research methods test 1

chapter 1-3

Intuition

• involves believing what feels true/instincts

  • problem: can be wrong due to cognitive and motivational biases rather than logical reasoning

authority

• accepting new ideas based on authority figures state its true

  • eg: parents, media, doctor, profs, pastor

• problem: authority may be incorrect

rationalism

• using logic and reasoning to acquire new knowledge

• eg: all swans are white therefore yk the swan is white

  • if the premises are wrong, the conclusion will not be valid

empiricism

• acquiring knowledge through observation and experience

• heart of the scientific method

• we are limited in what we can experince and our senses can deceive us

the scientific method

• method of systemically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and answer questions

• using systemic empiricism to make careful observations

  • under controlled conditions to test

science

The systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

systematic empiricism

• 1st part of the scientific approach

• learning based on observation, and scientists learn about the natural world systematically, by carefully planning, making, recording, and analyzing observations of it.

empirical questions

• 2nd feature of the scientific approach

• questions about the way the world actually is and, therefore, can be answered by systematically observing it.

public knowledge

• sharing conclusions in professional contexts eg. journal

• advances science for social process

• allows science to be self correcting

pseudoscience

• Refers to activities and beliefs that are claimed to be scientific by their proponents—and may appear to be scientific at first glance—but are not.

• lacks falsifiability, does not address empirical claims

eg: astrology, reflexology

falsifiable

the capacity of a hypothesis, theory, or statement to be proven wrong through observation, experimentation, or empirical evidence

3 goals of science

• to describe

• to predict (whether an event or behavior will occur in a certain situation)

• to explain

basic research

• achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior, without necessarily trying to address any particular practical problem.

  • eg: how caffeine consumption affects the brain

applied research

• conducted to address a practical problem

• eg: cellphone use on driving → prompted by safety concerns

folk psychology

• Intuitive beliefs about people’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings.

• eg: the belief that venting anger helps reduce it, “People use only 10% of their brain power.”

heuristics

• Mental shortcuts in forming and maintaining our beliefs.

conformation bias

Tendency to focus on cases that confirm our intuitive beliefs and to disregard cases that disconfirm our beliefs.

skepticism

• Pausing to consider alternatives and to search for evidence—especially systematically collected empirical evidence—when there is enough at stake to justify doing so.

tolerance for uncertainty

Accepting that there are many things that we simply do not know.

empirical research reports

Research reports that describe one or more new empirical studies conducted by the authors.

review articles

Articles that summarize previously published research on a topic and usually present new ways to organize or explain the results.

theoretical article

A review article that is devoted primarily to presenting a new theory.

meta analysis

A review article that provides a statistical summary of all of the previous results.

double-blind peer review

A process in which the reviewers of a research article do not know the identity of the researcher(s) and vice versa.

monograph

A coherent written presentation of a topic much like an extended review article written by a single author or a small group of authors.

edited volumes

Books that are collections of chapters written by different authors on different aspects of the same topic, and overseen by one or more editors.

intrestingness

How interesting the question is to people generally or the scientific community.

• Three things need to be considered: Is the answer in doubt, fills a gap in research literature, and has important practical implications.

Feasibility

How likely is the research question going to be successfully answered depending on the amount of time, money, equipment and materials, technical knowledge and skill, and access to research participants there will be.

theory

A coherent explanation or interpretation of one or more phenomena.

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hypothesis

A specific prediction about a new phenomenon that should be observed if a particular theory is accurate.

hypothetico-deductive method

• A cyclical process of theory development, starting with an observed phenomenon,

• hen developing or using a theory to make a specific prediction of what should happen if that theory is correct,

• testing that prediction,

• refining the theory in light of the findings, and using that refined theory to develop new hypotheses, and so on.

good hypothesis

• testable and falsifiable → must be possible to gather evidence that will disconfirm it

• logical

• positive statement about the existence of a relationship or effect

variable

A quantity or quality that varies across people or situations.

quantative variable

A quantity, such as height, that is typically measured by assigning a number to each individual.

catagoerical variable

A variable that represents a characteristic of an individual, such as chosen major, and is typically measured by assigning each individual's response to one of several categories (e.g., Psychology, English, Nursing, Engineering, etc.).

operational definition

A definition of the variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured.

eg: beck depression inventory, roshchart inkblot

population

A large group of people about whom researchers in psychology are usually interested in drawing conclusions, and from whom the sample is drawn.

eg: children with autismm, all american teens, humans

sample

A smaller portion of the population the researcher would like to study.

simple random sampling

• every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

  • difficult or sometimes impossible for psychological research because the populations are less clearly defined

convenience sampling

• A common method of non-probability sampling in which the sample consists of individuals who happen to be easily available and willing to participate (such as introductory psychology students).

