Advanced Research Methods: Epistemology, Experimental Control, and Ethics

Epistemology: The Seven Sources of Knowledge

  • Superstition

    • Defined as knowledge based on subjective feelings and beliefs without proof.

    • It relies on the interpretation of random occurrences as having meaning.

    • The core component of superstition is a belief in magical events.

    • Superstition is only valid as a primary source of knowledge if an individual lives on a desert island with no access to Wi-Fi, books, or external communication.

  • Intuition

    • Often called a "gut feeling," intuition refers to knowledge that arrives with no conscious awareness of its origin.

    • Intuition is correct a maximum of 44%44\% of the time.

    • The primary deficiency of intuition is a lack of information; it can serve as a starting point for inquiry but requires external data to be validated.

  • Authority

    • Knowledge is gained when an individual in a real or perceived elevated social position (e.g., parents, professors, police, presidents) asserts how the world works.

    • There are two major flaws with authority:

      1. No authority figure possesses expertise in everything.

      2. Authority figures are subject to bias and human error; they inevitably screw up.

  • Tenacity

    • This is knowledge maintained though repetition and social reinforcement; believing something simply because it has been heard 10,00010,000 times.

    • Example: The Flat Earth Society continues to believe the world is flat despite massive contradictory evidence because they favor belief over knowledge.

    • This leads to the "arrogance of opinion," where opinions should be treated like underwear—changeable immediately when they become soiled or proven wrong.

  • Rationalism

    • Knowledge derived through the rules of formal logic, premises, and conclusions.

    • Example: All men are mortal; I am a man; therefore, I am mortal.

    • The problem with rationalism is that it prioritizes form over content. Nonsensical or false information can be plugged into a logical argument, and if the form is correct, the argument is "valid" within rationalism.

    • Illustrative comparison: In 19741974, David Bowie released his eighth album, Diamond Dogs. Rationalism might suggest that if diamonds are a girl's best friend and a dog is man's best friend, then David Bowie represents everyone's best friend. This has form but lacks real-world substance.

  • Empiricism

    • Knowledge gained through the five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing.

    • It relies on information that can be physically verified and agreed upon by others with the same senses.

    • The weakness of empiricism is that it provides a "grab bag" of information without inherent order; it is like a tornado filled with trivia cards.

  • Science

    • Science is the combination of Rationalism and Empiricism.

    • It involves a logical argument (Rationalism) that is filled with information that can be verified through the senses (Empiricism).

Falsifiability and the Logic of Discovery

  • The Principle of Falsifiability

    • Established by Karl Popper, this principle states that you cannot prove anything to be true; you can only prove something to be false.

  • The White Swan Illustration

    • Consider the statement: "All swans are white."

    • To prove this true, one would need to observe every swan in every pond, lake, river, and backyard on Earth simultaneously.

    • Furthermore, one would need to invent time travel to verify every swan that existed in the past (e.g., in 15851585 or 19621962) and every swan that will exist in the future.

    • Proving the statement false is significantly easier: you only need to find a single black swan.

Experimental Groups and Research Methods

  • Levels of Analysis

    • Research uses descriptive, predictive, and explanatory methods to evaluate the human condition.

    • A critical distinction must be maintained: correlation does not equal causation.

  • Types of Experimental Groups

    • Control Group: A baseline condition that receives no intervention/treatment.

    • Placebo Group: Receices an inert treatment (e.g., a sugar pill) to isolate the placebo effect.

    • Experimental Group: Receives the independent variable or the specific intervention being studied. A study may have multiple experimental conditions.

    • Comparison Group: Receives a different or existing intervention rather than the new one being tested.

  • Ethics of Comparison vs. Control

    • In some scenarios, using a control group is grossly unethical or illegal.

    • Example: In educational psychology, if third graders require a reading intervention, federal law mandates they receive education. Denying a group of children any reading intervention to serve as a "control" is illegal. Researchers must instead use a comparison group that receives the current "old" intervention to see if the "new" intervention performs better.

Academic Literature and Databases

  • The Gold Standard

    • Peer-reviewed sources are the requirement for high-quality psychological information.

  • Primary Psychology Databases

    • PsycInfo, PsycArticles, and PsycLit.

    • PsycTests (used to find existing instruments and surveys).

    • Google Scholar (useful as a secondary search tool).

    • Specialty resources: DSM-55-TR, Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Mental Measurements Yearbook, and Dissertation Abstracts International.

    • Governmental (.gov) and organizational (.org) websites may be used, though bias must be evaluated.

Structure of Research Articles

  • Abstract: A brief, high-density summary of the article, typically ranging from 5050 to 300300 words.

  • Literature Review: A summary of previous research that culminates in the specific research questions and hypotheses for the study.

  • Preregistration: The practice of "chiseling in stone" the research questions and predicted answers (alternate hypotheses) before any data is collected. Researchers are not permitted to change the rules of the study once it has begun.

  • Methodology Section: Composed of three essential parts:

    1. Sample: Details on the participants, including how many were involved, where they were sourced, and the inclusionary/exclusionary criteria (who is in, who is out, and why).

    2. Materials: The list of "ingredients" or instruments used (surveys, computer programs, paper inventories).

    3. Procedure: The chronological lived experience of the subjects from start to finish, recorded in order without skipping steps.

Ethics and the Institutional Review Board (IRB)

  • Training and Certification

    • The National Institute of Health (NIH) sets ethical standards, and CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) provides the training.

    • Certification is internationally recognized, lasts for five years, and is required for anyone working with human subjects in psychology.

  • Three Oversight Functions of an IRB

    1. Scientific: Ensures the study uses legitimate scientific methodologies and instruments rather than pseudoscientific methods like tarot cards or astrology.

    2. Ethical: Ensures the maintenance of health, safety, welfare, well-being, dignity, and respect for subjects. This is based on Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence (doing good and causing no harm).

    3. Regulatory: Ensures the study complies with regional laws (e.g., a medical marijuana study cannot be legally conducted in North Carolina, whereas it might be in Arizona or Ohio).

  • IRB Protection Priorities

    1. The Health, Safety, Welfare, and Dignity of the subjects (Primary Priority).

    2. The Institution (e.g., Western Carolina University).

    3. The Researcher (the distant third priority).

Informed Consent, Deception, and Risk

  • Disclosure Rules

    • What they are doing: Full disclosure is mandatory. You cannot lie about the tasks subjects will perform (e.g., you cannot claim they are doing a color-sorting task but then apply electric shocks).

    • Why they are doing it: Deception is permissible regarding the purpose of the study to prevent bias, provided the subjects are debriefed afterward.

  • Levels of Risk

    1. No Risk: No foreseeable negative outcomes.

    2. Minimal Risk: Risk no greater than what is encountered in everyday life (e.g., feeling minor annoyance or disappointment after a personality inventory, such as a student receiving a "zero" on a creativity scale).

    3. At Risk: Occurs when the researcher fails to protect the subject. The most common cause is a breach of confidentiality or anonymity.

    • Sensitive data such as substance ingestion, "deviant" sexual habits, or masturbatory habits puts a subject "at risk" if that data is not sufficiently locked down. Security for participant data must be treated with extreme paranoia; six or eight layers of security are preferable to any fewer.