Vocabulary A-D Worksheet

A statistical test showing the effects of an “independent variable” on a “dependent variable”; a technique to determine whether there are “statistically significant” differences of “means” between two or more groups.
What people say about something; not proven by hard (experimental) research.
– A kind of study that tries to make sense of the real world and to change what people actually do in the real world
– A test or other way of measuring something, such as a person’s mental health or goals or needs; often the first test in a series of tests, or a test given before treatment starts
The “drop-out” rate among people who are being studied. People may quit because they want to, or they may not be able to stay in the study group (because of illness, lack of time, moving to another city, etc.), or they may not fit into the study anymore (if they get a job or marry, for example, in a study about single people who are not working).
A standard, test, or point of reference (often a number).
Something that may lead a researcher to wrong conclusions; for example, mistakes or problems in how the study is planned, or how the information is gathered or looked at. If two different interviewers had different styles that caused people with the same thoughts to give different answers, but the answers were all put
The study of two things (amounts, values, “variables”) and how they are connected.
The close study of one person, group, process, event, etc. (most often one person). The one chosen (for example, Lauren Slater, who takes Prozac) is seen as like others in a larger group (for example, the larger group of all people taking Prozac) who are not being studied.
A piece of information that can be put in a single category, instead of being given a number: for example, the information about whether a person owns a car or about whether the person belongs to a certain race can be put in the category of “yes” or the category of “no.”
The link between causes and their effects. For example, smoking (the cause) leads to lung cancer (the effect), and studying how often this happens and why would be studying causality. In most research about how people behave, causality can’t be proven, and ideas are tested by whether things (“variables,” amounts) change together.
A statistical test that measures “significance” in the study of “frequency distributions.”
Questions that list the possible answers; for example, “multiplechoice” questions or “true-false” questions
Putting answers into groups (usually numbered groups), so the answers can be counted and studied more easily
A study of a group of people who stay in that group over a long time. For example, all people born in 1960 are a cohort; or all students who will graduate from high school in 1999. The study follows this group over time, rather than looking at them once.
A number (range) that shows how likely it is that the true amount is inside the listed range of amounts; for example, a 95% confidence interval of 25-45 would mean there is a 95% chance that the right amount (number, score, measurement) is somewhere between 25 and 45
The inability to tell between the separate impacts of two or more factors on a single outcome. For example, one may find it difficult to tell between the separate impacts of genetics and environmental factors on depression.
The measure of how well the test fits the ideas behind the study and the way the topic has been set out. Usually such a test separates 2 groups that are known to be opposite extremes.
Something that has an unlimited number of possible values; for example, height, weight, and age are all continuous because a person’s height, weight, or age could be measured in smaller and smaller fractions between the numbers of the whole inches, pounds, or years.
The people being studied who are not getting the treatment or other “intervention”/change that the people in the “experimental” group are getting; for example, in a study testing a medication, the control group would not take the medication.
A measure ranging from 0.00 to 1.00, of how well two or more things (“variables”, values, scores, etc.) change together. Both things may get higher at the same time, or lower at the same time, or one may get higher while the other gets lower. For example, saving money and spending money are correlated (inversely), because the more money you save, the less you spend
A way of studying different cultural groups (for example, Eskimos and Mennonites) to see how they are the same and how they are different.
Research that compares people at one time only. Cause and effect can’t be seen in this kind of study.
Information taken from the study records, questionnaires, interviews, etc. Databases - Groups of information recorded in a standardized (set, official) way.
The gathering of information through surveys, tests, interviews, experiments, library records, etc
Recording, storing, calling up, and analyzing information with a computer program.