Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology: Key Terms and Ethical Principles

Authority

source of knowledge; someone influential says so

Common sense

source of knowledge; what everyone knows; corroborated by personal experience

Intuition

source of knowledge; feeling of knowing something but not sure where knowledge came from

Rationalism

source of knowledge; knowledge derived from reasoning or logic

Empiricism

source of knowledge; knowledge from experience/observation

Sources of Knowledge

1) authority, 2) common sense, 3) intuition, 4) rationalism, and 5) empiricism

Problems with Personal Experiences

("Testimonials") potentially can be shown to be wrong

Selective Information

incomplete information—only successes but not failures—so can't reach a valid conclusion

Confirmation Bias

look for evidence that goes with own ideas and dismiss things that do not fit

Availability Heuristic

something that is particularly memorable or salient that skews view of the way the world is

Placebo Effects

tendency to report improvement/treatment is effective because expect that

Scientific Method

includes: solvable problems, systematic empiricism, publicly available information, falsifiable claims and predictions; self-corrective

Solvable Problems

empirical questions; questions that can be answered by collecting data

Systematic Empiricism

collecting data in a structured manner in order to evaluate claims/hypotheses

Replication

provide others in the field enough information that can reproduce methods and possibly get same results

Peer Review

evaluation by independent experts prior to article publication

Falsifiable Claims and Predictions

Characteristics of Pseudoscience: 1) language of science & mimicked procedures, 2) burden of proof shifted, 3) argument by exclusion, 4) shunned by mainstream, & 5) no rules of evidence

Confederate

actor—in on study; experimenter pretending to be participant

Milgram Study

obedience; ethical issues—deception; teach list of words to student and administer shocks

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

ethical issues—coercion, no informed consent, deception; men not given treatment

Informed Consent

participants should be given sufficient information about a study to make voluntary decision to be in study; know the risks involved

Coercion

not really having an option available not to participate; taken advantage of; forced

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

faculty members from various areas evaluate potential studies on ethical merit

Levels of IRB Review

exempt, expedited, and full board

Debriefing

experimenter explains purpose of study to participants after study, reduces discomfort, and answers questions

Deception

research strategy used to avoid demand characteristics so not disclosing all information about study

Deception Permissible When

research is important; no alternatives; and no foreseeable harm to participants

Belmont Report

basic ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice

Respect for Persons

individuals treated as autonomous agents (make own decisions); those who cannot are protected

Vulnerable Populations

pregnant individuals, human fetuses, neonates, minors, individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities, marginalized individuals, prisoners, and individuals who are institutionalized

Beneficence

do not harm and maximize benefits while minimizing harm (risk-benefit ratio)

Confidentiality

can figure out whose data are whose; researcher promises not to share information

Anonymity

no identifying characteristics recorded; impossible to identify individuals

Can Breach Confidentiality If

intent to harm self or others; suspected abuse; minor's parents have right to see data

Key Themes in Ethical Research

informed consent; freedom from coercion; protection from physical & psychological harm; protection of privacy; risk-benefit rule; debriefing

Ethical Issues with Data

secure data storage including signed informed consent forms

Academic Fraud

falsified data; missing/omitted data; collecting additional data for results to be significant; combining conditions; plagiarism

Solutions to Academic Fraud

full data sets available; peer review; replicate; publish null results

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs)

responsible for ensuring basic protections for research subjects, including use and care

Ethical Issues with Nonhuman Animals

1) is use of nonhuman animals justified; 2) are human rights more important than animal rights

Protections IACUCs Consider

reduction, refinement, and replacement

Three Rs of Ethically Responsible Animal Research

Reduction: use the smallest number of animals possible; Refinement: use methods to minimize pain and discomfort; Replacement: use invertebrates, cell cultures, or computer modeling when possible

Basic research

research conducted to obtain greater understanding of a phenomenon, explore a theory, or advance knowledge, without consideration to direct application

Applied research

research conducted to solve real-world problems

Quantitative research

a method of research that relies on measuring variables using a numerical system, analyzing these measurements using any of a variety of statistical models, and reporting relationships and associations among the studied variables

Qualitative research

a method of research that produces descriptive (nonnumerical) data, such as observations of behavior or personal accounts of experiences with the goal of examining how individuals perceive the world from different vantage points

Theory

set of logically consistent statements about some phenomenon that best summarizes existing empirical knowledge of the phenomenon, organizes this knowledge in the form of precise statements of relationships among variables, proposes an explanation for the phenomenon, and serves as the basis for making predictions about behavior

Productive Theory Criteria

specific hypotheses, important question, internally consistent, coherent, specifies measurement of constructs, & generates new insights

Properties of Theories

falsifiability and parsimony

Falsifiability

predictions are precise enough to be tested and potentially refuted

Parsimony

makes as few assumptions as possible to explain phenomenon; keep it simple

Levels of a Theory

hypothesis, constructs, and variables

Hypothesis

a testable statement describing the relation between two or more constructs

Construct

abstract quality that attempted to measure

Variable

any attribute that changes values across things that are being studied

Operational Definition

quantify construct; specifies interpretation of construct and how it will be measured