Chapter 2 Flashcards
What is science motivated by?
a natural curiosity about the world
What are the first three steps in the process of conducting research?
- generating an idea
- finding relevant research
- shaping your question into a testable hypothesis
What are 5 broad sources of ideas for research?
- common assumptions
- observations of the world
- practical problems
- scientific theories
- past research
What are examples of something researchers may test related to common assumptions?
whether the common sense or folk wisdom help within a culture are actually true. (do opposites attract? do birds of a feather flock together?)
What questions might lead to research on interpersonal relationships interpersonal relationships, child development, and the role of visual images in learning and memory?
- do friends or parents have the greatest influence on how a child will end up?
- is a picture worth a thousand words?
Why can testing widely held assumptions be valuable?
because these notions don’t always turn out to be correct and research might also show that the real world is much more complicated than our assumptions would have us believe.
often forces us to go beyond a common sense theory of behaviour and examine more closely what actually occurs in the real world.
Does research support that opposites attract is true? Is there any research that contradicts the findings of most research? If so what is different?
decades of research has shown that people actually tend to be attracted to others who are similar to themselves.
A group of researchers led by Steven Heine wondered if these findings would replicate in non-Western cultures. They found that Japanese participants idd not show the same preference for people similar to them over those who are different.
What can lead us to make intuitions about the world?
simply making careful observations of what happens around us.
What do we do in science instead of accepting intuitions based off of observation?
we take on a scientifically skeptical mindset, pushing those intuitions to fuel research ideas.
how did noting the experience of projects taking longer than the time set aside to complete them lead to research? What did the research show? What is the suggestion resulting from this research?
Roger Buhler and Wilfred Laurier conducted a series of experiments on why and how people underestimate the time it takes to complete tasks.
Their studies showed that people are particularly likely to underestimate how long a project takes when it involves many steps (and therefore can be interrupted easily), rather than when the task can be completed in one sitting.
Studying for exams and writing papers are good examples of these multistep tasks
adding a few extra hours or days to your first estimate might help you correct for this bias. (applied research?)
What is an example of how part-time jobs or volunteer positions can provide a rich source of material for scientific investigation? What did he find? What does this example show us?
When psychologist michael Lynn was a University student, he was working as a server and relied on tips for income. he decided to study tipping behaviour in restaurants and hotels in different countries
he found that posture, touching, and phrases written on a cheque increase tips. his research had a major impact on the restaurant and hotel industry.
shows us that taking a scientific approach to an everyday problem can lead to new discoveries with useful applications.
What is Ivan Pavlov most known for? Did he set out to discover this? What does this show about accidental approaches?
discovering what is called “classical conditioning”
he did not set out to discover this. he was actually studying the digestive system in dogs. One of his students noticed that the dogs had been salivating before the actual feeding began which led pavlov to study the ways in which stimulus preceeding food could produce a salivation response.
This shows accidental approaches aren’t purely accidental and they are far more likely to happen when approaching the world with a curious and inquisitive eye.
How does classical conditioning work?
pairing a neutral stimulus (such as a tone) repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus (such as food) to produce a reflex response (salvation) so that eventually the neutral stimulus presented alone will produce the response.
Is drawing inspiration from real problems in the world limited to applied researchers? Example?
Those who tend to conduct basic research may also draw inspiration from societal problems.
Basic research on memory was inspired by observation on the memory difficulties faced by people who had experienced some form of brain injury, such as a stroke.
Most famously, the research on HM who had brain surgery to relieve epilepsy memory difficulties led to great advances in our understanding of the basic memory process
What is an example of applied research in public health policy?
including graphic warnings on cigarette packages to reduce smoking.
What is a theory?
a framework that organizes and explains various findings related to a particular phenomenon, and in doing so generates new, testable hypotheses about that phenomenon
What scientific word is most similar to the colloquial use of theory?
hypothesis
What is a scientific theory grounded in and helps tp explain?
actual data from prior research
in explaining past observations what do theories also do?
specify predictions about possible future observations , known as hypotheses
What can specific hypotheses help us evaluate?
whether the broader theory is likely to be true
What 2 important functions do theories provide?
