Q methodology

a set of research methods used to study how people think or feel about a topic. It includes, among other methods, Q-technique factor analysis, which attempts to identify shared ways of thinking; and Q sorts, in which participants are given statements about people and topics and asked to sort them into categories. Compare R methodology.

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Psychology term of the day

November 25th 2024

Type II error

the error of failing to reject the null hypothesis when it is in fact not true. Investigators make this error if they conclude that a particular effect or relationship does not exist when in fact it does. The probability of committing a Type II error is called the beta (β) level of a test. Conversely, the probability of not committing a Type II error (i.e., of detecting a genuinely significant difference between samples) is called the power of the test, where power = 1 – β. Also called beta error.