Research Methods & Critical Thinking Notes

Lecture: Research Methods & Critical Thinking

What is Science?

  • Science is the systematic study of the universe, organizing knowledge through testable predictions and explanations.

  • It relies on observation and experimentation (i.e., research) to yield empirical evidence.

  • Scientific findings must be capable of being verified or disproved.

Experimental / Scientific Method

  1. Make observations: Identify patterns in nature from experiences, thoughts, or reading.

  2. Think of interesting questions: Inquire about the reasons behind observed patterns.

  3. Hypothesis: Ask specific questions to narrow down potential causes of a phenomenon.

  4. Develop testable predictions: Formulate expectations (a, b, c…) based on the hypothesis's correctness.

  5. Gather data to test predictions: Collect relevant data from literature, new observations, or formal experiments.

    • Replication is essential to verify results.

    • Hypothesis may be refined, altered, expanded, or rejected based on the data.

  6. Develop general theories: Theories must be consistent with available data and current theories.

Steps Summarized

  1. Ask a question.

  2. Conduct background research.

  3. Formulate a hypothesis.

  4. Collect data to test the hypothesis.

  5. Analyze the data and draw conclusions.

  6. Report the findings.

Asking a Question & Background Research

  • Ask a question: Identify what you are curious about.

  • Background research:

    • Use peer-reviewed articles and prior research (e.g., Google Scholar).

    • Determine if the question has been previously answered.

    • Explore how to expand upon existing knowledge on the topic.

Formulate a Hypothesis

  • Theory: An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

  • Hypothesis: A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Developing a Widely Recognized Theory

  • Achieved through replication, not reproduction.

  • Replication: Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.

Usefulness of a Theory

  1. Organization: Organizes a range of self-reports and observations.

  2. Implication: Implies predictions that can be used to check the theory or derive practical applications (e.g., does people’s sleep predict their retention?).

  3. Stimulation: Stimulates further research that leads to a revised theory, better organizing and predicting what is known.

The Scientific Method: A Self-Correcting Process

  • The scientific method is a self-correcting process for asking questions and observing nature’s answers.

  • Observe: For example, students with good sleep habits tend to answer questions correctly in class and perform well on tests.

  • Theory: Sleep improves memory.

  • Prediction/Hypothesis: When people are sleep-deprived, they will remember less from the day before.

  • Test hypothesis: Assess how well people remember course materials studied before a good night’s sleep versus before a shortened night’s sleep.

Testing the Hypothesis

  • Independent Variable (IV): The variable the experimenter manipulates.

  • Dependent Variable (DV): The variable the experimenter measures after making changes to the IV.

  • Operationalization: Necessary to test/measure variables (e.g., “intelligence” can be operationalized as a score on an IQ test).

Descriptive

  1. Validity: Does the instrument/test really measure what it’s supposed to measure? (accuracy).

  2. Reliability: Can the results be reproduced when the research is repeated under the same conditions? (consistency).

Extraneous Variables

  • All other variables, which are not the IV, but could still affect the results of the experiment.

    • Could affect the DV, the IV, or the relationship between IV and DV.

  • Main Types:

    • Situational & Researcher Variables: Associated with the situation (experiment or environment) and/or researcher(s).

      • Controlled through standardization.

    • Participant Variables: Associated with the participant(s).

      • Controlled through randomization.

Specific Extraneous Variables

  • Situational Variables: Time of day, noises/sounds.

    • Consistent testing protocols (standardized testing environment and procedures).

  • Researcher Variables: Researcher bias or researcher appearance/behavior.

    • Consistent testing protocols & “blinding” the study (double-blind study: neither subject nor experimenter knows which condition the participant is in).

  • Participant Variables: Participant age, education, gender, etc.

    • Randomization (sampling and assignment to conditions/groups; screen for/exclude certain groups).

Types of Research Design

  1. Descriptive

  2. Correlational

  3. Experimental

  4. Review

  5. Meta-analytic

Case Studies

  • Single-subject research involving detailed examination of a particular case.

  • Strengths:

    • Detailed, rich qualitative information.

    • Insight/hypothesis-generation for further research.

    • Permits investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations (i.e., studying rare populations/phenomena).

    • Can suggest directions for future studies.

  • Weakness:

    • Limited scientific rigor and generalizability.

    • Susceptible to researcher bias.

    • Difficult to replicate (low reliability).

Naturalistic Observations

  • Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

  • Strengths:

    • More natural behavior occurs if people are unaware of observation.

    • Studying of animals that cannot be observed in captivity.

    • Study of situations that cannot be artificially set up.

  • Weakness:

    • Limited scientific rigor and generalizability.

    • Observer may affect behavior if detected.

    • Difficult to replicate (low reliability).

    • Very subjective.

Surveys