PSYCH 1X03 Chapter Module : 01-Research-Methods
Document Summary
Anecdotal evidence evidence gathered from others or self experience. Issues with anecdotal evidence: single experience might not be representative, scientists need a more rigorous method to prove a hypothesis, personal experience might not represent others, cannot ensure other variables constant. Experiment scientific tool used to measure the effect of one variable on another. Independent variable is manipulated by the scientist: dependent variable is observed by the scientist. Any variable other than the independent variable that has an affect on the final results is called a confounding variable. Ideally, if results are different between the two groups, that would mean the results depended on the independent variable (the variable being controlled) Population general group of people we"re trying to learn about. Sample selected group of people we get data from: the best sample is a random sample to reduce bias towards a specific group, random assignment: randomly assign subjects to either the experimental or the control group.
