Psychology 290Lab #2

Sept. 26 – 28

• Types & Parts of Articles

• Operational Definition

• Variables

• Reliability & Validity

• Types of Articles– Research Report– Review Article– Theoretical Article

• Parts of Articles– Title– Abstract– Introduction– Method– Results– Discussion– References

Operational Definition

• “A precise description of the procedures the researcher followed in order to observe or measure a variable” [Relates a concept to specific operations].

• Allows for knowing exactly what you are studying and directs how to study/measure it.

• Example – Defining Aggression– Verbal– Physical– Indirect

Variables

• Independent– manipulated by the experimenter

• Dependent– not under the control of the experimenter– the measured variable

• Extraneous– Other variables outside the focus of the study that may affect the

results

• Qualitative (categorical) vs. Quantitative (measurement)• Continuous (all values) vs. Discrete (limited values)

Reliability & Validity

• Reliability– refers to the consistency of a measurement– e.g. repeated measurement should yield

consistent results when used under the same conditions

• Validity– Refers to the accuracy of the measurement– i.e. the measurement used is accurately

measuring what it is intended to

Types of Reliability & Validity

• Reliability– Test-retest

– Internal Consistency

– Alternate Forms

– Inter-rater

• Validity– Face validity

– Content validity

– Construct validity

– Criterion validity