COM 304 EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE
Methods of knowing - Answers - intuition, science, authority, tenacity
intuition - Answers - believing something because it "feels right"
science - Answers - collecting data; analyzing systematically and objectively
authority - Answers - believing something because an authority figure said its true
tenacity - Answers - believing something because its always been that way
Characteristics of scientific research - Answers - It is:
Public, empirical, predictive, self-correcting, cumulative, objective
public - Answers - results and data are available for evaluation by others; posted in
scientific journals
empirical - Answers - involves structured and systematic observation
predictive - Answers - theories are built so that they can predict behavior
self-correcting - Answers - it is constantly evolving; errors are uncovered and theories
are changed
objective - Answers - has explicit rules and procedures; based on facts, not opinion and
interpretation
cultivation theory - Answers - peoples perception of the real world with media portrayal
concept - Answers - expresses an abstract idea formed by generalizing and
summarizing related observations
conceptualization - Answers - assigning a label/specific meaning/theoretical definition to
observations/concept label
ex: perceiving a table differently
types of concepts - Answers - tangible and concrete attributes, can be observed directly
intangible and abstract attributes, cannot be observed directly
advantages of concepts - Answers - simplifies the research process by combining
objects in to categories
, simplifies communication
operationalization - Answers - Translates the concept into simplified terms that can be
measured
ex: "amount of time" --> "number of years"
must be closely related to the theoretical definition
variables - Answers - something that can take on more than one value or attribute
independent variable - Answers - defines a principal focus of research interest
ex: predictor (cause), antedecent (comes before)
manipulated or selected, or measured
dependent variable - Answers - what is affected or influenced by the independent
variable; what the researcher tries to explain
ex: criterion variable (effect comes after)
always measured!!
control variable - Answers - accounting for a potential source of error or unwanted
influences in the data
moderating variable - Answers - affects the direction or strength of the relationship
ex: violent films affect people differently; moderator is gender
mediating variable - Answers - explains how or why the IV affects the DV
mediates the x and y variables
discrete variable - Answers - includes only a finite set of values (whole numbers and
units/objects)
continuous variable - Answers - can take on any value (including fractions) and can be
broken into smaller subsections
research question - Answers - formally stated question intended to provide indication
about something
hypothesis - Answers - formal statement regarding the relationship between variables
types of hypotheses - Answers - directional, non directional, null, and comparative
Methods of knowing - Answers - intuition, science, authority, tenacity
intuition - Answers - believing something because it "feels right"
science - Answers - collecting data; analyzing systematically and objectively
authority - Answers - believing something because an authority figure said its true
tenacity - Answers - believing something because its always been that way
Characteristics of scientific research - Answers - It is:
Public, empirical, predictive, self-correcting, cumulative, objective
public - Answers - results and data are available for evaluation by others; posted in
scientific journals
empirical - Answers - involves structured and systematic observation
predictive - Answers - theories are built so that they can predict behavior
self-correcting - Answers - it is constantly evolving; errors are uncovered and theories
are changed
objective - Answers - has explicit rules and procedures; based on facts, not opinion and
interpretation
cultivation theory - Answers - peoples perception of the real world with media portrayal
concept - Answers - expresses an abstract idea formed by generalizing and
summarizing related observations
conceptualization - Answers - assigning a label/specific meaning/theoretical definition to
observations/concept label
ex: perceiving a table differently
types of concepts - Answers - tangible and concrete attributes, can be observed directly
intangible and abstract attributes, cannot be observed directly
advantages of concepts - Answers - simplifies the research process by combining
objects in to categories
, simplifies communication
operationalization - Answers - Translates the concept into simplified terms that can be
measured
ex: "amount of time" --> "number of years"
must be closely related to the theoretical definition
variables - Answers - something that can take on more than one value or attribute
independent variable - Answers - defines a principal focus of research interest
ex: predictor (cause), antedecent (comes before)
manipulated or selected, or measured
dependent variable - Answers - what is affected or influenced by the independent
variable; what the researcher tries to explain
ex: criterion variable (effect comes after)
always measured!!
control variable - Answers - accounting for a potential source of error or unwanted
influences in the data
moderating variable - Answers - affects the direction or strength of the relationship
ex: violent films affect people differently; moderator is gender
mediating variable - Answers - explains how or why the IV affects the DV
mediates the x and y variables
discrete variable - Answers - includes only a finite set of values (whole numbers and
units/objects)
continuous variable - Answers - can take on any value (including fractions) and can be
broken into smaller subsections
research question - Answers - formally stated question intended to provide indication
about something
hypothesis - Answers - formal statement regarding the relationship between variables
types of hypotheses - Answers - directional, non directional, null, and comparative
