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Psych Study Guide #2

Terms in this set (20)

Create a simple plan for assessing the reliability and validity of an existing or new measure.
(a). To test reliability you can use test-retest (across time), interrater (across researchers) or internal consistency (across item) then use a scatter plot to see how consistent the data is with one another
(b). To test the validity you can use face, content, criterion or discriminant and use a scatter plot to determine if the data measures or predicts what it was supposed to
(c) Reliability and validity of a measure are an ongoing process that need to be tested by multiple researchers
(d) Do this when coming up with a new measure, ensure it is valid and reliable so that it can be considered for public publishing.
List four ways to conduct a survey along with some pros and cons of each.
A)In person interviews Pro- highest response rate Pro- closest personal contact with respondents Con- costly
B) By cell phones and other Pro- less costly Pro- some personal contact Con- lower response rates
C) Through the mail and other Pro- least costly Con- lowest response rate Con- non-response bias
D) Internet Pro-becoming more common Pro-low cost Con-self selection bias Con-quality of data
Describe the kinds of evidence that would be relevant to assessing the reliability and validity of a particular measure.
Consistent with what is already known about the measure (construct validity), similar things to what is expected, consistent measures across data.
Recognize examples of confounding variables and explain how they affect the internal validity of a study.
-Confounding variable: is an extraneous variable that differs on average across levels of the independent variable.-Because they differ across conditions
Distinguish the four levels of measurement
-The nominal level: measurement for category labels (ex. male or female)
-The ordinal level: assigning scores to rank order of individuals (ex. low income, high income)
-The interval level: assigning scores so that they represent differences between individuals, but a score of zero does not actually represent the complete absence of the characteristic. (ex. temperature)
-The ratio level: assigning scores with the possibility of an absolute zero, score of zero represents an absence. (ex. number of siblings)
-The distinction is important because the level of measurement affects the kinds of statistics you can use and conclusions you can draw from your data.
Define reliability including the different types and how they are assessed.
Reliability: The extent to which the scores on a measure are consistent across time and across multiple items on the same measure.
Types of reliability:
A.) Over time: Test-retest reliability is the extent to which scores on a measure are consistent across time for the same individuals.
B.) Across items: Internal consistency the extent to which the items on a multiple item measure are consistent with each other.
C.) Across researchers: Interrater reliability is the extent to which different observers are consistent in their judgments.
Describe three different types of quasi-experimental research designs (nonequivalent groups pretest-posttest and interrupted time series) and identify examples of each one.
-Non-equivalent design has participants not randomly assigned due to belonging to a group.
-Examples would be race or ethnicity.
-The pretest posttest design has the dependent variable tested twice to see if it was affected over time. An example would be someone's maturation.
-Combination design has elements of both. An example would be a treatment test where a certain group is given a treatment and tested before and after.
Describe the cognitive processes involved in responding to a survey item.
-Interpret question, retrieve information, create judgment, format your response, finalize response
Explain how you would decide whether to use an existing measure or create your own.
-It is usually a good idea to use an existing measure that has been used successfully in previous research. Among the advantages are that (a) you save the time and trouble of creating your own, (b) there is already some evidence that the measure is valid (if it has been used successfully), and (c) your results can more easily be compared with and combined with previous results. In fact, if there already exists a reliable and valid measure of a construct, other researchers might expect you to use it unless you have a good and clearly stated reason for not doing so -Look at others' research, if there is no operational definition then you create your own measure. To create your own measure: simple instructions, practice items, brief and checks off both validity and reliability. Be cautious about demand characteristics (cues of how to respond). Finally evaluate measures.
What is survey research? Include its two important characteristics.
-Survey Research is the collection of information from a carefully collected sample of respondents through their response to questions.
-With two important characteristics that include: Self-reporting and the carefully collected sample
-Open ended and close ended questions
Explain what quasi-experimental research is and distinguish it clearly from both experimental and correlational research.
-Quasi-experimental research: resembles experimental research (IV is manipulated) BUT no random assignment of participants
-Experimental research: IV is manipulated AND random assignment of participants; typically measures causal relationship
-Correlational research: 2 or more variables measured; NO control over IV or extraneous variables; statistical relationship between them assessed
Explain what internal validity is and why experiments are considered to be high in internal validity.
-Internal validity: extent to which the study's design supports the conclusion that differences in the IV caused observable differences in the DV
-Experiments are high in internal validity because it involves the manipulation of IV and the control of extraneous variables to measure a causal relationship. This minimizes the influence of external factors.
Explain what a context effect is and give some examples.
-Context effect: unintended effect of context in which a response is made -Examples include item-order effect (the order of the options affects participants' choices), wording of the question/answer, response option effect (tendency to choose the middle option).
Define nonexperimental research distinguish it clearly from experimental research and give several examples.
-Nonexperimental research: lacks either manipulation of IV and/or random assignment of participants
-Examples include Milgram's obedience study (no random assignment) and Loftus's false memories study (no random assignment).
Explain what a psychological construct is and give several examples.
-Psychological construct: variable that can't be directly observed because it involves internal processes and/or tends to behave in complex patterns
-Examples include personality traits, emotional states, attitudes, and abilities.
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research in psychology compared with quantitative research.
-Qualitative research: 1. Strengths: issues can be examined in detail and in depth, adaptability, subjectivity 2. Weaknesses: lack objectivity, hard to generalize, reliability/validity are difficult to assess, takes a long time to report data
-Quantitative research: 1. Strengths: great at providing data that is descriptive, fast data reporting 2. Weaknesses: overlook richness of human experience; answer simple questions
Distinguish between the manipulation of the independent variable and control of extraneous variables and explain the importance of each.
-Manipulation: systematically changing the level of the independent variable across groups/situations (conditions)
-Sometimes the manipulation of the independent variable is a construct that can only be manipulated indirectly → we know our manipulation worked because we can do a manipulation check
-Extraneous variable: Any variable in the context of an experiment other than the independent and dependent variables
-Extraneous variables make it difficult to detect the effect of the IV on the DV in 2 ways: 1. By adding variability or noise to the data 2. By becoming confounding variables
-How to control extraneous variables: Hold extraneous variables constant → test all participants in same location, give identical instructions, limit individual differences (only test 20 yr old females), etc.
-Use random assignment
Describe several different ways that survey research can be used and give some examples.
-Construct a questionnaire with open ended or close ended questions
-Example question with close ended question:
-How well did you sleep last night?
-Answer: Rate 1-5 using likert scale
Explain what external validity is and how you evaluate studies in terms of their external validity.
-External validity is the extent to which results from a study can be applied to other situations, groups or events. -The main goal of external validity is to produce generalizable knowledge about the real world. -You can evaluate studies in terms of their external validity by repeating the study and measuring how representative the population is. You can also increase the validity by controlling more variables and adding a placebo group. -External validity- relevant to the real world VS. Internal validity- causal relationship
Explain when a researcher might choose to conduct nonexperimental research as opposed to experimental research.
-A researcher may prefer doing non-experimental research when the research question relates to a single variable. -A researcher may also prefer non-experimental research if they're trying to measure trends or specific characteristics of a subject. -Non-experimental research is usually done when the question is broad, there's interest in a single variable, or there's a noncausal relationship between the variables.
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