Research Methods Exam #1

Four ways of knowing

• Intuition

• Authority

• Rationalism

• Empiricism

Wilhelm Wundt

• Set up the first lab to study conscious experience

  • Essentially, measuring reaction time

  • Wanted to show that the conscious experience can be studied/measured

• Loved to muse about consciousness and what it means to exist

William James (functionalism)

• Believed consciousness is an ever-changing flow of images and sensations

• Concerned with how the mind functions to adapt to the environment

  • Admired Darwin and his theory of natural selection

Watson and Skinner (behaviorism)

• Psychology MUST study observable behavior objectively

• Watson – Little Albert

• Skinner – Animals

Uncritical acceptance

Tendency to believe positive or flattering descriptions of yourself

Dunning-Kruger Effect

People with low ability at a task overestimate their ability (don’t know enough to know how bad they are)

Confirmation bias

Tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one's preconceptions

Where do research questions come from?

Theory

• Layperson definition – a hunch about how something works or why something happens

• Scientific definition – is a coherent explanation or interpretation of one or more phenomena

Hypothesis

Testable hunch or educated guess about behavior

Null Hypothesis

• Predicts no effect or no difference between groups/conditions.

• Acts as the “default” assumption to be tested

Alternative Hypothesis

• Predicts there is an effect or a difference.

• What the researcher expects or is testing for.

Operational Definition

• States the exact procedures used to represent a concept.

• Allows abstract ideas to be tested in real-world terms.

• This is a working definition of a variable (capable of being objectively measured) and is vital when building hypotheses

Conceptual Definition

Independent Variable

• The variable that the researcher thinks will influence or predict the outcome

  • Sometimes it is manipulated (e.g., type of therapy: CBT vs. no treatment).

  • Sometimes it is a pre-existing difference (e.g., sex, smoker vs. nonsmoker).

Dependent Variable

• The variable that is measured to see if it changes because of the IV.

  • Think of it as the effect or outcome.

  • Example: Do exam scores (DV) differ depending on whether students had coffee (IV) that morning?

Confounds/Extraneous Variables

• An unmeasured third variable that influences, or “confounds,” the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable by suggesting the presence of a spurious correlation

• Simple definition: hidden third variables

Basic research

• A research question that focuses on understanding fundamental principles and theories without immediate practical application

  • Example: How many items (digits) can be stored in our short-term memory?

Applied research

• A research question that aims to solve specific, practical problems using psychological principles and theories.

  • Example: Which intervention best slows memory deterioration in aging populations?

Correlational research

• Measure two variables, see if they relate

• Correlation ≠ causation

Random assignment

• Each participant has an equal chance at being assigned to all conditions

• Randomization spreads out extraneous and confounds (known or unknown)

Single-blind experiments

Participants don’t know which group they belong to (treatment VS placebo)

Double-blind experiments

Participants don’t know which group they belong to (treatment VS placebo)

Experiment practitioners don’t know which group they are treating (treatment VS placebo)

Lab study

• High internal validity

• Low external validity

Field study

• High external validity

• Low internal validity

Belmont Report Principles

Justice

• Fair distribution of risks & benefits

• Equitable burdens

• Equal access to research findings

Beneficence

• Do good, minimize harm

• Maximize benefits to individuals & society

• Avoid unnecessary risks

Respect for Persons

• Informed consent & confidentiality

• Respect for autonomy

• Cultural sensitivity

Informed consent

A process where participants are fully informed before agreeing.

• Requires clear, understandable language (no jargon).

• Participation must be voluntary and free from coercion.

Anonymity

the state of being unknown or unidentified

Confidentiality

involves protecting sensitive information from unauthorized access

International Review Board (IRB) Composition

• Every IRB must have at least 5 members, from diverse backgrounds.

• Must include scientists, non-scientists, and a community member unaffiliated with the institution

IRB Levels of Research Risk - Exempt

Low risk, standard measures, existing data

IRB Levels of Research Risk - Expedited

Minimal risk (cognitive testing, memory testing, blood draws)

IRB Levels of Research Risk - At-Risk

• Greater than minimal risk

• Reviewed by full board of IRB members

• Used for at-risk populations (e.g. children) or invasive methods

Conflicting interests between groups

An unavoidable ethical conflict

Use of deception

An unavoidable ethical conflict - some deception is necessary for valid results

Wakefield Study Issues

• Sample size: only 12 children

• Invasive procedures

• Conflict of interest

• Manipulated patient records

Science is probabilistic

• Physics: laws (apples fall)

• Psychology: tendencies (not everyone fits)

• Findings are probabilistic, notabsolute

• This is why replication is essential

Red flags in science

• Overclaiming ('proves')

• Unfalsifiable ideas

• Cherry-picked data

• No replication / single-study claims

Constructs

Abstract psychological ideas that require careful definitions to measure

Psychometrics

This is the science of measuring psychological constructs

• How do we make a good scale

• How do we test reliability and validity

• How do we model constructs

Levels of measurement

• Nominal

• Ordinal

• Interval

• Ratio

Reliability

• Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure

Test-Retest Reliability

• This test how consistent the construct is across time

• Examples: IQ tests, big 5 personality tests

Internal Consistency

• refers to the consistency of people’s responses across items on a multiple-item measure (e.g., there is more than one question to respond to)

• no unrelated items in the scale

• Cronbach's Alpha: measure of internal consistency

  • assesses reliability

Interrater Reliability

• Inter-rater reliability is the extent to which different observers are consistent in their judgments

Validity

• Validity is the extent to which the scores from a measure represent the variable they are intended to

Face Validity

the extent to which a measurement method appears “on its face” to measure the construct of interest

Content Validity

The extent to which a measure covers the entire construct of interest

Criterion Validity

The extent to which people’s scores on a measure are correlated with an outcome (known as criteria) that one would expect them to be correlated with

Concurrent Validity

The extent to which a measure correlates with other measures or outcomes assessed at the same time.

Predictive Validity

The extent to which a measure predicts future outcomes or behaviors

Discriminant Validity

the extent to which a measure does not correlate with measures of conceptually distinct variables

Convergent Validity

The extent to which a measure correlates with other measures of the same construct

Demand Characteristics

Cues in an experimental setting that influence participants' behavior by suggesting the experimenter's expectations, potentially biasing the results.

(participants guess purpose)

Experimenter Expectancy Effect

How a researcher's expectations can inadvertently influence the behavior of participants and the outcomes of an experiment.

Subtle influence

Type 1 Error

• incorrectly supported the hypothesis

• false positive

Type 2 Error

• incorrectly rejected the hypothesis

• false negative

Explain the difference between basic and applied research. Provide a personally relevant example.

Basic: A research question that focuses on understanding fundamental principles and theories without immediate practical application
Example: How does social media impact interpersonal relationships among teenagers?

Applied research: A research question that aims to solve specific, practical problems using psychological principles and theories.
Example: What strategies can be implemented to improve student engagement in online courses?

Explain the difference between reliability and validity. Can you have one without the other? Provide an example.

Reliability: refers to the consistency of a measure
Validity: the extent to which the scores from a measure represent the variable they are intended to

You can have one without the other. For example, a scale can consistently read one weight and be wrong (invalid).