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