- organize and explain a large number of previous observations
- Generate new knowledge by pointing us in a direction where we can look to discover new aspects of behaviour.
How do theories make the world more comprehensible?
by providing just a few abstract concepts around which many different observations can be organized.
What is an example of a famous theory that helped us organize lots of information?
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection organized and explained a large number of observations concerning the characteristics of animal species. This one theory helped to explain the appearance of so many different animals
What is one theory of memory that helps us organize many different observations about memory, including the different types of memory deficits that result from damage to different areas of the brain, and the rate at which a person forgets material they just read?
a theory of memory that asserts that there are separate systems for working with information in the moment (working memory) and storing information for later (long term memory)
How are theories supported? Which of the 2 characteristics of theories does this fall into?
theories help us generate new hypotheses about behaviour which are then evaluated in future studies. if the studies support the hypothesis, then by extension, the theory is supported.
generating new knowledge
What happens if research reveals weaknesses in a theory?
the theory can be modified to account for new data or a researcher may develop an entirely new theory that a past study or past studies couldn’t explain
What is the memory theory example of how theories need to be modified as new information is discovered?
originally, a theory on memory thought that the long term memory system was a storehouse of permanent , fixed memories but research now shows that memories are easily reconstructed and reinterpreted
What is parsimony? Why?
the scientific principle stating that if 2 theories are equally effective at explaining a phenomenon, the simpler of the 2 theories is preferred
We follow this principle because the least complex theory will be easier to falsify (fewer variables = easier to prove the whole theory wrong)
Is past research a good source of ideas? Why? What are some examples of what kind of questions may come up?
yes. becoming familiar on a body of research already published on a topic is perhaps the best way to generate new ideas for research. Virtually every study raises question that can be addressed in subsequent research.
do the findings replicate in a different setting, a different population, a different culture?
What is facilitated communication?
a technic that purportedly allows a child to communicate with others by pressing keys on a key board, to show letters and other symbols. a facilitator hold the child’s hand to enable the child to determine which key to press. This technique seemingly allowed children with ASD to communicate their thoughts and feelings and answer questions
What did researchers (applying scientific skepticism) find out about the original study design of facilitated communication?
noted that the original study design failed to rule out a crucial alternative explanation: the facilitator may be unintentionally guiding the child’s fingers to type meaningful sentences. in other words, the facilitator, not the child with autism was controlling the communication.
How did the researchers create a study to test the findings of facilitated communication? What were the findings?
three conditions:
Condition 1: facilitator and autistic child are both shown pictures and child is asked to indicate what is shown in the picture with the facilitators
Condition 2: only the child saw the pictures
Condition 3: the child and facilitator were shown different pictures
when the child and facilitator were shown different pictures, the child never made the correct response. Usually, the one the facilitator saw was the one that was indicated
If you have observed something in the world around you and you want to research it further, What comes next?
you need to find out what past research has already been done on that topic. You might find a large body of research, including well developed theories and this might lead you to revise your original question and ask something new. Or you might find that very little is known about the phenomenon which might drive your curiosity.
across all sciences, what are the 6 major sections in research articles that report the results of one study?
- an abstract that summarizes the entire report
- and introduction that explains the problem under
investigation and any specific hypotheses being tested - a method section that describes in detail the exact procedures used
- a results section that presents the findings
- a discussion section that might include speculation on the broader implications of the results, address potential alternative explanations, discuss reasons why a particular hypothesis might not have been supported by the data, and make suggestions for future research.
- the references section that lists all the sources that were cited in the article
In psychology, what format do all of the references and citations follow? What else follows this format? Why do we do this?
the rules found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
This manual also tells us the rules for formatting tables, and how to present statistics
psychologists use these rules to help communicate with each other efficiently. All scientists know where to find specific information
Break down the 6 major sections of research articles
- Abstract: brief summary of article
- Introduction: outline the problem, tie to past research, point to question and method. (tends to start broadly with a statement of the topic and narrow towards the study method.
