PSY-0013 Lecture 2: Chapter 2 Lecture Notes
23 Dec 2015
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Researchers seek to identify/understand relationships between variables. [something that can be studied/measured: describe what happens, explain why it happens, predict what will happen. Theory/hypothesis: a (falsifiable) statement describing the relationship between two or more conceptual variables. Want it to have construct validity [as close to concept you are trying to measure as possible without being to close to other concepts] For example, if you were using seating distance to measure self-esteem, the distances could also be measuring prejudice, which resultantly makes it an ineffective way to measure self-esteem. Self-reports (what you tell me via questionnaires, surveys, interviews) Observation (how you act via overt behavior) Happiness facial muscles (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) Methodology the scientific method: observed phenomenon in the world. Tries to explain why variables are related: systematic observation (data collection, evaluation (data analysis) To evaluate research findings effectively, you must know about the methodology that was used to collect the data be skeptical.
