Lecture 1: Critical Thinking and Research Methods in Psychology

Critical Thinking and Research Methods in Psychology
Course Information

  • Course Title: PSYC 2018

  • Semester: Fall 2025

  • Instructor: Dr. Carolyn Baer

    • Preferred Names: Dr. Baer, Prof. Baer, Carolyn

    • Pronouns: she/her

Introduction to Course Content
Importance of the Course

  • Gain foundational knowledge essential for upper-year psychology courses.

  • Develop critical thinking skills, which are crucial for evaluating information and being skeptical about sources.

  • Learn the primary skill employers value: critical thinking in research and information assessment.

Course Goals

  • Understand the psychological research process. Students should be able to:

    • Evaluate a simple research scenario and identify the variables under investigation, including the importance of operational definitions.

    • Identify and understand ethical components of research.

    • Assess the reliability and validity of research.

    • Discuss various research designs (experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational) and their pros and cons.

    • Deconstruct research articles to understand their components.

Course Textbook

  • Title: Methods in Behavioural Research 4th Canadian Edition

  • Authors: Cozby & Mar, 2024

  • Note: The 3rd Canadian Edition contains different chapter numbers; tests will be based on the 4th Edition.

Learning Assessment

  • Assessment Breakdown:

    • Exams: 30% (Best Exam: 30%, Other Exams: 20% each)

    • Activities: 17%

    • Quizzes: 4%

    • Active Learning: 5%

    • Freebies Check-Ins: 3%

    • TCPS2 (ethics course): 1% for completion

    • Research Participation (SONA): up to 4.25% (bonus).

Exams Detail

  • Variety includes:

    • Multiple Choice Questions

    • Questions from quizzes

    • Short Answer Questions

    • Real article references will be required during exams

    • Practice opportunities in class, labs, and assignments.

Activities Specifications

  • Assignments: 2 total, reading a research article and answering related questions

  • Weighting: Best assignment worth 10%, and worse worth 7%

  • Weekly quizzes consist of approximately 10 questions, graded for completion, due Fridays by 10:00 PM via Crowdmark (on Blackboard).

  • Active Learning Activities graded for completion, diverse tasks each week.

Miscellaneous Course Policies

  • Accommodations: Must contact Student Accessibility Services if required.

  • Electronics Use: Allowed unless distracting others.

  • Communication: Preferred to ask peers or check Blackboard before contacting the instructor.

  • Email Response: Instructor checks emails between 10 AM - 6 PM on weekdays; expect a response within 2 days.

  • Exam Absences: Contact instructor with valid reasons for rescheduling.

Academic Integrity

  • Cheating Policy: Students must submit work that reflects their own thoughts and knowledge. If using external sources, proper attribution is necessary (e.g., citations).

  • Specific Cheating Examples:

    • Someone else completing assignments/quizzes/exams

    • Utilization of tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly for completion of work

    • Using translation or synonym apps to manipulate own work.

Success Strategies in the Course

  • Engage and participate actively in class discussions.

  • Complete all assignments and quizzes thoroughly.

  • Stay organized with notes from class and textbook.

  • Utilize free tutoring resources if needed.

  • Practice discussing learned material with others to reinforce retention.

Basics of Psychological Research

  • Types of Research:

    • Basic Research: Conducted to answer fundamental questions about human nature; aims for knowledge accumulation.

    • Applied Research: Focused on solving practical problems and generating new solutions for organizations and public programs.

Goals of Psychological Science

  1. Describe Behavior: What actions are people doing? When and by whom?

  2. Predict Behavior: Anticipate reactions in varying situations.

  3. Determine Causes and Explain Behavior: Understand reasoning behind behaviors.

Validity in Psychological Research

  • Internal Validity: Establishes whether a study logically shows that one variable causes another.

  • Construct Validity: Measures whether the tool accurately assesses the intended concept.

  • External Validity: Examines if study results are applicable beyond the context in which they were collected.

Establishing Internal Validity

Three criteria to establish causal relationships:

  1. Covariation: Presence of a cause leads to the occurrence of a behavior and vice versa.

  2. Temporal Precedence: The cause must precede the effect in time.

  3. No Alternative Explanation: Other potential causes for the observed effect must be ruled out.

Research Examples and Implications

  • Ice Cream and Drowning Correlation: This example highlights the misuse of correlation vs causation.

  • Scatter Plot (2006 Data): Visual representation of drowning deaths against ice cream production illustrates spurious correlation—emphasizes scrutiny in causal inferences.

Ways of Knowing

  • Listed as numerous approaches that can provide knowledge including scientific methods, logic, intuition, folk wisdom, authority, and experience.

Evaluating Sources of Knowledge

  1. Scientific Method: Structured approach advocating evidence before belief; includes empirical observations.

    • Advantages: Objective and falsifiable.

    • Disadvantages: Time-consuming and potentially biased.

  2. Intuition: Instinctual feeling driven; can be fast but prone to errors such as illusory correlations.

  3. Folk Wisdom: Common sense; easy communication but subject to confirmation bias.

  4. Authority: Expert-based knowledge but not always accurate; risks the trust in popular figures over credible expertise.

  5. Personal Experience: Knowledge from personal encounters, valuable for qualitative research despite limitations in generalizability.

  6. Logic: Systematic thinking that ensures consistency but requires correct foundational information.

Scientific Method in Detail

  • Focuses on skepticism—questioning assumptions and demanding evidence.

  • Distinction between empirical data and pseudoscience is crucial in modern psychology.

Formulating Research Questions

Ideas can stem from various sources:

  • Observations of everyday behaviors

  • Common assumptions & intuitive wisdom

  • Practical problems needing solutions

  • Insights based on theories and logical reasoning.

Finding Existing Knowledge

  • Best sources include research articles, academic conferences, and reputable databases.

  • Use of specific search platforms (PsycINFO, Google Scholar) advised to locate articles related to psychological studies.

Article Types in Research

  1. Empirical Articles: Present new data from studies.

  2. Literature Review Articles: Summarize previous findings on a topic.

  3. Meta-Analyses: Aggregate results from multiple studies to evaluate effect sizes.

Structure of Empirical Articles

  • Abstract: Brief summary of the research.

  • Introduction: Explains the research question and relevance.

  • Methods: Details the experimental design and participants.

  • Results: Presents findings and analyses.

  • Discussion: Interprets results and connects them back to the research question.

  • References: Provides citation credits to original researchers.

Practical Exercise

  • Students will practice finding specific articles, identifying sections such as sample size and findings, to familiarize themselves with article structure and content.

  • Engaging in activities that promote understanding of research article analysis is encouraged.