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Research Methods and Statistics
Questions and Correct Answers
What determines whether a field of study is a science?
Ans✅✅: Method, NOT content
What approach must science take when researching?
Ans✅✅: Empirical.
Empirical Approach?
Ans✅✅: Relies on direct observation and experimentation.
What is the independent variable?
Ans✅✅: The thing that gets manipulated by the researcher. What
determines the dependent variable.
What is the dependent variable?
Ans✅✅: The outcome. The result of the independent variable.Measures
of behavior used by researcher to assess effects of IV
What is applied research?
Ans✅✅: Research that desires to make a difference. Real life
application
What is basic research?
Ans✅✅: Research conducted for the sake of finding out about human
behavior, but doesn't have the ultimate goal of helping humanity. Much
more controlled than applied research.
Pretest - Stuvia US
, 2
Why would something be considered "scientific"?
Ans✅✅: empirically based knowledge on direct observation and
experimentation.
Observation: Scientific
Ans✅✅: Systematic and controlled. Keeping some variables constant
while varying others, allowing clearer understanding
Observation: Non-scientific
Ans✅✅: Casual and uncontrolled. Assumptions made from examples
Operational Definitions
Ans✅✅: Should be clear so it can be replicated by someone.
Operationalization
Ans✅✅: Specific way a variable is defined in a study.
Scientific Instruments should be ______ and ___________.
Ans✅✅: Accurate: The true amount
Precise: how detailed/ exact of an amount
What is a hypothesis?
Ans✅✅: A tentative explanation or prediction for why or how an event
occurred
How do you go about creating a hypothesis?
Ans✅✅: 1. Search scientific literature
2. Existing evidence?
3. Has my questions been answered? If so, are there related questions or
inconsistencies?
If a hypothesis is scientific, what qualities does it possess?
Pretest - Stuvia US
Research Methods and Statistics
Questions and Correct Answers
What determines whether a field of study is a science?
Ans✅✅: Method, NOT content
What approach must science take when researching?
Ans✅✅: Empirical.
Empirical Approach?
Ans✅✅: Relies on direct observation and experimentation.
What is the independent variable?
Ans✅✅: The thing that gets manipulated by the researcher. What
determines the dependent variable.
What is the dependent variable?
Ans✅✅: The outcome. The result of the independent variable.Measures
of behavior used by researcher to assess effects of IV
What is applied research?
Ans✅✅: Research that desires to make a difference. Real life
application
What is basic research?
Ans✅✅: Research conducted for the sake of finding out about human
behavior, but doesn't have the ultimate goal of helping humanity. Much
more controlled than applied research.
Pretest - Stuvia US
, 2
Why would something be considered "scientific"?
Ans✅✅: empirically based knowledge on direct observation and
experimentation.
Observation: Scientific
Ans✅✅: Systematic and controlled. Keeping some variables constant
while varying others, allowing clearer understanding
Observation: Non-scientific
Ans✅✅: Casual and uncontrolled. Assumptions made from examples
Operational Definitions
Ans✅✅: Should be clear so it can be replicated by someone.
Operationalization
Ans✅✅: Specific way a variable is defined in a study.
Scientific Instruments should be ______ and ___________.
Ans✅✅: Accurate: The true amount
Precise: how detailed/ exact of an amount
What is a hypothesis?
Ans✅✅: A tentative explanation or prediction for why or how an event
occurred
How do you go about creating a hypothesis?
Ans✅✅: 1. Search scientific literature
2. Existing evidence?
3. Has my questions been answered? If so, are there related questions or
inconsistencies?
If a hypothesis is scientific, what qualities does it possess?
Pretest - Stuvia US
