CNIT 322 Exam 1

Ways of Knowing

- Tenacity

- Intuition

- Authority

- Discourse and Logic

- Empiricism

Rationalism and Empiricism are the ONLY good ways of knowing.

What is science?

Science = Rationalism + Empiricism

Ideomotor effect

A psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes unconscious movements.

Attributes of scientific thinking

- Determinism

- Discoverability

- Objectivity

- Data-driven

- Empirical questions

Determinism

Events have causes.

Discoverability

These causes can be uncovered using science.

Objectivity

Eliminating bias and subjectivity.

Data-driven

Evidence-based conclusions.

Empirical questions

Questions answered through some systematic procedure.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for information that supports one's beliefs while ignoring contrary information.

Belief perseverance

A closed-minded unwillingness to consider any evidence that is contrary to a strongly held belief.

Pseudoscience

It uses unscientific methods, theories, assumptions, and conclusions that pretend to be scientific. It relies on anecdotal evidence.

Anecdotal evidence

Evidence collected in a casual or informal manner and relying heavily on personal testimony.

Parsimony / Occam's Razor

The explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible.

Inferences

The purpose of research is to draw valid inferences from research.

Logical fallacies

An error in reasoning.

Ad Hominem

Attacking your opponent's character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their argument.

Strawman

Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack.

Argument from Authority

Using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.

Texas Sharp Shooter

Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or finding a pattern to fit a presumption.

Moving the Goalposts

Moving the goalposts to create exceptions when a claim is shown to be false.

No True Scotsman

Making what could be called an appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws of an argument.

Black and White

Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.

Fallacy Fallacy

Presuming that because a claim has been poorly argued, or a fallacy has been made, that it is necessarily wrong.

Ad Hominem Tu Quoque

Avoiding having to engage with criticism by turning it back on the accuser - answering criticism with criticism.

Slippery Slope

Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.

Red Herring

An irrelevant topic introduced in an argument to divert the attention of listeners or readers from the original issue.

Ecological Fallacy

Assumption that relationships at the group level also apply to the individual level.

Exception Fallacy

Assumptions are made about a group because of observations of an individual/case.

Selective laziness

We are more likely to scrutinize evidence when the evidence is contradictory. Our evaluations tend to only be thorough when we disagree.

3 types of scientific misconduct

- Falsifying Data

- Misrepresenting Procedures

- Duplications of findings

Nuremberg Code (1947)

A set of research ethics principles for human experimentation set as a result of the subsequent Nuremberg trials at the end of the Second World War.

Nuremberg Principles

1. Voluntary, informed consent is essential.

3. Research based on previous knowledge.

4. Avoid physical and mental suffering if possible.

6. Risks do not exceed anticipated benefits.

9. Ability to quit the study at any time without repercussion.

Declaration of Helsinki (1964)

(most recent update in 2013)

The World Medical Association reinterpreted the Nuremberg Code. The conditions of consent are relaxed and human experimentation is changed to clinical research. Researchers must follow local legislation, but are held to a higher standard of morality. There have been SEVEN revisions since its creation, and it requires the dissemination of both positive and negative findings.

Institutional Review Board

A revision in 1974 to the Declaration of Helsinki called for an oversight committee, known as the Institutional Review Board.

Stanley Milgram study (1965)

A series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. They measured the willingness of study participants, men from a diverse range of occupations with varying levels of education, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience. Participants were led to believe that they were assisting an unrelated experiment, in which they had to administer electric shocks to a "learner." These fake electric shocks gradually increased to levels that would have been fatal had they been real.

This study caused the participants psychological harm.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1933-1972)

An infamous, unethical, and malicious clinical study conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the U.S. Public Health Service. The purpose of this study was to observe the natural progression of untreated syphilis in rural African-American men in Alabama under the guise of receiving free health care from the United States government. The study was conducted to understand the disease's natural history throughout time and to also determine proper treatment dosage for specific people and the best time to receive injections of treatments.

