Research in Communication Disorders: Scientific Inquiry Process Part 1

Scientific inquiry

The process where we are trying to better understand the world making sense of it through collecting data

Systematic way

How is data collected during the scientific inquiry?

• Order

• Determinism

• Discoverability

What are 3 assumptions that underpin the notion of research and we are part of the scientific method that drive research forward?

Order

Events have a regular order (i.e., pattern). In other words, it is why things are happening

• Waves

• Stuttering

• Phonological processes

What are some examples of order?

Determinism

The occurrence of an event is determined by prior events (e.g., discipline at home makes the child cognizant of how to act in school) – if you do x, then what happens?

Discoverability

We want to find answers to research questions. New questions arise as old questions are answered

Research

This tries to describe and logically organize things in our world so that we can contribute to this larger body of knowledge to make sense of the world around us

Cause and Effect

A lot of interest in our field is in THIS type of research

• The treatment caused the change

• The change is observable

• No other variable can explain the change

What are some things, regarding cause and effect, that we would want in an ideal world?

Statistical analyses

What helps us make the causality determination?

Causality determination

Statistical analyses help us make what kind of determination?

Inferential statistics

What helps us guess or infer what would happen if we did the intervention with the rest of the population as we can’t have access to everyone in a specific population?

Cause-and-effect

Statistics can help us make an argument or feel more comfortable about what kind of relationship?

Statistics

What helps us make an argument or feel more comfortable about the cause-and-effect relationship?

Clinical question

With the scientific method, what are we trying to answer?

Research

What does the scientific method make more manageable?

Objectivity

What does the scientific method ensure?

The study

What does the scientific study help replicate?

Errors in research

What does the scientific method help reduce?

Statement of the Problem

•Describes problem in a clear manner (e.g., increases in a certain population)

•Rationale for the study (e.g., not enough areas or research that address the core problems associated with that disability)

•Usually, will find an accompanying research question with goals of the study (e.g., will the teach methodology increase language skills in children who are identified as having ASD?) OR (will auditory processing training help with inattention in adolescence with TBI)

Research Hypothesis

•The best guess that answers the research question (e.g., it is believed that the teach methodology will increase language learning, naturalistic language learning in children with ASD)

•Answer should be supported by a literature review and personal experiences

Research Method

•Procedure for answering the research question

•Tells who the study participants will be (e.g., figuring out of all the adolescents with brain injury, how you are going to get them in your study)

•Describes how the behaviors will be observed

•Describes how the data will be collected (e.g., use standardized assessments, use observations where you tally the presence or absence of a behavior, use anecdotal records – prompting or cueing that was used)

•Description of validity and reliability issues – maybe having 2 people collecting data instead of 1

Validity

Did I measure what I thought I measured?

Reliability

Can these results be replicated by someone else?

Analysis of Results

Look at the data that were collected and analyze it

• The wrong analysis may lead to incorrect results

• This happens more than you thing

• Includes statistics, coding, charts, graphs

What are 3 things to look and analyze when analyzing your results?

Interpretation of Results

•Considers the research question and hypothesis

•Want to be able to answer the research question

•Want to be able to support or refute the hypothesis

•Identify new research questions, limitation of the study, implications for practice (what does it mean for practicing SLPs?)

•Sometimes includes a conclusion section