Study Guide 1

Dr, Gass

HCOM 308

Fall 2008

Study Guide for Test 1

Your first test will = cover chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 (skim), 5 (pp. 89-93), 6, 9, 13 (pp. 266-272). Your tests will consist of 60-65 multiple choice questions.

Key terms and concepts from Chapter 1

h= ighlights in the history of social science research, pp. = 2-4

k= now what “social science” research is a= nd why it is important, pp. 1-3

c= ommunication versus communications, pp. 6-7

t= hree pillars of experimental research

manipulation

= measurement

= control

a= variable must vary, otherwise it is a co= nstant

= variations in attributes, levels, values, or condition= s

t= reatment versus control group

c= omparison groups (no control condition)=

r= andom assignment

assumption of equivalence of groups created via random assignment

n= on-random assignment: intact groups or self-selected grou= ps

Key terms and concepts from Chapter 2

e= pistemology (ways of knowing, or how we know what we know),= p. 12

e= mpirical research or empiricism (objective), pp. 11-13

r= esearch defined, p. 11

q= uantitative and qualitative research (complimentary, not competing approaches), p. 12

t= he scientific method, pp. 13-20<= /p>

= theories, predictions, observations, empirical generalizations

t= heory defined, p. 13

p= urposes of theories; explain, predict, control, p. 15

g= eneral empirical rules, p. 14-15

f= alsification, falsifiability requirement, p. 15

p= redictions and hypotheses, p. 15

i= gnore pages 16-17

o= bservation (e.g. measurement), pp. 17-19=

v= ariability in social science research (complexity of human communication), p. 17

e= mphasis on objectivity, p. 18

c= ontrol, p. 18

= Clever Hans example

Anatomy of an Experiment

Know the basic elemen= ts, and their order, of a controlled experimental study

= (see online guide)

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

d= ata view versus variable view

c= olumns (variables)

r= ows (cases)

c= ells (one specific score or observation)<= /span>

Key terms and concepts for chapter 3

Tuskegee syphilis study, p. 25

Humphreys study on an= onymous gay sex, p. 25

Stanley Milgram’s research on obedience to authority, p. 26

Wendell Johnson’= ;s stuttering study

e= nds versus means controversy, p. 23

four ethics quadrants= ; good means/good ends, good means/bad ends, bad means/good ends, bad means/bad en= ds, pp. 27-28

