnetically
- - yields colorful and moving picture parts of the brain used to perform a given activity
- - not suitable for infants and young children (required to remain as motionless as possible)
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PET
- - pasitron emission tomography
- - uses x-ray photography
- - requires injection of a radioactive substance
- - not suitable for infants and young children (required to remain as motionless as possible)
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NIROT
- - near infrared optical topography
- - new brain imaging method that works well in infancy and early childhood
- - infrared light is beamed at regions of cerebral cortex
- - measures blood flow and oxygen metabolism while child attends to a stimulus
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method used to study culture
- ethnographic method
- - entering into close contact with social group
- - researchers can understand the beliefs and behaviors of its members in a way not possible in interview or questionnaire
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reliability
the consistency, or reatability, of measures of behavior
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validity
the extent to which methods in a research study accurately measure what the investigator set out to measure
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internal validity
the degree to which conditions internal to the design of the study permit an accurate test of the researcher's hypothesis or question
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external validity
the degree to which their findings generalize to settings and participants outside of the original study
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correlational design
- - research design in which investigator gathers information on individuals without altering their experiences
- - then examines relationships between participants' characteristics and their behavior or development
- - does not permit inferences about cause and effect
- - used when the instances and conditions of interest are difficult or impossible to arrange and control and must be studies as they currently exist
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how is a correlational coefficient interpretted?
- - a number, ranging from +1.00 to -1.00
- - describes the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
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independent variable
- - the variable the researcher expects to cause changes in another variable in an experiment
- - manipulated when researcher exposes participants to the treatment conditions
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dependent variable
- - the variable the researcher expects to be influenced by the independent variable in an experiment
- - manipulated as it changes as controls the independent variable
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field experiment
researchers capitalize on opportunities to randomly assign participants to treatment conditions in natural settings
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strengths and weaknesses of field experiment
- strengths:
- - permits generalization of experimental findings to the real world
- weakness:
- - control over the treatment is generally weaker than in a laboratory experiment
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natural experiment
the investigator compares already existing treatments in the real world, carefully selecting groups of participants to ensure that their characteristics are as much alike as possible
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strengths and weaknesses of natural experiments
strengths: permits study of many real-world conditions that cannot be experimentally manipulated
weaknesses: findings may be due to variables other than the treatment
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longitudinal study
- - participants studied repeatedly at different ages
- - time span ranges from a few months to a lifetime
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strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal study
- strengths:
- - researchers can identify common patterns as well as individual differences in development
- - permits investigators to examine relationships between early and later events and behaviors
- weakness:
- - biased sampling
- - samples become more biased as investigation proceeds
- - participants' experience can interfere with studies' validity
- - cultural historical change
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biased sampling
failure to select participants who are representative of the population of interest in a study
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selective attrition
selective loss of participants during an investigation, resulting in biased sample
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practice effects
changes in participants' natural responses as a result of repeated testing
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cohort effects
the effects of cultural-historical change on the accuracy of longitudinal and cross-sectional findings
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cross-sectional study
- groups of participants of different ages are studied at the same point in time
- - avoid problems such as selective attrition, practice effects, or changes in the field that might make the findings obsolete
- - efficient for describing age-related trends
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sequential design
investigators conduct several similar cross-sectional or longitudinal studies at varying times
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risk vs. benefits ratio
- a comparison of the costs of a research study to participants in terms of inconvenience and possible psychological or physical injury against the study's value for advancing knowledge and improving conditions of life
- - used in assessing the ethics of research
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informed consent
the right of research participants, including children, to have explained to them, in a language they can understand, all aspects of a study that might affect their willingness to participate
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debriefing
providing a full account and justification of research activities to participants in a study in which deception was used
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what are the specific rights of children used in research experiments?
- - protection from harm
- - informed consent
- - privacy
- - knowledge of results
- - beneficial treatments
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