  • sample may not be representative of population

experimental method

• only method used to find causal relationships

  • researchers must manipulate one or more variables while attempting to control extraneous variables

independent variable

The variable the experimenter manipulates.

dependent variable

The variable the experimenter measures (it is the presumed effect).

extraneous variables

Any variable other than the dependent and independent variable.

confounds

A specific type of extraneous variable that systematically varies along with the variables under investigation and therefore provides an alternative explanation for the results.

• must be controlled

internal validity

• Refers to the degree to which we can confidently infer a causal relationship between variables.

• high internal validity in a lab

external validity

• Refers to the degree to which we can generalize the findings to other circumstances or settings, like the real-world environment.

  • field studies are high in such

  • when internal validity is high, external validity tends to be low; and when internal validity is low, external validity tends to be high.

field experiments

A type of field study where an independent variable is manipulated in a natural setting and extraneous variables are controlled as much as possible.

• can have high external and high internal validity

mode

most frequent score in a distribution

median

midpoint of distribution of scores

mean

average of distribution of scores

range

A measure of dispersion that measures the distance between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

standard deviation

Is the average distance between the scores and the mean in a distribution.

variance

A measurement of the average distance of scores from the mean.

correlation coefficient 

Describes the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables (often measured by Pearson's r).

inferential stats

A research method that allows researchers to draw conclusions or infer about a population based on data from a sample.

statistically signfifcant

An effect that is unlikely due to random chance and therefore likely represents a real effect in the population.

• less than 5% chance of being due to random error=statistically significant

  • more than 5% due to chance of error alone= not statistically significant

type 1 error

• (false positive)

• when the null hypothesis is true, but is incorrectly rejected

• said there is an effect when there is NO true effect in the population

  • eg: test says you have covid when in reality you DONT

type 2 error

• (false negative)

• when the null hypothesis is false, but the test fails to reject it

• test says you have a flu when you DO have covid

ethics

The branch of philosophy that is concerned with morality—what it means to behave morally and how people can achieve that goal.

moral principles

• weighing risks against benefits

• acting responsibly and with integrity

• seeking justice

• respecting peoples rights and dignity

informed consent

researchers obtain and document people’s agreement to participate in a study after having informed them of everything that might reasonably be expected to affect their decision

Nuremberg Code

A set of 10 ethical principles for research written in 1947 in conjunction with the Nuremberg trials of Nazi physicians accused of war crimes against prisoners in concentration camps.

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Declaration of Helsinki

An ethics code that was created by the World Medical Council in 1964.

Belmont Report

A set of federal guidelines written in 1978 as a response to the abuses of the Tuskegee study that recognize three important principles in research with humans: justice, respect for persons, and beneficience, and that formed the basis for federal regulations applied to research.

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justice

• The importance of conducting research in a way that distributes risks and benefits fairly across different groups at the societal level.

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respect for persons

One of the Belmont report principles that emphasizes the need for participants to exercise autonomy and protection for those with reduced autonomy, often through informed consent.

beneficence

Underscores the importance of maximizing the benefits of research while minimizing harms to participants and society.

Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects

• A set of laws based on the Belmont Report that apply to research conducted, supported, or regulated by the federal government.

an insitutional review board (IRB)

A committee that is responsible for reviewing research protocols for potential ethical problems.

Exempt research

• low level risk

• Research on the effectiveness of normal educational activities, the use of standard psychological measures and surveys of a non sensitive nature that are administered in a way that maintains confidentiality, and research using existing data from public sources.

Expedited research

Research reviewed by the IRB that is not anonymous and/or may involve potentially stigmatizing information, or invasive or uncomfortable procedures, but exposes participants to risks that are no greater than minimal risk (risks encountered by healthy people in daily life or during routine physical or psychological examinations).

greater than minimal risk research

Research that poses greater than minimal risk to participants and must be reviewed by the full board of IRB members.

APA ethics code

Stands for the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.

• It was first published in 1953 and includes about 150 specific ethical standards that psychologists and their students are expected to follow.

deception

Stands for the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. It was first published in 1953 and includes about 150 specific ethical standards that psychologists and their students are expected to follow.

debreifing

This is the process of informing research participants as soon as possible of the purpose of the study, revealing any deception, and correcting any other misconceptions they might have as a result of participating.

pre-screening

A way to minimize risks in a study and to identify and eliminate participants who are at high risk.