Question: research strategy

Answer: Refers to the general approach and goals of a research study.The selection of a research strategy is usually determined by the kind of question you plan to address and the kind of answer you hope to obtain.

Question: Descriptive Research

Answer: Intended to answer questions about the current state of individual variables for a specific group of individuals.Example: For the students at a specific college, what is the typical number of text messages received per day?

Question: Descriptive Research Strategy

Answer: Not concerned with relationships between variables but rather with the description of individual variables.

Question: Relationships between Variables

Answer: changes in one variable are consistently and predictably accompanied by changes in another variable.example: when gender changes from male to female, self esteem changes from relatively high to relatively low

Question: Linear Relationship

Answer: Data points produced by the changing values of two variables tend to form a straight line

Question: Curvilinear Relationship

Answer: Consistent, predictable relationship between the two variables but formed a curved line

Question: Positive Relationships

Answer: When one variable increases, second variable also increases

Question: Negative Relationships

Answer: When one variable goes up, the other variable decreases

Question: The Correlation Research Strategy

Answer: Measuring two variables for each individual:-Observe the two variables as they exist naturally-Measure the variables of each individualExample: relationship between GPA and sleeping habits, specifically, wake-up time, for college students

Question: The Experimental Research Strategy

Answer: intended to answer cause-and-effect questions about the relationship between two variablesExample:are increases in exercise responsible for causing decrease in cholesterol levels?-Helps to ensure an unambiguous demonstration of a cause and effect relationship

Question: The Quasi-Experimental Research Strategy

Answer: Usually attempts to answer cause-and-effect questions about the relationships between two variables, but it can never produce an unambiguous explanation.Example: A researcher would like to determine whether a specific treatment causes a reduction in cigarette smoking.No way of knowing whether people in treatment program are similar to the people in no-treatment program.

Question: The Non-experimental Research Strategy

Answer: Intended to demonstrate a relationship between variables but it does not attempt to explain the relationship.Does not try to produce cause-and-effect.Example: Is there a relationship between verbal skills in 6 year old girls, and 6 year old boys?they would compare results but would not try to explain

Question: Research Strategy Summary

Answer: 1. Strategies that examine individual variables instead of relationships between variables.

Question: research design

Answer: a general plan for implementing a research strategy.

Question: research procedure

Answer: Determination of:- Exactly how the variables will be manipulated, measured and regulated.- Exactly how many individuals will be involved- Exactly how the individual participants or subjects will proceed through the course of the study

Question: external validity

Answer: refers to the extent in which we can generalize the results of a research study to people, settings, times, measures and characteristics other than those in the study

Question: threat to external validity

Answer: any characteristic of a study that limits the ability to generalize the results from a research study

Question: internal validity

Answer: if it produces a single, unambiguous explanation for the relationship between two variables

Question: threat to internal validity

Answer: any factor that allows for an alternative explanation

Question: selection bias

Answer: means that the sampling procedure favors the selection of some individuals over others

Question: volunteer bias

Answer: volunteers are not perfectly representative of the population

Question: novelty effect

Answer: individuals may perceive and respond differently than they would in the normal, real world

Question: extraneous variables

Answer: is any variable in a research study other than the specific variables being studied

Question: confounding variable

Answer: is an extraneous variable that changes systematically along with the two variables being studied.Provides an alternative explanation for the observed relationship between two variables and is therefore, a threat to internal validity

Question: assignment bias

Answer: occur when the process used to assign different participants to different treatments produces groups of individuals with noticeably different characteristics

Question: experimenter bias

Answer: occurs when experimenters expectations or personal beliefs regarding the outcome of the study influences the study

Question: demand characteristics

Answer: refers to any potential cues or features of a study

Question: reactivity

Answer: occurs when participants modify their natural behaviour in response to the fact that the are participating in a research study