Research Methodology and Validity in Psychology

What is the primary objective of research?

To answer questions in a way that results, conclusions, and inferences drawn from the study can be offered with confidence and integrity.

What characteristics should research questions have?

They should be reasonably unambiguous and specific, involve factors or variables of interest, focus on groups or individuals, and explore differences between treatment groups or relationships among variables.

What are some purposes for which a researcher might ask a question?

Exploration, satisfying curiosity, testing out possibilities for more detailed studies, and trying out new ideas.

What is the difference between descriptive and explanatory research?

Descriptive research reports what individuals have done or what occurred, while explanatory research seeks to understand why it happened.

What does prediction in research involve?

Predicting important behaviors or outcomes, such as performance in job or school.

What are the initial steps in conducting research?

Posing a question, reviewing scientific literature, considering social issues, and elaborating on previous research.

What is involved in conceptualizing a research question?

Elaboration, specification, and precision of variables and the links between them.

What is operationalizing concepts in research?

Specifying the steps, operations, and procedures needed to measure or manipulate concepts or constructs.

What is the methodology in research?

The process by which data are collected, including how individuals are assigned to groups and the treatment they receive.

What are the two main types of sampling in research?

Probability sampling (e.g., simple random, stratified) and non-probability sampling (e.g., convenience, extreme groups).

What is random assignment in research?

A method that creates groups that are probabilistically equal to each other on average to ensure internal validity.

What is manipulation in the context of research?

The introduction or alteration of an intervention or treatment by the experimenter to examine its effect on the dependent variable.

What is control in research methodology?

The experimenter's ability to manage other variables or conditions that might impact the response measure.

What are the steps involved in data collection?

Collecting data while preventing procedures from contaminating results.

What methods can be used to analyze data in research?

Statistical methods such as ANOVA and regression.

What is internal validity?

The validity of inferences about whether the relationship between two variables is causal.

What is external validity?

The generalizability of results to different samples, settings, and measures.

What are threats to validity in research?

Factors that can undermine the validity of inferences made from study results.

What is ambiguous temporal precedence?

A lack of clarity about which variable occurred first, leading to confusion about cause and effect.

What is selection bias in research?

Systematic differences in respondent characteristics across conditions that could cause the observed effect.

What are the three critical questions to identify and explore threats to validity?

1. How would the threat apply in this case? 2. Is there evidence that the threat is plausible rather than just possible? 3. Does the threat operate in the same direction as the observed effect?

What is the significance of publishing research results?

To present results, discuss and interpret them, and suggest future research directions.

What is a comparison (control) group in research?

A group made up of participants who are not exposed to the treatment, used to compare against the treatment group.

What are potential differences in groups that can affect achievement?

Differences other than the treatment, such as the amount parents read to children.

What does 'history' refer to in the context of research?

Events occurring concurrently with treatment that could influence the observed effects.

Give an example of how history can affect research outcomes.

The effect of a program for low-income women on pregnancy outcomes, where concurrent eligibility for other social programs may influence results.

What is maturation in research?

Naturally occurring changes over time that could be mistaken for treatment effects.

Provide an example of maturation affecting research outcomes.

In a study on Head Start's impact on cognitive performance, normal cognitive development could lead to natural improvements over time.

What is regression in the context of research?

The phenomenon where extreme scores tend to move closer to the mean upon retesting, which can be confused with treatment effects.

How does regression affect the interpretation of treatment effects?

If individuals are selected for treatment based on low pretest scores, their posttest scores may appear improved due to regression to the mean.

What is attrition in research studies?

The loss of respondents over time, which can create biased results if the loss is systematically related to treatment conditions.

Give an example of how attrition can impact research results.

In comparing family therapy with discussion groups for drug addicts, those with worse prognoses may drop out of discussion groups more often.

What is the testing effect in research?

The phenomenon where prior exposure to a test influences scores on subsequent tests, potentially mimicking treatment effects.

Provide an example of the testing effect.

In a vocabulary study, taking a pretest may lead individuals to look up words, improving their scores on a posttest.

What does instrumentation refer to in research?

Changes in the measurement process over time or conditions that could be mistaken for treatment effects.

How can instrumentation affect research outcomes?

If an observer becomes more experienced between pretest and posttest, their improved accuracy may falsely indicate a treatment effect.

What are additive and interactive effects of threats to internal validity?

The impact of one threat can be added to another, or depend on the level of another threat.

Give an example of an additive effect in research.

The selection-maturation effect, comparing the achievement of National Merit Scholarship winners with those who do not receive scholarships.

What is external validity in research?

It refers to the validity of inferences about whether the relationship holds over variations in persons, settings, treatment variables, and measurement variables.

What are threats to external validity?

Reasons why inferences about how study results would hold over variations in persons, settings, treatments, and outcomes may be incorrect.

What is an example of interaction of causal relationship with units?

A work program designed to help individuals obtain jobs may have a higher estimated effect because only the most job-ready individuals are allowed in the program.

What does interaction of causal relationship over treatment variations imply?

The effect found with one treatment variation might not hold with other variations or when combined with other treatments.

How can treatment duration affect outcomes?

People may react differently to limited duration treatment than to more extended treatment.

What does interaction of causal relationship with outcomes indicate?

The effect found on one kind of outcome observation may not hold if other outcome observations were used.

Give an example of interaction of causal relationship with settings.

A program for drug abusers may be effective in rural areas but not urban areas due to accessibility of drugs.

What is context-dependent mediation?

An explanatory mediator of a causal relationship in one context may not mediate in another context.

What is the focus of experimental designs?

To examine the effect of manipulation (independent variable) on outcome (dependent variable).

What is the difference between between-subjects and within-subjects designs?

Between-subjects designs involve individuals experiencing only one experimental treatment, while within-subjects designs involve individuals experiencing all experimental treatments.

What is a disadvantage of between-subjects designs?

There can be a lot of variance due to individual differences.

What is an advantage of within-subjects designs?

Each person serves as their own control.

What is a disadvantage of within-subjects designs?

There is a need to counterbalance the order of treatments to avoid order effects.

What are multiple independent variable designs?

Designs that include more than one independent variable, allowing for exploration of interactions.

What does a 2 x 2 design represent?

It represents two factors (independent variables), each with two levels.

What is a mixed design in experimental research?

Experiments that have both between-subjects and within-subjects factors.

What are main effects in experimental designs?

Main effects refer to the differences in group means, often represented by parallel lines in a graph.

What indicates an interaction in experimental designs?

Interactions are indicated by non-parallel lines, showing that the effect of one independent variable depends on the level of another.

What is an example of main effects and interactions in research?

The effects of mood and task performance on self-esteem can show main effects if they are independent, or interactions if they depend on each other.