Introduction to Research

Types of Scientific Research

- Experimental

- Descriptive

- Survey

- Exploratory

Descriptive Research

- designed to systematically describe situations or events that naturally occur, the states of phenomena of interest as they currently exits

- used to study group differences

- developmental trends

- relationships between variables

types of descriptive research

- cross- sectional

- longitudinal

- semi longitudinal

- historical

- case study

- secondary analysis

- evaluation research

cross - sectional

involves selection subjects from various age groups and observing differences between the behavior and characteristics of the group

advantages: less costly and time consuming; less likely for subject attrition

subject attrition

loosing subjects of study

longitudinal

follows the same group of subjects over time, sometimes known as cohort study, follow-up study; incidence study or perspective study

advantage: stronger than cross-sectional

disadvantage: expensive, time consuming, more likely to experience subject attrition

semi-longitudinal

compromise designed to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches

- selecting subjects at the low end of designated age spans and following them until they reach upper limits of that age span

historical

- reviewing and interpreting historical data to determine possible effects

- establishes facts and relationships about past events

- summarizes a topic or provides a review

case study

intensive study of the background, current-status, or environmental interactions of an individual, group, institution, or community

- examines relationships or developmental trends

weakness: limits to generalizability and imposition of bias

Generalizability

to generalize to the greater population

secondary analysis

involves research that uses previously gathered date; examining unanalyzed variables testing unexplored relationships, focusing on a specific subsample, or changing the unit of analysis

- advantage: reducing cost and time- no data collection

- disadvantage: no control over data collection- may be reported inaccurately

evaluation research

collection and analysis of information related to the effects of a program, policy, or procedure

evaluation research: 4 types

- process or implementation eval: function or program/policy

- outcome and impact eval: effectiveness of the program

- cost-benefit analysis: benefits outweigh the cost

- comprehensive eval: combination of above evaluations

exploratory research

examines how one event or events relates to other factors

types if exploratory research

- correlational research

- case-control studies

- cohort studies

correlational research

used to determine possible relationships among factors

- predictive research, designed to predict a behavior or response based on the relationships between the behavior and other variables

case- control studies

when individuals are selected whether they have a particular disorder or not

- people are chose for a study and categorized into "cases" and "controls"

cases: chosen because they have a particular disorder

controls: chose because they don't

cohort studies

follows the temporal sequence of factors that may have impacted the development of a disorder

- researcher selects a group of people that does not have the condition of interest and follows them to see what characteristics contribute to its development

experimental research

examines possible cause-effect relationships by exposing one or more experimental groups to one or more conditions and comparing the results to one or more control groups

- designed to find directional, casual relationships between multiple variables

types of experimental research

- Randomized Controlled Trials

- Quasi-experimental

- Sequential Clinical Trials

- Single-subject Designs

- Meta-Analysis

randomized control trials are the

gold standard

randomized control trials

involves the experimental group receiving the variable of interest and the control group not receiving any form of treatment

- most rigor, most control

- least amount of bias

experimental group receives treatment, control group receives none

quasi- experimental

- involves manipulation of an independent variable but does not have a comparison group or randomization; also known as a pre-experimental and pseudo-experimental

- similar to experimental research but NO control group or randomization

Sequential Clinical Trials

doesn't require a fixed sample size before the study can begin; can be used to compare two treatments such as an "old" or standard treatment to a "new" experiment treatment

- allows the addition of "new" treatment methods

single subject designs

focuses on the behavior of one or a few subjects

- looks like a case study

meta-analysis

technique for quantitatively combining the results of several studies on a given topic

- pulling everything together that's been done in certain criteria

- provides a method for integrating and synthesizing research studies and theory development

survey

designed to provide a detailed inspection of the prevalence of conditions, practices or attitudes in a given environment by asking people about them rathe than observing them directly

- can be used with descriptive, exploratory or experimental research