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Survey Research
A research study that uses the survey observational technique to measure behavior
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Psychometrics
Area of psychological research that involves the development, validation and refinement of survey and tests to measure psychological constructs.
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Descriptive vs. Predictive
Descriptive~A research question that asks about the presence of behavior, how frequently it is exhibited, or whether there is a relationship between different behaviors.
Predictive~ A research question that asks if one behavior can be predicted from another behavior to allow predictions for future behavior.
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Causal Research Question
A research question that asks what causes specific behaviors to occur
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Open-Ended vs. Close-Ended
Close-ended~ participants respond to survey questions according to the response options provided by the researcher
Open-ended~Participants respond to survey questions in any manner they feel is appropriate for the question.
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Construct Validity
Indicates that a survey measures the behavior it is designed to measure
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Nonresponse Error
A sampling error that occurs when individuals chosen for the sample do not respond to the survey, biasing the sample.
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Coverage Error
A sampling error that occurs when the sample chosen the complete a survey does not provide a good representation of the population.
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Criterion-Related Validity
Determining the validity of the scores of a survey by examining the relationship between the survey scores and the other established measures of the behavior of the interest.
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Test-Retest Reliability
Indicates that the scores on a survey will be similar when participants complete the survey more than once.
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Attrition/mortality
Occurs when participants choose not to complete a study
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Testing effects
Occur when participants are tested more than once in a study, with early testing affecting later testing.
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Internal Consistency
A form of reliability that tests relationships between scores on different items of a survey.
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Split-Half Reliability
Method of testing scores' internal consistency that indicates if the scores are similar on different sets of questions on a survey that address similar topics.
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Cronbach's Alpha
A method of testing scores' internal consistency that indicates the average correlation between scores on all pairs of items on a survey
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Predictor variable
the dependent variable in a correlational study that is used to predict the score on another variable
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Outcome variable
The dependent variable in a correlational study that is being predicted by the predictor variable
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Third variable problem
The presence of extraneous factors in a study that affect the dependent variable and can decrease the internal validity of the study
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Pearson R
A significance test used to determine if a linear relationship exists between two variable measured on interval or ratio scales.
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Positive vs. Negative relationships
Positive~ A relationship between variables characterized by an increase in one variable that occurs with an increase in the other variable.
Negative~ A relationship between variables characterized by an increase in one variable that occurs with a decrease in the other variable.
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Quasi-experiment
A type of research design where a comparison is made, as in an experiment, but no random assignment of subjects to groups occurs
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Random Assignment
Participants are randomly assigned to levels of the independent variable in an experiment to control for individual differences as an extraneous variable.
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Pretest-Posttest Design
A type of research design (often a quasi-experiment) where behavior is measured both before and after a treatment or condition is implemented.
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Nonequivalent groups
Groups compared in a study where participants are not randomly assigned.
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Regression (toward the mean)
Can occur when participants score higher or lower than their personal average-the next time they are tested, they are more likely to score near their personal average, making scores unreliable.
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history effects
Events that occur during the course of a study to all participants or to individual participants that can result in bias.
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Testing effects
occur when participants are tested more than once in a study, with early testing affecting later testing.
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Solomon Four Group Design
Pretest-Posttest design with two sets of nonequivalent groups in which one set takes the pretest and posttest and one set takes only the posttest.
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Time Series Design
A research design in which patterns of scores over time are compared from before a treatment is implemented and after a treatment is implemented.
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Maturation
Natural changes that occur to the participants during the course of a study that can result in bias.
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Longitudinal Design
A developmental design where a single sample of participants is followed over time and tested at different ages.
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Cross-Sectional Design
A developmental design in which multiple samples of participants of different ages are tested once.
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Cohort sequential design
A developmental design where multiple samples of participants of different ages are followed over time and tested at different ages.
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Generation (Cohort) effects
A confound that can occur in cross-sectional designs due to different experiences that different generations have.
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Small n design
An experiment conducted with one or a few participants to better understand the behavior of those individuals
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Baseline measurement
A small n design that involves baseline measurements of behavior as compared with measures of behavior during the implementation of a treatment.
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