KIN 371 Midterm

definition of science

systematic body of knowledge; common sense, we found it, we know it, we proved it (gravity) 

definition of empiricism/empirical

description of data or study that is based on objective observations (personal trainer looks at objective numbers like VO2 max)

decisions are based on data from experiments and observations 

inductive vs deductive reasoning 

•Individual observations are tied together into specific hypotheses to create a theory (moves from specific observations to general conclusion) (qualitative)

*Starts with a theoretical explanation of specific hypotheses that are tested against (or compared with) reality to evaluate whether the hypotheses are correct (general principle to a specific conclusion)

5 characteristics of research

systematic (structured series of steps that are followed: plan, identify, design, collect, evaluate), logical (does it make sense), empirical (decisions are based on observations from data), reductive (establish generic relationship from data), and replicable (steps are recorded in detail to be repeated)

unscientific methods of problem solving

tenacity (clinging to a certain idea regardless of lack of evidence), intuition (what is presently evident), authority (Tom Brady said so and he is the goat so it must be true), and rationalistic (derive knowledge through reasoning)

steps of the scientific method 

1. develop the problems (define and delimit it) (identify variables) 

2. formulate hypothesis 

3. gather data 

4. analyze results 

5 types of research

analytical (in depth study and evaluation of available information to explain complex phenomenon), descriptive (attempts to describe the status of the study’s focus), experimental (establishes cause and effect; manipulates treatment), qualitative (inductive process in developing hypothesis and theory as the data unfolds), and mixed methods (qualitative vs quantitative, combination of both)

historical events that led to the protection of human rights

Nuremburg Code (following WWII) Voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential, Research should benefit society, Avoid suffering, Participants should be able to withdraw

Declaration of Helsinki - patient comes first

Belmont Report - response to Syphilis study, expanded on consent, respect for persons, and benefiance and justice

informed consent 

•Explanation of procedures

•Explanation of risks and benefits

•Disclosure of alternative procedures, if applicable

•Confidentiality ensured

Participant free to withdraw and free to refuse to do any portion

conflict of interest

Situations in which financial or other personal considerations may compromise, or have the appearance of compromising a researcher’s professional judgement in conducting or reporting research

7 areas of scientific dishonesty

plagarism, fabrication/falsification, non publication of data, faulty data gathering procedures, poor data storage and retention, misleading authorship, poor publication process

sanctions for misconduct 

Publications revoked

Letter of reprimand

Not allowed to obtain future grants

Information release to outside agencies, organizations

Legal referral

Fines

descriptive question

describe phenomena or characteristic of a particular group, what is/are?, survey research

relationship question

the degree to which two or more variables are associated with each other

difference questions 

seeks to make comparisons between or within groups of research 

identify the type of research question; the purpose was to investigate the effects of exercise on anxiety and depression among college aged females

causal, comparative

identify the type of research question: the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between study time and exam scores amongst university students

relational

identify the type of research question: The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of able-bodied volunteers in an adaptive sport program to gain a deeper understanding into the range of benefits received

relational 

operational definition

specific description of how a variable or concept is measured

delimitations

limitation imposed by the researcher in the scope of the study; a choice that the researcher makes to define a workable research problem (geographical and population)

limitations 

a possible shortcoming or influence that either cannot be controlled or is the result of the delimitations imposed by the investigator (physical constraints and cognitive boundaries)

difference of independent vs dependent variable

independent variable is manipulated and the dependent variable measures the effect of the independent variable

extraneous variables

not of interest but could influence study results, need to be controlled for

MAXICON principle 

maximize true variance (real relationship)

maximize error variance (reduce mistakes - control for extraneous variables) 

control extraneous variance (account for rival hypothesis) 

5 sections of the method

design (what), participants (who), instruments of measures (why), procedures (how), and analysis (because)

probability sampling

random: all in population have equal chance of being selected

stratified random: classify into subgroups

systematic: random starting point and fixed interval

cluster: select as group, then random sampling

threats to internal validity 

history (events out of our control), maturation (processes within participants that occur as a result of time passing), statistical regression (selecting extreme cases from a given population), selection bias (choosing groups in a non random order), attrition, testing (taking a test on tuesday, you’ll do better on wednesday after you already know what is on the test)

