PSC ch. 2

Determinism

Empiricism

Parsimony

Testability

the world is orderly and all events have meaningful, systematic causes

knowledge is based on observation

the simplest explanation is preferable to more complex ones

theories should be testable

Reasoning from general principles to specific instances

Reasoning from specific instances to general principles

Conceptual variables are broad and abstract

(depression, interpersonal attraction, prejudice)

The process of transforming abstract concepts into concrete, observable terms

represent the conceptual variables

Descriptive

Correlational

Experimental

Provides detailed portrait of a phenomenon or population

 Allows for further investigation using correlational or experimental designs.

Does not tell us anything about what caused the phenomenon 

Observer bias & expectancy effects

study the associations of naturally occurring variables

study variables that we cannot manipulate (gender, age, socio-economic status, depression)

Correlation does not equal causation

There may be a third variable driving the correlation

Experiments are the only research design that allow us make causal inferences

Some variables can not be manipulated (gender)

other variables are unethical to manipulate (discrimination)

Manipulation

Randomization

Manipulate the IV in order to produce different levels (conditions) that will affect the DV 

The DV is the variable the IV is expected to change

The DV depends on the IV

placing people in conditions on a completely arbitrary basis (coin-flip).

Random assignment solves the problem of individual differences

It equalized groups on every dimension imaginable (assuming the sample size is large).

IV cause a change in the DV.

Observational studies and studies using random sampling tend have high external validity

Internal validity

External validity

Construct validity

research provides compelling information about causation (process of causing something to happen or exist)

research provides an accurate description of what happens in the real world

The extent to which the operational variables represent the conceptual variables

Inter-rater reliability

Internal reliability

Test-retest reliability (temporal consistency)

The degree to which different judges independently agree on an observation or judgment

The degree to which items in a scale measure the same concept

measuring the same person on two (or more) occasions to assess the degree to which a scale correlates positively with itself over time

The ethics of data collection and analysis  

The ethical treatment of participants

The ethics of responsibility to society

Institutional Review Boards (IRB)

Institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC)