 Glossary
Abnormalities Something not normal, strange, out of place. Action Elements Characteristics of a subject being studied that an observer wishes to record during observation. Bar Graph A graph used to display nominal data, which are sets of data representing discrete catagories such as men and women, and dogs and cats (for example, a bar graph could be used to show how many men wore hats on Tuesday, and then Wednesday). Behavioral Event The occurence of a specific action (behavior) in a given subject. Bias Prejudice toward a given opinion, or stance. Causal A result brought about due to change in another factor. Closed - Response A question where that respondent is allowed to answer in their own words. Coding The assignment of a rank to an answer given on a survey. Continuum A continuous set of data for which each data point is related to the adjacent point. Controversial Something that is disputable, or questionable. Correlation A relationship between two factors (called variables) where the changing of one causes a change in the other. CUNYVM CUNY's college-wide IBM VM (Virtual-Machine) computer network. Demographic a statistic characterizing human populations (or segments of human populations broken down by age or sex or income etc.) Dependent Variable A factor which is influenced by the manipulation of another factor (the independant variable). Deviant markedly different from an accepted norm. Duration The length of time an event occurs. Elicit To draw out, to invoke. Experimenter Variables Characteristics of the person(s) conducting the research which may influence the actions of the subjects. Extraneous Variable A factor other than the independant or dependant variables, which has caused an effect. Fixed - Response A question where the the respondent is required to select a response from a set of pre-formulated answers. Free - Response A question where that respondent is allowed to answer in their own words. Frequency The number of occurances of an event over time. Hypothesis A highly educated guess based on the available data. Hypothetical Conditional; assumed without proof, for the purpose of reasoning and deducing proof, or of accounting for some fact or phenomenon. Independent Variable A factor which influences another, or a factor deliberately manipulated to cause an effect. Line Graph A graph used to display data over an interval of change (for example, a line graph could be used to show the change in speed of a car over a ten minute time period). Mean The average of a data set. The sum of the members of a data set divided by the number of members of the data set (for the data set: 2, 3, 4, 11 Mean=5) Median The middle value of a data set. For the data set 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, the Median is 8. Mode The member of a data set that occurs most frequently (for the data set: 2, 4, 7, 7, 9 Mode = 7) Negative Correlation A relationship between two factors (called variables) where a positive change of one creates a negative change of the second. Nominal Data Data that is referred to by a named subset (for example, data on the ages of males who wear hats on a daily basis). Open - Ended A question where that respondent is allowed to answer in their own words. Positive Correlation A relationship between two factors (called variables) where a positive change of one creates a positive change of the second. Probe In interviewing, the use of additional questions to deeper delve into a topic. PsychLIT CD-ROM database containing citations and abstracts on psychology and related fields. Can be accessed from the Cohen Library computers, in the online rescource section, 2nd floor. Rapport Conversation, congenial talk between two parties, a comfortable exchange of words between two or more people. Reactivity During obervations, the act of influencing factors (deliberately or undeliberatley) so that the behavior recorded is not typical. Research Portfolio Collection of assignments, maintained throughout the semester, to be turned in every Wednesday. Respondent The person responding to a question. Situational Variables Features of the environment or situation in which research is conducted that may alter the reactions of the subject. Static Elements Fixed characteristics of a subject being studied. Subject Variables Temporary or enduring characteristics of the subject being studied that may influence the actions of the subject. Tabular Having the form of, or petaining to, a table. User-ID Within CUNYVM, a unique 5 character identifier. This user-ID also is the beginning of the email address for the user (for example: User-ID => S28CC, email address => S28CC@CUNYVM,.CUNY.EDU). Variable A thing whose characteristics changes over time
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