Chapter 2: Fill-in-the-Blanks

Graziano & Raulin Study Guide Sample

Now test your knowledge of important terms and concepts by filling in the correct terms in each blank. Cover up the answers and check yourself after you have answered. [Note: In the Study Guide, the answers are on the right side of the page, which makes them easy to cover and uncover for studying. For the WEB page, the answers are at the bottom of the page.]

Research is a systematic searching for information. This text refers to it as a process of __________. Science differs from other ways of acquiring knowledge in that science combines __________ and __________. This combination places heavy demands on the adequacy of the information it uses. Scientists carefully observe events (the __________ component) and try to make sense out of the observations (the __________ component).
In scientific research, the observations constitute the __________ of research. In psychology, we usually observe the __________ behavior __________ __________. But psychologists may be interested in more than just the external behavior of organisms. Psychologists study concepts such as memory, intelligence, attitudes, and perception, which are not __________ __________. Instead, these variables are __________ from our behavioral observations.
Since the psychologist often studies events like memory that cannot be directly observed, it is important to make the distinction between __________ and observations __________. Internal processes such as memory are not directly __________. Instead, the researcher infers the existence of these processes on the basis of __________ __________. Concepts such as memory are constructed by the researcher and are referred to as __________. Once constructed by the researcher, they are used __________ __________ they existed in fact and really were related to observable events. However, it is important to remember that these constructs are not __________. It is very easy to begin to view these __________ as if they were true. Confusing a construct for a fact is known as __________ of a construct. reification
Constructs are initially __________ from observations of behavior. Once the constructs are developed, they can be used to __________ new behavior. Scientists move back and forth from observations to constructs, refining the __________ on the basis of the observations, and then using the constructs to predict new __________. By using observations and observations constructs in this descriptive and explanatory manner, we construct an analogue or __________ to represent reality. A __________ is a small scale representation of reality. It simplifies reality, allowing us to visualize and understand relationships between variables. But, the model is always __________ and can always be replaced by better models.
The process of moving back and forth from observations to constructs is actually two processes. Inferring the existence of constructs on the basis of observations is known as __________. Predicting new observations on the basis of the inferred construct is known as __________. This __________ / __________ process mirrors the concept of rationalism/empiricism that is the hallmark of all science.
Your textbook has offered a two-dimensional model of the research process. One dimension is the phases of research and the second dimension is the levels of constraint. The __________ __________ __________ dimension refers to the sequence of steps that the researcher goes through in conducting any research study. The __________ __________ __________ dimension refers to the precision, structure, and control that distinguish one research study from another.
Your authors describe seven phases of the research process. Most research projects move in order from one phase to another as the research progresses. The __________-__________ phase is the first step in any research project. This early idea-generating activity of the researcher is nourished by the curiosity and enthusiasm of the researcher. In the __________-__________ phase of research, the researcher refines the initial idea(s) into one or more specific testable research questions. In the __________ __________ phase the researcher makes all the decisions about exactly how the research project is to be carried out, such as how the subjects will be selected, how the variables are to be measured, and how the data will be analyzed. The __________ phase is the central task of research. In this phase the researcher actually makes the empirical observations that will be evaluated in the last three phases. In the __________-__________ phase the researcher evaluates the information gained in the previous phase, using one or more statistical procedures. During the __________ phase, the researcher seeks to make sense out of the results of the study. This phase uses __________ reasoning primarily to take us from the specific results of the study back to the generality of the theory. Finally, in the __________ phase the researcher reports on his or her findings, usually in an article or convention presentation. Research reports often stimulate ideas that generate further research.
The second dimension of the research model presented in this text is the __________ __________ __________ aspect, which refers to a dimension of precision and control. This dimension is conceived of as a continuum from the __________-constraint, flexible procedures characteristic of early research in an area to the very highly __________ and precise research characteristic of most experiments. Even though this dimension is conceived of as a continuum, your authors have defined five __________ of constraint. The higher constraint procedures have the highest level of __________, but the cost is a control reduction in __________. The lowest constraint level of scientific research is __________ observation, which involves the observation of subjects in their natural environment. Here the researcher does not constrain the behavior of the subjects in any way. A slightly higher constraint level is the __________-__________ method of observation in which the researcher might constrain the subject's behavior by asking the subject to perform certain tasks or to answer certain questions. However, even at this level, the researcher retains the ability to move flexibly from one area to another, following whatever ideas seem most promising. In the __________ method, the researcher seeks to quantify the degree of relationship between two variables. Since this level of constraint involves quantification of a relationship, the researcher is required to use clearly defined and precise (constrained) procedures for the measurement of the variables. In the __________ method of research, the researcher compares two or more groups on one or more variables, where the groups are defined on the basis of some preexisting measure. The highest level of constraint is the __________ method, where the researcher compares two or more groups that are created by the researcher. Here, the researcher controls every aspect of the research including the definition of the groups.

Correct Answers

inquiry; rationalism; empiricism; empirical; rational
facts; behavior of organisms; behavioral events; inferred;
observations; inferences; observed; behavioral observations; constructs; as if; facts; constructs; reification
inferred; predict; constructs; observations; model; model; tentative
induction; deduction; inductive; deductive
phases of research; levels of constraint
idea-generating; problem-definition; procedures design; observation; data-analysis; interpretation; inductive; communication
levels of constraint; low; constrained; levels; control; flexibility; naturalistic; case-study; correlational; differential; experimental

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Michael L. Raulin, Ph.D.
(716) 645-3697
Psychology Department
SUNY at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260-4110
raulin@acsu.buffalo.edu