To control for this is RANDOMIZATION

threats to external validity

reactive or interactive effects of testing, interaction of selection bias and the experimental treatment, reactive effects of experimental arrangements, and multiple-treatment interference

three types of experimental research

pre-experimental design, true experimental design, and quasi-experimental design

why to use qualitative research 

some topics and research questions can’t be studied through objective paradigms (like character and performance, emotion, etc.) 

types of mixed methods design 

concurrent - both approaches used at same time or independently 

sequential - one approach used first, followed by the other 

basics on qualitative methods

• tells us how and why

• exploratory research - when we don’t know much about a topic 

• captures phenomena like motivation, body-language, experiences

• doesn’t include hypothesis 

• 4 strategies - interview (most common), focus groups (efficient, many people, opinions, and ideas at one time), observation, think-aloud protocol (captures in the moment cognitive processes) 

• similar number of participants

• trustworthiness

more on mixed methods 

quantitative and qualitative research approaches are combined to elicit breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration on a topic

concurrent designs - both approaches used at the same time independently (triangulation-quant and equal analyzed seperatley and combined to interpret, embedded- one takes the lead one adds supportive data) 

sequential designs - one approach used first, followed by the other - often a result of the first part of study influencing the second part (explanatory- quant first, then equal helps explain results, exploratory- qual first, then quant helps explain results) 

true or false: quantitative research begins with questions and theories, manipulates and controls, uses formal instruments, deductive, component analysis, seeks consensus, reduces data to numerical indices

true

true or false: qualitative research ends with questions/hypothesis grounded with theory, emergence and portrayal, researcher as instrument, naturalistic, inductive, searches for patterns

true

some explicit differences of quantitative and qualitative 

Quantitative: P-value for significance, random sampling, validity; objectivity; bias, reduction 

qualitative: rich narrative, purpose sampling, trustworthiness

internal vs external validity 

internal: can the results really be attributed to the treatment, while all the other potential explanations have been eliminated 

external: whether the findings are generalizable to the ‘real world’ and the population at large of limited to the experimental setting (lab) and the particular sample of participants enrolled in the study 

internal validity measures…

reliability (low suspectability of sources from random measurement error, leading to consistent, or repeatable measurements under same conditions)

validity (whether the data obtained in a measurement really represents what they are supposed to represent)

parts of a research proposal

abstract: basic overview and summary

intro: problem, background infor, gap in lit, purpose, hypothesis

methods: sample population, measure, data analysis, procedures

results: stats, findings related to study

discussion: reiterate main findings, reflect on purpose, expand results to previous research

conclusion: not always included, take-away points

overview of lit review 

determine relevant issues, determine if question has value, generate hypothesis, informs the development of the methods, secondary vs primary sources when searching 

true or false: randomization of partcipants controls for… history up until experiment, maturation, stats regression, selection bias

true

threats to external validity

reactive or interactive effects of testing, interaction of selection bias and the experimental treatment, reactive effects of experimental arrangements, multiple-treatment of interference

types of probability sampling

random: all in population have equal chance of being selected

stratified random: classify into subgroups

systematic: random starting point and fixed interval

cluster: select as group, then random sampling (based on geography)

types of non probability sampling

purposive: researcher’s choice

snowball: referrals

convenience: easy to reach

three broad categories of experimental design 

pre-experimental: no random assignment of participants 

true experimental design: random asignment to groups 

quasi experimental: no random assignment, but can give pretest or use matching of participants 

true experimental designs

randomized groups design, pretest-posttest randomized groups design, solomon four group design

purpose of quasi-experimental…

to fit the design to settings more like the real world while still controlling as many of the threats to internal validity as possible

2 types of hypotheses 

research: there is an effect 

null: not an effect 

types of questions/hypotheses

difference, associational, descriptive

types of research questions

desrciptive: what is/are, describe phenomena

relationship: the degree two variables are associated

difference: make comparisons between groups

causal: attempts to establish cause and effect

exploratory: aimed at investigating poorly understood areas

definitions of variables 

control variables: could potentially influence the results so it is held constant 

categorical variables: kind of IV that cannot be manipulated 

extraneous variables; factors not controlled for that can impact the independent and dependent variables

basic assumptions

fundamentals upon which a study is designed

delimitations

limitation imposed by the researcher in the scope of the study; a choice to define your problem

limitation 

possible shortcoming or influence that either cannot be controlled or is the result of the delimitations imposed by the investigator; cannot fully control