- Methodology: detailed description of study design
- Results: Objective report of study results
- Discussion: Interpretation of study results (tends to recap results and then provide more general information)
- References: List of all works cited
What is the abstract? What is its format? What is the reason for abstracts?
the abstract is a summary of the research report that is found at the beginning
- typically runs no more than 120 words in length (although the word limit can vary by journal)
- Includes information about the hypothesis, the procedure, and the broad pattern of results.
- generally, little information is abstracted from the discussion section of the paper.
- help readers quickly get a sense of a paper to decide if its relevant to their interests and something that they may wish to read about in more detail.
Why do we read the abstract? What are some issues with relying too heavily on the abstract for information?
read the abstract to decide whether the article could help you learn about your research topic.
relying too heavily on the abstract can lead to you making a mistaken impression of the study.
What is the introduction? What is its format?
in the intro, the research outlines the problem that has been investigated.
- the investigator introduces the research project by building a logical case that justifies why this study and the expected results will make an important contribution to understanding behaviour.
- past research and theories relevant to the problem are described , a gap in the existing knowledge is identified, and the current study is introduced as an attempt to fill this gap in knowledge.
- the researcher will often end this section by stating the hypothesis, or by declaring the study to be exploratory yet guided by particular research questions.
Why do we read the introduction of a research paper?
to find the purpose of the study, the pat research and theories relevant to the study, and the hypothesis.
What is the method section? What is the format?
- provides info about exactly how the study was conducted, including details necessary for the reader to replicate (repeat) the study.
- often divided into sub sections (the number of subsections is determined by the author and dependent on the complexity of the study.
- one subsection always describes the characteristics of the participants who contributed to the data. (these individuals may be referred to as subjects or respondents when surveys are employed and sometimes as informants when people report on other people)
- another subsection typically details the procedure used in the study, including the stimulus materials presented and the measures employed. (it is important that no potentially crucial detail be omitted while describing stimulus materials), the way behaviour was recorded, and so on.
Why is it important to provide details about who contributed the data in the methods section?
so we can place the results in context and consider to what similar populations these results may generalize.
What are some characteristics we might provide about the participants in the methods section?
how many participants identified themselves as male, female, or transgender, or non-binary
what was the average age?
How many participants were included total?
If the study used human participants, how were they recruited for the study?
was the data from any participants excluded from the analysis, and if so why?
If the sutdy used non-human participants, what species and genetic strain was used?
Why is it important not to omit any stimulus details in the research methods section?
omitting important details prevents readers from properly evaluating the study
Why do we read the methods section of a research paper?
to find out characteristics of the participants, what they were asked to do, what materials were used, and the overall study design
What is the results section? What is the format?
- the researcher presents the findings (typically arisen from a statistical analysis of the data collected).
The presentation of these results takes various forms. Findings can be described in:
- a narrative form (the result is described in words)
Ex: “the names of the animals that were also rated as cuter were more likely to be remembered one week after they were learned)
- researchers often try to avoid presenting too much interpretation of the results at this point
- research findings are also described in the form of statistics, which reflect the analyses that were conducted to test the hypothesis. The statistics can also be in tables and/or presented in the forms of graphs or figures.
Why do we read the results section of research reports?
for sentences, statistics, tables, and graphs that summarize the pattern of findings.
What is the discussion? How is it formatted?
the researcher views the current study from variosu perspectives.
- do the results support all the hypotheses? Some of them? Or none of them?
the other should try to discuss possible explanations for the results and discuss why one explanation might be more likely than others .
if the hypotheses were not supported, or have recieved only partial support, the author should suggest potential reasons (what might have been wrong with the methodology, the hypotheses or both?)
