PSYC 2120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Scientific Method, Dewey Defeats Truman, Dependent And Independent Variables
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Answer questions so that we can better understand how development works: basic research: primary goal of adding to our body of knowledge rather than having an immediate, direct application. Operationalize: defining a concept in a way that allows it to be measured: ex: how would you operationalize the concept of aggression? . Do the findings of the study generalize to other settings and. Reliability: consistency and across time: inter-rater, test-retest. Population = everyone in the category we are interested in studying or learning more about: but usually we cannot study an entire population, so. A sample of a population is selected to reflect the characteristics of the population of interest, called a representative sample. Hypothesis: prediction that is tested by the scientific method. Often theory-driven (based on theoretical issues or observations. Specific enough to provide evidence for/against a theory. Random assignment of participants: experimental group gets the treatment , control group does not get the treatment .