Machiavellian ethic (= ends justify the means), p. 27

Belmont report, pp. 28-29

= autonomy (free choice, informed consent), p. 28

= beneficence, p. 29

= justice, p. 29

i= ntentional versus unintentional fraud

i= nformed consent, p. 28, pp. 32-33

= all studies entail risks

= must be voluntary informed consent

p= articipants with diminished autonomy, p. 28

r= isks to participants, p. 29

i= nstitutional review boards (IRBs= ), pp. 30-31

p= rivacy, p. 31

a= nonymity, p. 31

c= onfidentiality, p. 31

n= o protected researcher-participant privilege, p. = 32

d= eception, pp. 34-35

e= thics of participant-observation

d= ebriefing, p. 35

APA standards on plag= iarism, p. 40

Key terms and concepts for Chapter 4

Types of research gap= s, p. 45

p= rimary versus secondary sources, p. 50

s= cholarly refereed journal articles, p. 51

s= cholarly versus popular sources, p. 52=

e= lectronic databases, p. 57

l= imitations of web sources, p. 61

APA style references,= p. 66

APA style citations, = p. 67

Key terms and concepts for Chapter 5

a= bstract, p. 76

s= ignificance of the topic, p. 80

t= hesis and preview, p. 80

d= efine, explain key concepts, p. 83<= /p>

d= eveloping a rationale, p. 83, p. 88

i= dentifying gaps in the literature, p. 83=

d= eveloping an argument, p. 83

h= ypotheses, p. 89

o= ne-tailed (or unidirectional) hypothesis, p. 90

t= wo-tailed (or bidirectional) hypothesis, p. 90=

n= ull hypothesis (H₀), p. 91

r= esearch questions, p. 92

d= irectional and nondirectional = research questions, p. 92

m= ethods section, p. 93-96

r= esults section, pp. 96-97

d= iscussion, p. 97-100

Key terms and concepts from chapter 6

v= ariable defined, p. 104

= independent variable is manipulated<= /p>

= dependent variable is measured

= confounding variables (extraneous variables) are contr= olled

c= oncrete versus abstract variables, p. 104

u= nit of analysis, p. 105

= individuals, dyads, groups, organizations, cultures, messages

e= cological fallacy (sweeping generalization), p. 105<= /o:p>

a= ttributes versus values, p. 106

= attributes are categorical

= values are numerical

r= elationships versus differences, p. 106

p= ositive, negative, and neutral (no) relationship, pp. 1= 06-107

i= ndependent variables, pp. 108-109

= operationalization of the independent variable

d= ependent variables, p. 109

i= ntervening variables, p. 110

v= ariable levels, p. 110

n= ominal level variables, p. 111

= nominal categories (occupation, religion, culture)

= dichotomous variables (female/male, liberal/conservati= ve)

o= rdinal level variables, pp. 111-112<= /p>

= ordered or hierarchical variables (military rank, educational degrees)

i= nterval level variables, pp. 112-113<= /p>

= continuous variables (age, self-esteem)

= scale data (equidistance)

r= atio level variables, pp. 114-115<= /p>

m= oderating or intervening variables

Key terms and concepts for Chapter 9

Dr. Gass’ view:= any concept that can be defined precisely can be measured

m= easurement defined, p. 167

i= mportance of isomorphic ratings, p. 169=

= Likert scales, pp. 172-173

Semantic Differential= scales, pp. 173-174

Personality traits/st= ate measures, p. 175

Operationalization, p= p. 177-179

Scale construction, p= p. 179-181

= know the 15 basic guidelines

d= irect measures

= physiological measures

= behavioral measures

s= elf-reports

= oral interviews

= surveys, quiestionnaires

= standardized scales

i= ndirect measures

= indirect questioning (what the other person wou= ld think or do)

= unobtrusive measures (Google search terms)<= /span>

a= rchived data (court records, marriage licenses)

r= etrospective data (family history, crime rates over time)

n= ominal level data, p. 169

= “crudest” form of data

= categories, groups, conditions

= measures the presence or absence of something

= categories are not hierarchical

= nominal data can sometimes be converted to scale data (averages)

= limited utility for statistical analysis

= fine for independent variables

o= rdinal level data, pp. 169-170

= rank ordered

= comparisons possible

= no assumption of equal gradations or increments between categories

i= nterval level data (scale data), p. 170

= most common type of data in social science research

= gradations, increments

= assumption of equidistance

= ratings on a scale or diagnostic instrument=

= comparisons are quantitative, but relative to one anot= her

no true zero point

r= atio level data, p. 177

= includes a true zero point

= allows for absolute comparisons

Pitfalls in Research

c= onceptual slippage

= triangulation

f= aulty manipulation

= manipulation check

l= oose procedures

pilot study

o= rder effects

multiple versions of questionnaires

s= ensitization

= avoid pre-tests

r= ecording errors

s= ocial desirability bias, p. 208, 209

= importance of anonymity

a= cquiescence bias and “screw you” bias, pp. 209-= 210

r= esponse set, p. 210

Chapter 13

r= andom assignment, pp. 260-261

m= anipulation of the independent variable, p. 262<= /span>

= stimulus conditions, p. 263

= stimulus materials, p. 263

= stimulus videos or recordings, p. 263

= hypothetical situations, role plays, p. 263=

m= easurement of the dependent variable, p. 265

c= ontrol, p. 266

t= hreshold effects, basement effect, ceiling effect, p. 26= 6

= use sensitive, precise measures

e= xperimenter effects, p. 266

= blind and double-blind experiments

Hawthorne effect, p. 266

= cover stories

= unobtrusive measures

e= xtraneous, intervening, and confounding variables, p. 267=

h= istory, p. 270

m= aturation, p. 270

r= egression to the mean, p. 270

a= ttrition and mortality, p. 270