Belmont Report (1979)

It established the guidelines for IRBs.

1. Respect for persons

- Voluntariness

- Mental capacity

- Informed consent

- Privacy

2. Beneficence

- Minimize harm / maximize benefits

- Contribute to scientific knowledge

3. Justice

- Treat people fairly

- Select subjects equitably

- Avoid exploitation of populations of convenience

Menlo Report (2012)

It established guidelines for computer and information security research. It added a new ethical principle - "respect for law and public interest."

Eugenics

The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Developed largely by Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, it fell into disfavor only after the perversion of its doctrines by the Nazis.

Data

Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.

Facts

Directly, empirically, and repeatedly observed.

Constructs

Rational ideas developed by researchers.

Reification of a construct

Confusing a construct as fact.

Inductive reasoning

Specific observation to general statements.

Deductive reasoning

General observation to specific statements.

Theory

A formalized set of concepts that summarizes and organizes observation and inferences.

Falsifiability (Popper)

Falsifiability, according to the philosopher Karl Popper, defines the inherent testability of any scientific hypothesis. It is the assertion that for any hypothesis to have credence, it must be inherently disprovable before it can become accepted as a scientific hypothesis or theory.

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

Basic research

Designed to increase scientific understanding of phenomena without any particular consideration for application.

Applied research

The goal is to find solutions to practical problems.

Levels of constraint

The degree to which the researchers impose limits or controls on any part of the research process.

List of constraints (least to most)

1. Naturalistic observation (least)

2. Case-study method

3. Correlational research

4. Differential research (pre-existing variable)

5. Experimental research (most)

Independent variable

The variable actively manipulated by the researcher to see what its impact will be on other variables.

Dependent variable

The variable hypothesized to be affected by the independent variable manipulation (the outcome variable).

Constant / control variable

Any variables that are prevented from varying.

Extraneous variable (third variable, lurking variable, plausible alternative explanation)

Another variable that might affect the dependent variable.

Sample

A subset of a population that is measured or studied to provide insight to an overall population.

Population

The abstract idea of a large group of many cases where a researcher draws a sample.

Levels of measurement

- Nominal (grouping) scales

- Ordinal scales

- Interval scales

- Ratio scales

Nominal (grouping) scales

Categorical and arbitrary.

Ordinal scales

Ranked by magnitude.

Interval scales

Ranked and equal intervals - no true zero.

Ratio scales

All properties of a number system.

Measurement error

A distortion in the scores so that they no longer reflect reality. It occurs with response bias, reactivity, social desirability, or instrument error.

Measurement qualities

- Exhaustive

- Mutually exclusive

Exhaustive

Classify every observation in terms of one of the attributes composing the variable.

Mutually exclusive

Classify every observation in terms of one and only one attribute.

Reliability

The degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results.

Reliability evidence

- Interrater

- Test-retest

- Internal consistency

Interrater

Blind ratings are consistent from different observers.

Test-retest

Similar scores produced over time (assessing stability).

Internal consistency

Measures one construct with several observations or items.

Validity

The findings truly represent the phenomenon being measured.

Predictor and criterion

The predictor variable is analogous to an independent variable and is used to predict an outcome (the criterion variable).

Probabilistic sampling

Utilizes a form of random selection which allows researchers to predict what is happening in the larger population from which the sample came from. Examples: simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, and systematic random sampling.

Non-probabilistic sampling

Population distributions are unknown, so it cannot rely on random selection. Examples: convenience sample, snowball sample.

Operational definition

The definition of a variable in terms of the actual procedures used by the researcher to measure and/or manipulate it.

Null hypothesis

Differences due to chance, not manipulation. If a significant difference is found, the null hypothesis is rejected.

Alternative non-directional hypothesis

A difference due to manipulation, but not chance. A non-directional hypothesis starts with "there is a difference."

Alternative directional hypothesis

A difference due to manipulation, but not chance. A directional hypothesis involves increasing/decreasing, more/less, high/low.