Week 1c

Lecture 3: Research Strategies

Goals of Developmental Psychology 

To Describe: to observe human behaviour to describe how humans change overtime and describe trends and individual variations 

To Explain: to explain and try to understand why humans develop as they typically do, and why some people turn out different than others 

To optimize development: apply what eve learned in hoping to help individuals in developmental stages in life  \n

Scientific Method

  • a series of steps taking by researchers to assure observations are accurate/verifiable
  • researchers must be objective and allow their observations and data to decide the merits of the theorizing 
  • Steps involved 
    • reasoning, systematic observations and communication
    • choose a question to be answered 
    • formulate a hypothesis regarding the question 
    • develop a method for testing the hypothesis 
    • use the data yielded by the method to draw a conclusion regarding the hypothesis 

Theory

  • a set of concepts and propositions designed to organize, describe and explain an existing set of observations 

Hypothesis

  • a specific assumption or prediction - must be testable to determine accuracy

**Theories should be parsimonious, falsifiable, and general ideas

Criteria for the scientific method:

  • all are necessary in research
  • Objectivity: scientific knowledge may not be distorted by researcher's preconceptions/biases \n Reliability: extent to which the measuring instruments give consistent results - over time and across observers \n Replicability: if researchers used similar procedures, they would yield similar results Validity: extent to which the measuring tools accurately reflect the intended purpose

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Types of Research

Basic research

  • conducted to advance general knowledge

Applied research

  • designed to solve practical problems

Action research

  • designed to provide data that can be used in social policy making

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Methods of Data Collection:

Observation

  • naturalistic - observing individuals in their natural environment during everyday life;
  • controlled - observing individuals in a formal (labt setting

Self-report

  • Interviews
    • structured - all participants are asked the same questions
    • clinical - questions are tailored to each individual, each question determined by the preceding answers
  • Questionnaires: participants respond to standard questions using pencil & paper method

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Experiments

  • a change is introduced, and the effect is measured; experimental group is exposed to treatment, control group is not exposed to treatment
  • Dependent Variable: the variable that remains constant
  • Independent Variable: the variable that is manipulated to reach treatment goals

Quasi-Experiment

  • measures the impact of a naturally occurring event
  • ethical considerations prevent experimental control 

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Ecological Validity: when the experimental settings diverge too far from natural environment, behavior is often modified

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Longitudinal Research Design:

  • The same participants are observed or interviewed over a long period of time (can be months-years
  • same people at different ages 
  • can test the development and stability of attributes 
  • Disadvantages: Practice effect - participants get used to the testing method, attrition - loss of participants over time, cross-generational effect - an event impacting a population (cohort effect, eg. People who lived through 911

Cross-Sectional Research Design:

  • Participants from different age groups are observed or studied at the same point in time (less time consuming than longitudinal
  • different people at different ages observed at a different point in time 
  • Disadvantages: cohort effects - differences in age groups may impact results

Microgenetic Research Design:

  • Intensely observing development over short periods, especially when children are on the verge of change
  • Disadvantages: limited to changes occurring over short periods of time

Cohort Sequential Research Design:

  • Combines longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches by studying several cohorts over a period of time
  • Disadvantages: similar to the disadvantages for the two it combines

Triangulation

  • when a researcher combines 2+ techniques to confirm their conclusions

Ethics in research: must get informed consent, provide freedom from harm, and confidentiality