science inquiry

role of ethics/ethical guidelines in psychological research?

They govern the code of practice during psychological research

Role of ethics committee approval and monitoring of conduct for all psychological research

To review research proposals that plan to use human participants in order to make sure the proposal meets Australian ethical guidelines.

They will compare the proposal to existing research and ensures the benefits outwears the risks - if approved they will continue to monitor

what are the 8 ethical guidelines?

Protection from harm

Informed consent

Withdrawal rights

confidentiality

privacy

voluntary participation

deception

debriefing

explain protection from harm

Researchers must protect the physical and psychological wellbeing of participants

explain informed consent

researchers must obtain written and signed informed consent sheets that outline the nature of the study

explain withdrawal rights

Participants can end their participation in a study, or have their results removed without pressure or penalty

explain confidentiality

information collected must be stored in a secure manner and then disposed of when no longer required

the HOW of info

explain privacy

Only information relevant to the study should be collected from participants

the WHAT of info

explain voluntary participation

participants partake in a study because it is their choice to do so

explain deception

used when the participants knowing the true nature or purpose of the study may impact the results

-is the hardest thing to get approved-

explain debriefing

explanation given to participants at the conclusion of the study (usually happens when participants are deceived).

What are the guidelines that refer to the use of animals in research?

Three; replacement, reduction, and refinement

The priority when making decisions involving use of animals for scientific purposes is respect for the animals

explain replacement

are there other methods that eliminate the need for animals in the study?

explain reduction

are there alternative methods to gather similar information by using fewer animals?

explain refinement

what methods can be used to minimise potential distress or pain for the animals?

what is the aim

general statement that addresses the purpose of the study or experiment

must include population and can include IV or DV if research is experimental

what is the research question

It is based on the aim and is a general question based on the background research or context, it must include population and may include IV and/or DV

What is the difference between a non-directional and directional hypothesis comparing to an inquiry/research question?

• Directional + non-directional hypothesis are quantitative

• Inquiry questions are qualitative

what is the independent variable

the variable being manipulated or changed

what is the dependent variable

the variable being measured

what is the controlled variable?

the variable that stays the same

What are uncontrolled variables?

Variables that may impact the DV but are not accounted for in the research

difference between controlled and experimental group?

controlled group are particpants exposed to all conditions except the IV

experimental group are particpants exposed to IV

what is observational research design, list strength and limitation

type of technique used to study behaviour where researchers observe participants and write notes

s: controlled observations can be replicated by other researchers, and participants more likely to behave naturally

l: researcher bias can occur where they only note what they want to see, and participants may change their behaviour if aware of being observed, and voluntary participation and informed consent may be breached

what is experimental research, name a strength and limitation as well

research where IV can be manipulated, cause and effect relationship found and participants are randomly allocated

s: researchers have control over variables and cause and effect relationships found

l: having controlled environment reduces realism and may impact participant behaviour, and risk of human error whilst trying to control variables may occur

what is case study research design, list strength and limitation

in depth investigation of individual person, group of people or single event when unusual events that cannot be replicated occur

s: detailed info collect, info gathered from range of perspectives

l: results cannot be generalised from population sample, and conclusion can be limited because of lack of control groups

what is non-experimental, list s and l

Research where IV cannot be manipulated, no cause and effect relationship and participants cannot be randomly allocated

s: observing what occurs naturally in environment means no controlled setting, and allows research applications where manipulation of variables would be unethical for participants

l: reliable causal conclusions cannot be made as no cause and effect relationship, need a larger sample as no variable manipulation

what is correlational research design, list strength and limitation

measures linear relationship between two variables

s: potential hypothesis based on correlation can be tested using experimental design, can be used when manipulating variables in experimental research is unethical

l: doesn’t show how variables are related, and extraneous variables are not controlled could intervene w relationship

what is longitudinal research design, list strength and limitation

data collected more than once using same participants

s: developmental trends studied over a lifetime,

l: takes longer time, paritipants can drop out along the way

what is cross-sectional research design, list strength and limitation

data from participants collected at one point in time, may be from one sample or from a number

s: quicker to conduct as no follow ups, costs less to conduct

l: sample size may not be large enough

what is a sample?

subsection of the population and should be repersentative

what is a population?