- the researcher also discusses how the results compare with past research
- frequently includes suggestions for future research on the topic and possibly practical applications
Is it bad to admit that you realized a flaw in your study after the data has been collected and analyzed in your discussion section?
no. no study is perfect and it is important to be upfront about the weaknesses and limitations of your study
Why do we read the discussion section?
for conclusions about the hypothesis, the study’s strengths and limitations, and contributions it makes to understanding the topic.
What is the purpose of citations in academic writing?
signal to readers that the idea or result described in that sentence was stated or found by the people cited and not the current author.
Do psychologists use direct quotations?
writers in psychology and other sentences tend to paraphrase others’ work instead of quoting.
Why do we read the references section in research papers?
to look up citations you noticed in earlier sections. Use this information to find research results that will help you learn more about what is known about your tpoic.
What does a standard reference include?
authors. (publication year). Title. Journal Name, journal volume, pages. doi.
What articles might not closely follow the 6 section format?
articles that review and summarize research in a particular area. (probably a literature review or a meta analysis)
What is a literature review?
A narrative summary of the past research conducted on a particular topic.
What is the difference between a metanalysis and a literature review?
metanalysis will use statistical techniques to re-analyze past data. Lit review will use narrative techniques to summarize the research in words.
What will review articles definitley have? What may vary?
defintiley: abstract, intro, discussion, and references
may not: sections between intro and discussion
What is manuscript form?
formatted in the way a psychologist would submit it for potential publication.
How might you read an article if you are searching for ways others have studied creativity in the past?
- may skip straight to methods
- then go back and read the article carefully
- then note the hypotheses and theories presneted in the introduction
- then write down anything that seems crucial or problematic in the method,
- and read the results in view of the material in the intro
What are scholarly journals?
special publications that include articles written by scientists that are intended for scientists.
Are all peer-reviewed journals scholarly publications?
yes
Are all scholarly publications peer-reviewed?
no
When are research reports considered primary sources in our discipline?
once it is accepted for publication by a journal.
What are library databases considered useful for?
- finding specific articles
- setting advanced search parameters
- reliable cited references searches
- complete, searchable bibliographic details
- trusting that the database is monitored for accuracy
- accessing many full texts when connected to campus library
- learning disciplinary jargon by using thesaurus- suggested terms as keyword lists from useful articles.
What is an internet search considered useful for?
-exploring a topic very broadly, including blog posts etc
- finding researchers’ websites for their full publication records and original articles
What are cons of internet searches?
- can’t set advanced search limits
- can be difficult to find peer reviewed articles
- not monitored for accuracy
What is the name of the american psychological association’s searchable database system? is it considered the best source?
PsycINFO
yes.
How can you find all the articles that have used a particular measure?
a cited reference search on Web of science
What is a research hypothesis?
a statement about a phenomenon that may or may not be true, informed by past research or derived from. broader theory and which requires further evidence to support or refute it
When might a researcher chose to conduct exploratory research?
if little or no researhc has been conducted previously on the topic and there is not enough existing evidence to formulate a strong hypothesis.
What do researchers do to their hypothesis when designing a study?
the researcher translates the more general hypothesis into a very specific prediction concerning the outcome of this particular study.
What are predictions tied to?
the methods of a particular study. Make the statements from the hypothesis more concrete and specific to the study itself.
How are predictions often stated? Why?
in the future tense
because they appear in the introduction section and refer to the study that is about to be described.
Which of the following examples is a prediction and which is a hypothesis?
- a crowded environment results in worse performance on cognitive tasks compared to an uncroweded environment
- participants in the uncrowded condition will perform better on delayed recall tasks than participants in the crowded condition.
1 = hyp
2= pred
What is an important characteristic of hypotheses? What does this mean?
falsifiability. means data could show that the hypothesis is false if it is in fact false.
LOOK AT CHAPTER 2 PAGE 33
GO BACK TO SECTION ABOUT SPECIFIC WEBSITES AND DO A BETTER JOB AT MAKING CUE CARDS FOR THEM
