PSYC401 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Internal Validity, Statistical Inference, External Validity
Document Summary
Variable - any characteristic whose values can change. We are guided by the questions we hope to address through our observations. The question must be formulated in a way that the evidence can link to it. Testible hypothesis: a prediction that has been formulated specifically enough so that it is clear what observations would confirm the prediction and what observations would challenge it. This has a specfic claim about the facts, framed in a way to allow an unambiguous test. Testing must make hypothesis falsifiable (stated so that we"re clear at the start about what pattern in the evidence could show the hypothesis to be false. Operational definition: a definition that translates the variable we want to assess into a specific procedure or measurement. Construct validity: must truly reflect variable names in hypothesis. Dependent variable: variable measured or recorded in an experiment. Independent variable: variable the experimenter manipulates as a basis for making predictions about the dependent variable.
