Module 2: Phycological Research

Without it, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people’s authority, and blind luck.

Why is scientific research important?

To better understand the world around them

The goal of all scientists

Psychologists focus their attention on understanding behaviour, as well as the cognitive (mental) and physiological (body) processes that underlie behaviour

What is the focus of psychologists?

it is grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing.

What does it mean to say scientific research is empirical?

Facts

observable realities that can only be established using evidence collected through empirical research

Opinions

personal judgements, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate

ideas (in the form of theories and hypotheses) are tested against the real world (in the form of empirical observations), and those empirical observations lead to more ideas that are tested against the real world, and so on.

How is the scientific process circular?

inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning

Two types of reasoning in scientific method

Deductive reasoning

type of scientific reasoning where ideas are tested in the real world. Begins with a generalization

inductive reasoning

type of scientific reasoning where real world observations lead to new ideas and formulate theories

To empirically test a hypothesis.

How do scientists use deductive reasoning?

researchers gather massive amounts of observations and seek interesting patterns (new ideas) in the data.

Case studies are associated with which type of scientific reasoning?

theory 

well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena, are rpeatedly checked against the world, but they tend to be too complex to be tested all at once

hypothesis

testable prediction about how the world will behave if our idea is correct, and it is often worded as an if-then statement

it bridges the gap between the realm of ideas and the real world. As specific hypotheses are tested, theories are modified and refined to reflect and incorporate the result of these tests

Why is a hypothesis important

1. theory

2. generate hypothesis

3. collect data

4. analyze data

5. summarize data and report findings

   either

6. modify theory and generate new hypothesis

   OR

7. Confirm theory

Order of scientific method [7]

falsifiable

capable of being shown to be incorrect.

produce incredible amounts of information,

but the ability to apply this information to the larger population is somewhat limited because of small sample sizes

Pro and con of studies that rely on observation:

allows for results to be generalized to the larger population more easily,

the information that can be collected on any given survey is somewhat limited and subject to problems associated with any type of self-reported data

Pro and con of survey research:

Archival research

conducting research by using existing records

a fairly inexpensive way to collect data that can provide insight into a number of research questions,

researchers using this approach have no control on how or what kind of data was collected.

Pro and con of archival research

researchers can speak to important relationships that might exist between two or more variables of interest. However, correlational data cannot be used to make claims about cause-and-effect relationships.

What does it mean when research methods are correlational in nature:

To perform an experiment

The only way a researcher canc claim that the relationship between the variables is cause and effect

clinical or case study

In observational research when they focus on one person or just a few individuals.

Generalizing 

refers to the ability to apply the findings of a particular research project to larger segments of society

naturalistic observation

observing behaviour in its natural setting

the validity, or accuracy, of information collected unobtrusively in a natural setting. Therefore, our ability to generalize the findings of the research to real-world situations is enhanced

The greatest benefit of naturalistic observation

they are often difficult to set up and control. this type of observational research often requires significant investments of time, money, and a good dose of luck.

The major downside of naturalistic observation

structured observation

people are observed while engaging in set, specific tasks

observer bias

people who act as observers are closely involved in the research project and may unconsciously skew their observations to fit their research goals or expectations

researchers should have clear criteria established for the types of behaviours recorded and how those behaviours should be classified. researchers often compare observations of the same event by multiple observers, in order to test inter-rater reliability: a measure of reliability that assesses the consistency of observations by different observers.

How to protect against observer bias

Surveys

lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally

sample

a subset of individuals selected from a population,

population

the overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in.

mode, median, and mean

Three measures of central tendency

People don't always give accurate responses. They may lie, misremember, or answer questions in a way that they think makes them look good.

Potential weakness of surveys

the investment of time and money to collect data is considerably less with archival research.

researchers have no control over what information was originally collected.

research questions have to be tailored so they can be answered within the structure of the existing data sets.

There is also no guarantee of consistency between the records from one source to another, which might make comparing and contrasting different data sets problematic.

