PSYC100 Chapter 2: Research in Psychology
8 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Hypothesis: a specific, testable proposition about something psychologists want to study; precise, clearly worded statement about what researchers think might be true and how they will know if it is not. Operational definitions: descriptions of the exact operations or methods they"ll use in their research to make it easier to understand and evaluate the hypothesis. Variables: specific factors or characteristics manipulated and measured in research. Data: numbers that represent research findings and provide basis for research conclusions; objective. Statistical reliability (reliability): degree to which the data are stable and consistent. Statistical validity (validity): degree to which the data accurately represent the topic being studied. Theory: set of statements designed to account for, predict, and suggest ways of controlling certain phenomena. 4 main goals of psychologists: describe behavior and mental processes, make accurate predictions about them, demonstrate some control over them, explain how/why they occur.
