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BU PSYC 243 - Correlational Study
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PSY 243 1st Edition Lecture 2Outline of Last Lecture I. Intro to stats & research methodsII.New VocabularyIII. What is an aged sample?IV. Two kinds of statistics Outline of Current Lecture I. Why do scientists use statistics?II. Correlational studyIII. Correlation does not mean causationIV. Characteristics of experimental studiesV. Types of variables VI. Quasi-independent variablesVII. Four types of measurement scalesVIII. Continuous vs. discrete scalesCurrent LectureWhy do scientists use statistics?- Scientists use statistics to study a mathematic relationships between 2 or more variables- 2 ways to study variables:o Experiments o Correlational StudyCorrelational Study- Measure 2 things and determine whether there is a relationship between themo Passive observer rather than an active researcherCorrelation does not mean causation- Example: Teenage pregnancy is correlated with smoking, but is not caused by smoking- 3rd variable problem: There may be some other variable (not measured by experimenters) that causes both teenage smoking & teenage pregnancyThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Even if link is causal, direction of causation cannot easily be determined:Even if there isa causal link, often you don’t know which variable causes whichCharacteristics of Experimental Studies- Researcher manipulates a variable & measures the effect on another variable, while holding everything else constant- Researcher randomly assigns subjects to groups Types of variables- Dependent variableo Behavior measured by experimenter depends on conditions of the independent variable- Independent Variable (factors)o Manipulated by experimenter to see if it affects the behavior or interesto Have different conditions Specific amounts/level of the independent variable that creates the specific situation under which participants are examinedQuasi-independent variables- Gender, age, race, major, religion- Cannot randomly assignFour types of measurement scales- Nominal scale: score does not indicate amount, but identificationo E.g. 1 for male 2 for female- Ordinal scale: Indicate rank ordero E.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd- Interval scale: actual quantity, no true zeroo E.g. Temperature has no true 0, just reflects the cold- Ratio scale: scores reflect the true amount of the variable that is presento 0 actually lacks variable & cannot have negative amountContinuous vs. Discrete Scales- Continuous scale: allow for fractional amounts & decimals- Discrete scale: measured only in whole numberso Dichotomous variable: When discrete variable has only 2 possible categories or scores  E.g. Male/female,


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BU PSYC 243 - Correlational Study

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