Getting Started Flashcards
What is research?
-The ongoing process of systematic inquiry using the Scientific Method
Describe the research process.
- Make observations
- Think of interesting questions
- Formulate hypotheses
- Gather data to test predictions
5a. Develop general theories OR
5b. Refine, alter, expand, or reject hypothesis - Repeat
Why learn research design?
- Graduate coursework, capstone, thesis, dissertation, GA, etc.
- Think critically and make informed decisions in daily life
- Be an investigator, clinician-investigator, or clinician-collaborator
- Conduct evidence-based practice
What is a clinical investigator?
- Individual who primarily provides clinical services, but is also engaged in research
- Allows for first-hand knowledge of gaps in treatment, client needs, etc.
- Important for translational research (from basic to applied)
Why is the “systematic” part of research so important?
- Bias
- Conjunction facility
- Availability heuristic
- Gambler’s fallacy
- Introspection illusion
What are types of bias could impact research?
- Belief bias
- Confirmation bias
- Experimenter’s bias
What is belief bias?
-The strength of an argument altered by how believable the conclusion is
EX: All professors are mortal. All sadists are mortal. Therefore, all professors are sadists.
What is confirmation bias?
-Tendency to search for/remember information that confirm your preoccupations/predictions
What is experimenter’s bias?
- Tendency for experimenters to believe, certify, and publish data that agree with their expectations for the outcome of an experiment
- Tendency to disbelieve, discard, or downgrade the corresponding weightings for data that appear to conflict
What is conjunction fallacy?
- Which statement is more probable based on the given information
- EX: Linda is a bank teller. vs. Linda is a bank teller and is an active feminist.
What is availability heuristic?
-Tendency to overestimate the probability of events that are more available in memory (i.e. recent, unusual, emotionally charged)
EX: accidents, lottery winning
What is gambler’s fallacy?
- What is the probability that the next coin toss will turn up heads, given that the last 3 tosses were heads?
- Still 50% because each flip is an independent event
- Affects how people perceive “randomness” in your experiments
What is introspection illusion?
- People in a department store were asked to evaluate different clothing items in a line
- People chose the item on the right 4x as often as the one on the left (i.e. position effect)
- Customers however denied that position was a possibility
Why should you ask big questions in research?
- You want to impact society./You want society to care about your work.
- You want your research funded.
- You want to publish.
- You want to graduate.
- Staying aware of the big questions in the field