entire group of people that is of interest to the researcher

Methods to sample participants

convenience sampling

snowball

stratified

random

what is convenience sampling, give strength and limitation

involves selecting partipants who are easily accessible

strength: low time and effort , low costs

limitation: may be high researcher bias, sample unlikely to be representative

what is snowballing sampling, give strength and limitation

involves choosing initial participant and they spread the word encouraging others to join the study

s: time needed is reduced and can find difficult to rectruit samples

l: sample unlikely to be representative and may be biased

what is random sampling, give strength and limitation

all members of population have equal opportunity of being randomly drawn or selected from sample

s: researcher bias is minimised and each participant has equal chance

L: high time and effort and sample unlikely to be representative if sample size is not adequate

what is stratified sampling, give strength and limitation

breaking the population into subgroups based off of a common charcteristics and then the researcher takes an equal amount of each participant from each subgroup

s: more representative sample and researcher bias minimised

l: high time and effort, and may be hard to classify people into groups

Allocation of participants: What is random allocation, give strength and limitation

random distribution of participants in the sample into control and experiment group

e.g. computer generated or names in a hat

strength: allows for generalisability and prevents selection bias

limitation: cannot be used in non-experimental research and equality of characteristics and representation is not guaranteed

what is an extraneous variable

unwanted variables that may impact the dependent variable

Researchers may not be aware of them until study is done.

Any that are controlled can turn into controlled variables

Participant, environment, and researcher variables 

what are participant variables (extraneous)

relates to the individual characteristics of particpants

e.g. motivation, age, background, gender, intelligence, etc

what are environment variables (e)

relates to the environment the study takes place in and how it affects participant responses

e.g. testing venue, background noise, time of day, temperature, etc.

what are researcher variables? (e)

relates to the personality, characteristics, appearance and conduct of the researcher that unintentionally impacts participant response

e.g. accent, gender, age, health, personality, attractiveness, how they treat participants

what is a confounding variable?

impacts the DV and has casual or correlational relationship with IV

alters relationship between IV and DV and can complicate the results, making them difficult to interpret

How to minimise the effects of extraneous and confounding variables

random allocation of particpants

• to ensure each partipant of the sample has equal chance of being chosen for control group as well as experimental group

single blind procedure

• experimenter is aware of experimental conditions while the partipants are unaware of them

what is the experimenter effect?

involve expectations and behaviours of the researcher that may bias the results

one way to reduce this is double blind procedure - neither the experimenter nor the particpants who belong to the groups knows who is recieving a particular treatment

what are demand characteristics

includes the participants perception of the study and whether they think they know the aim of the study or expectations of the researcher

can result in pleasing behaviours or the participant trying to disprove the hypothesis

experimenter effect can lead to this

What are the types of data?

Qualitative (words) and quantitative (numbers)

Qualitative data:

Written words

Format: open-ended questions that allow free-form answers to be provided

Method of collection: interviews (structured or semi-structured), focus groups, open-ended surveys, and observation

Quantitative data:

Numerical values that can be counted

Format: closed-ended questions that limit answers to set responses

Method of collection: checklists, rating scales (e.g. Likert scale), controlled observation, etc.

Strengths and limitations of qualitatitive data

Strengths:

• In depth information can be collected as participants may have opportunity to explain their responses

• Flexibility in aspects of method collection - e.g wording of questions

Limitations:

• Reduced generalisability of information as it is gathered from small sample sizes

• To interpret the data researchers need a deep understanding of the studied concept

Strengths and limitations of quantitative data:

Strengths:

• Generalisability of results can be assessed

• Numerical data is easier to replicate through repetition of the research allowing to assess reliability

Limitations:

• Requirement for researchers to have strong knowledge of statistical analysis

• Large sample sizes are required for results to have high generalisability

Quantitative data collection:

Heart rate breathing: changes in emotional stress, physical effort and consciousness can be recorded

S: measures can be recorded in real time

L: participants may feel anxious and this can alter results

.

Galvanic skin response: changes in electrical conductivity of skin

S: measures can be recorded in real time

L: exercise or heat can affect the measurement

.

Likert scale: type of rating scale measuring attitudes

S: data can be statistically analysed

L: responses are limited to options provided

*SAME S AND L AS CHECKLIST

.

Checklist: collects yes/no information

Qualitative data collection:

Structured interviews: pre-established questions

S: participants don’t need to rely on reading or writing skills to participate

L: Interviews can’t ask for more detail

.

Semi-structured interview: pre-established questions but interviewer can ask follow up questions

S: extensive data can be collected as they can explain themselves

L: analysing data collected can be difficult

.

Open-ended survey: provided with questions and respond with as much detail as they wish

S: not restricted by options

L: participants must rely on reading and writing ability to participate

What are mixed methods?

When both types of data are collected from participants in the same study utilising interviews and rating scales

S: greater understanding of research problem as using both data methods

L: more time needed to collect all the data

Subjective vs objective data

Subjective = personal opinions and judgement (e.g. likert scale)

Objective = facts that can be supported through observation and measurments (GSR)

Validity and reliability:

V: degree to which measurement tool evaluates what it is designed to do

R: degree to which measurement tool provides consistent results