Distinctions of archival research [4]

Longitudinal research

a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time

cross-sectional research

a researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time

these studies require an incredible time investment by the researcher and research participants.

these studies also require a substantial financial investment. Many researchers are unable to commit the resources necessary to see a longitudinal project through to the end.

Research participants must also be willing to continue their participation for an extended period of time

Limitations of longitudinal research

attrition rates,

reduction in the number of research participants due to dropouts,

correlation coefficient 

a number from -1 to +1 that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between variables. represented by r.

The closer the number is to 1 (be it negative or positive), the more strongly related the variables are, and the more predictable changes in one variable will be as the other variable changes. The closer the number is to zero, the weaker the relationship, and the less predictable the relationships between the variables becomes.

describe correlation coeffecient

A positive correlation 

it means that as one variable increases so does the other, and conversely, when one variable decreases so does the other.

negative correlation

decrease in one variable is associated with an increase in the other and vice versa.

confounding variable,

some other factor that is actually causing the systematic movement in our variables of interest.

illusory correlations

occur when people believe that relationships exist between two things when no such relationship exists

experimental group

group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested (in this case, the use of technology)

experimental manipulation

the only difference between the experimental and control groups,

operational definition

having a clear description of how each variable is measured (having a clear description of how each variable is measured)

Experimenter bias

refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study

single-blind study

meaning that one of the groups (participants) are unaware as to which group they are in (experiment or control group) while the researcher who developed the experiment knows which participants are in each group.

 double-blind study

both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments, which allows us to control for both experimenter and participant expectations.

placebo effect

when people’s expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation. In other words, simply expecting something to happen can actually make it happen.

independent variable

is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter, is the only important difference between the experimental and control groups.

dependent variable

what the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had

Participants 

the subjects of psychological research, and as the name implies, individuals who are involved in psychological research actively participate in the process.

random sample

a subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

are preferred because if the sample is large enough we can be reasonably sure that the participating individuals are representative of the larger population.

why are random samples preferred?

random assignment.

all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group. There is statistical software that will randomly assign the sample to either the experimental or the control group.

Matching 

a practice where participants in the experimental group are paired with participants in the control group that have similar scores on a variable of interest.

statistical analysis

determines how likely any difference found is due to chance (and thus not meaningful)

five

Generally, psychologists consider differences to be statistically significant if there is less than a _______percent chance of observing them if the groups did not actually differ from one another.

A peer-reviewed journal article

is read by several other scientists (generally anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, provide feedback—to both the author and the journal editor—regarding the quality of the draft.

If our experimental manipulation is exactly the same, then the difference in results must be attributable to something else that is different between our study and the original, which might include the researchers, participants, and location

why is replicability so important

Reliability 

refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result

inter-rater reliability

the degree to which two or more different observers agree on what has been observed

internal consistency

the degree to which different items on a survey that measure the same thing correlate with one another

 test-retest reliability

the degree to which the outcomes of a particular measure remain consistent over multiple administrations

Validity 

efers to the extent to which a given instrument or tool accurately measures what it’s supposed to measure, and once again, there are a number of ways in which validity can be expressed

Ecological validity

the degree to which research results generalize to real-world applications

construct validity

the degree to which a given variable actually captures or measures what it is intended to measure

 face validity

the degree to which a given variable seems valid on the surface

institutional review board (IRB

a committee of individuals often made up of members of the institution’s administration, scientists, and community members. purpose is to review proposals for research that involves human participants.

informed consent form

provides a written description of what participants can expect during the experiment, including potential risks and implications of the research. It also lets participants know that their involvement is completely voluntary and can be discontinued without penalty at any time.

Deception 

 involves purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment, but not to the point where it could be considered harmful.

debriefing 

Complete, honest information about the purpose of the experiment, how the data collected will be used, the reasons why deception was necessary, and information about how to obtain additional information about the study.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

This committee is charged with ensuring that all experimental proposals require the humane treatment of animal research subjects. No animal research project can proceed without the committee’s approval.

cause-and-effect relationship

changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design

confirmation bias

tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs