IB Psych SL Unit 1: Research methods (Part 1: Terminology)

psych is the study of…

behavior and mental processes

behavior is…

any action that can be measured or observed (e.g. stress hormones or blushing)

mental processes are…

things that are not directly observable (e.g. attention, memory, perception, and thinking)

operationalization is…

defining mental processes into measurable quantities

the three different approaches of psych are…

biological, cognitive, and sociocultural

biological

genetics, nervous system, and endocrine system

cognitive

the way your mind processes info

sociocultural

social and cultural context

validity/credibility refers to…

the degree to which the results or conclusions are believable/accurate

bias refers to…

when a research or participant skews a study, often unintentionally

generalizability/transferability

the extent to which the results of the study can be applied beyond the sample, methods, and settings

sampling is…

the process of finding and recruiting individuals for a study

selection bias is…

when sampling is not representative of the target population

what are factors that may influence generalizability of a study?

sampling, experimental conditions → ecological validity,

operationalization →theoretical generalization

Mnemonic for evaluating studies: MAGEC²

M: methodological evaluation

A: alternative explanations

G: generalizability

E: ethical evaluation

C: cultural evaluation

C: comparison with other studies

Informed consent

participation must be voluntary, participants must be aware of study aims, what they will do/be exposed to, and how the data will be used.

minors and parental consent

parents must give consent for children under 16

course credit/extra credit

participation in a research study for a professor

anonymity and confidentiality

anonymity- no one can connect the results to an individual;

confidentiality- researcher can connect results, but agrees to keep info private

protection from harm

participants should be protected from short and long term physical, mental, and emotional harm

withdrawal from participation

participants must be explicitly told that they can withdraw from the study at any point

deception

occasionally necessary, but should be kept to an absolute minimum

debriefing

at the end of the study, participants must be fully informed about study aims. results, and how their data will be stored. they can withdraw their data if they choose

data fabrication

altering or making up data is a serious violation. legitimate errors should be corrected through retracting or publishing an erratum

plagiarism

presenting someone else’s work or data as your own is a major violation

publication credit

all people who contribute to a project should be recognized

sharing research data for verification

raw data should be made available to other researchers who request it so that the analysis and interpretation can be verified

handling of sensitive info

participants may learn sensitive info about themselves, as part of the research. this type of info should be revealed with care and they should be monitored for some time after the study

social implications of reporting results

• make sure results aren’t misrepresented to the public; this may influence them to publish elsewhere

• make sure their results are vaild generalizable, minimally influenced by bias, and replicable.

Experiment

• IV, DV, controls

• hypothesis

• randomly assigned to iv groups

• can demontrate cause and effect when correctly controlled

• controls for confounding variables

Quasi experiment

• IV and DV

• controlled variables

• IV is based on pre-existing conditions in the participants

• hypothesis

• correlation but not causation

Quantitative survey

• Easily quantifiable answers (Likert scale)

• Statistically generalizable

• used to access participants, attitudes, and beliefs

• correlation but not causation

observation

• natural environment

• Experiential - data reflects researchers selective attention and interpretation

• Researchers may observe reactions/behaviors they haven’t anticipated

Semi-structured interview

• Flexible format with a guide/predetermined questions but researcher can ask follow up questions

• Open-ended and closed-ended questions

• Informal and conversational in nature which facilitates rapport between subject and interviewer

• Can learn about a subject’s subjective understanding and experiences

Focus group

• researcher acts like a facilitator in a discussion among 6-10 people

• participants can directly respond to each other and responses can prompt to think of something that wasn’t there before

• shared language

Case study

• In-depth study of an individual or small group with unique experiences

• typically uses multiple methodologies

• Often conducted for long periods

random sampling

• each individual in target pop has equal chance of participating

• a probability sample - best method for statistical generalization

• likely to be representative of the target pop if large enough

• requires ability to randomly select individuals from the target pop

stratified sampling

• chosen to reflect the same % of characteristics as shown in the target pop

• need to know the distribution of the characteristics in the target pop

• representation of the target pop with respect to those characteristics

Convenience sampling

• researchers pick participants who are nearby and readily available

• easy & cost effective

• non chosen randomly

• sample shares characteristics and not generalizable to target pop

Volunteer sampling

• advertise for participants who contact the researcher

• not chosen randomly

• likely motivated by interest in the subject or reward and not generalizable to the target pop

Quota samplng

• researchers specify they want to choose participants that meet certain characteristics in certain numbers relevant to research study

• advertising where appropriate participants might be found

• non chosen randomly

purposive sampling

• participants are chosen cause they have characteristics relevant to the research study

• advertising where participants may be found

• snowballing: small number of participants who meet certain characteristics are invited, then they invite more participants who share similar characteristics

Theoretical sampling

• researchers continue to add participants until they do not discover any new info (data saturation)

• participants are chosen for relevant characteristics

• often used with other sampling methods (purposive sampling

convenience sampling

• pick participants who are nearby or available

• easy and cost/time effective

ethics question - second type

use debriefing, confidentiality, and approval from board as template answers

triangulation

using combination of different approaches to collecting and interpreting data

• method: using multiple methodologies

• data: using data from different sources

• researcher: using observations from multiple researchers

• theory: using multiple theories to interpret data

establishing rapport

a trusting, respectful relationship helps participants answer more honestly

iterative questioning

rephrasing certain question topics can clarify a participant’s response

reflexivity

researchers should reflect on the possibility of bias and how that might have influenced observations or interpretations

• Epistemological reflexivity: strengths and limits

• Personal: personal beliefs and expectations of the researcher

Crediblity checks

researchers should check for accuracy of the observations by having participants check for inaccuracies

“rich” or “thick” descriptions

describe the context in which the behavior is observed

acquiescence bias

give positive answers

social desirability bias

they will think make them more liked

dominant response

may occur in group settings if one of the participants influences the respones of the others

sensitivity bias

tendency of participants to not answer sensitive subjects honestly

researcher bias

bias that comes from the researcher

confirmation bias

researcher unintentionally leads the participants to confirm researcher’s first belief, thru behavior and questions

question order bias

responses influence their responses to later questions

biased reporting

occurs when researchers don’t include all their data in their report

transferability in qualitative

thick descriptions, sampling, data saturation, and triangulation

inductive content analysis

a TECHNIQUE used it most forms of quantitative research to rigorously analyze interview transcripts, observational notes, or other texts to identify major themes

generalizability question for quantitative

• use of inferential statistics to generalize the results

• discuss the influence of sampling of generalizablity

• discuss characteristics that influence the applicability of other populations

validity

• construct validity: how well does the operationlization capture the construct

• internal validity: what extent is the change in the dv caused by changes in the iv

• external validity: to what extent can the study be generalized to real-life settings (ecological validity)

selection bias

iv groups differ at the start and arent representative on the target pop

history

groups have different experiences during the experiment (other than iv)

maturation

results are influenced by a natural developmental process (fatigue or growth)

testing effect

measurements of the dv may be changed by repeating testing (improves or gets worse)

instrumentation

researcher measuring the dv changes between measurements

regression to the mean

initial scores on a dv that are extremely high or extremely low will tend to move towards the means

experimental mortality

withdrawal of participants from an experiment

demand characterisitics

participants try to act in a way they think the experimenter expects or puts themselves in a favorable light