Module 2 - Principles Of Scientific Research Flashcards
Objectivity
Facts about the world can be observed and tested independently by the individual who describes them (achieving this is not simple)
Subjective
knowledge of the event is shaped by prior belief, expectations, experiences, and mood
Five Characteristics of Quality Scientific Research
- Measurements that are objective, valid, and reliable
- It can be generalized
- It uses techniques that reduce bias
- It is made public
- It can be replicated
Objective Measurements
Measure of an entirety of behaviour that, within an ALLOWED margin of error, is consistent across instruments and observers
Variable
object, concept, or event being controlled, manipulated, or measured by a scientist (different variables can be measured and manipulated with different stimuli and using different techniques)
Operational Definitions
statements that describe the procedures (or opperations) and specific measures that are used to record observations
Validity
degree to which an instrument or procedure actually measures what it claims to measure (requires testing and a lot of proven evidence)
Reliability
when it provides consistent and stable answers across multiple observations and points in time
Test-retest reliability
examines whether scores on a given measure of behaviour are consistent across test sessions
Alternate-forms reliability
examines whether different forms of the same test produce the same results (two equally dificult tests at different moments in time)
Inter-rater reliabiity
raters arrive at very similar conclusions (experiment has has clear operational definitions and criteria for the raters to produce high inter-ter reliability)
Generalizability
Degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individual, or events
- allows us to predict how most people will respond to different stimuli and situations
- average effects to get a better generalization of likelihood
Population
The group that researchers want to generalize
Sample
Select group of population members
Random People
Sampling technique in which every individual of a population has an equal chance of being included
Convenience samples
Samples of individuals who are the most readily available
Ecological Validity
Meaning that the results of a laboratory study can be applies to or repeated in the natural environment (computer based or artificial situations that replicate common situations)
You’ve EARNED a Study Break
What kind of room doesn’t have floors?
A MushROOM
HAHA get it ;)
Anyways good luck with your studying! You got this!!! Grab a snack too if you need it!
Researcher Bias
Bias can be unintentionally introduced by the researchers and they are unaware if the conditions were manipulated
Subject biases or participant biases
Subject tampers with the experiment unintentionally
Hawthorne effect
Behaviour change that occurs as a result of being observed (participants are aware they’re being observed)
Social Desirability
Participants may respond in ways that increases the chances that they will be viewed favourably by the experimenter and/or other participants (computers can help respond with relative anonymity)
Placebo effect
Measurable and experienced improvement in health or behaviour that cannot contribute to a medication or treatment
Demand Characteristics
Inadvertent cues given off by experimenter or the experimental context that provides information about how the participants are expected to behave
4 Techniques that reduce bias
- Anonymity; each individual’s responses are recorded without any name or other personal information
- Confidentiality; the results will only be seen by the researchers (participants will be more vulnerable)
- Single-blind study; the participants do not know the true purpose of the study, or do not know which type of treatment they are receiving
- Double-blind study; neither the participant nor the experimenter knows the exact treatment for any individual - can be done on studies where groups have differentiating variables
Academic journals
Present the research study presenting all components
Peer Review
papers submitted for publication in scholarly journals are read and critiqued by experts in the specific field of study
Replication
Process of repeating a study and finding similar outcomes each time (even by other researchers)
Publication Bias
Successful and novel results are published and studies that showed no effects are not published
5 Characteristics of Poor Research
- Unstable Hypothesis - has to be precise enough to be proven false
- Relies on Anecdotes and Personal Experiences - individuals story about observation that is used to make an evidence claim
- Includes a biased selection of data - presents data that is only in support
- Appeals to authority rather than facts -non data or scientific evidence
- Makes appeals to common sense - appears to be sound but lacks supporting evidence
Research Designs
A st of methods that allows a hypothesis to be tested
Data
when scientists collect observations about the variables of interest
Qualitative research
examining an issue or behaviour without performing numerical measurements of variables
Quantitative research
examining an issue or behaviour by using numerical measurements and statistics
Sigmund Freud
Theories of personality and development
Naturalistic observations
unobtrusively observe and record behaviour as it occurs in the subjects natural environment
Self reporting
- responses are provided directly by the people who are being studied
- ex. face to face interviews, phone surveys, paper and pencil tests and web-based questionnaires
- Individuals speak for themselves
Direction of correlational research
Pattern of data will vary based on relationship between variables (positive or negative)
Magnitude of correlational research
How closely the changes in one variable are linked to changes in another variable
The third variable problem
Third, unmeasured variable is responsible for a well-established correlation between two variables
Illusory correlations
Relationships that exist only in the mind, rather than reality
Experimental Designs
Strong evidence for cause and effect relationships
Random assignment
technique for deciding samples into two or more groups in which participants are equally likely to be placed in any condition of the experiment
Confounding variable
variable outside of a researcher’s control that could affect or provide an alternate explanation for the results
Indépendant variable
What the experimenter manipulates
Dependent variable
Observations to measurement that is recorded during the experiment and compared across all groups
Between-subjects design
Compare performance of participants in different groups
Experimental group
Receives treatment or stimuli
Control group
Does not receive the treatment or stimuli - baseline to compare the experimental group to
Quasi-experimental research
Two or more groups that are compared are selected based on predetermined characteristics
Converging operations
Researchers dont have to settle on one from of study rather they have to do what is best for their intended research
Descriptive Research
X - input and Y- Outome
Goal is describe
Ex. Case study, survey and naturalistic observation
Correlational
- finding association between x and y
- focus on association of two events (two variables)
- strength from 0.00 to +/- 1.00
- variables can increase together
- one variable can increase and one can go down
-ex. Surveys
Experimental
- Is variable x having a casual effect on variable y
- primary goal is to examine causes
Causation
- experimenter manipulated one variable to see effect
- strategies that permit the ability to control effects
Statistical Inference
Assumption that there is no difference
- < 5% it is deemed as significantly significant otherwise there is no difference
- statistical significance doesn’t it equal clinical significance
Meta-analysis
Studies of studies that have been published to test variability
(Even performed on null studies)
Measures of behaviour in studies
- Self-report
- Third party observation
- Physiological measure
(All of error but some more than others)
Research ethics board
committee of researchers and officials at an institution charged with the protection of human research participants and are required between colleges and universities
Research about trauma
revisiting a stressful experience can be difficult, researchers learn how coping through expression can help emotional adjustment (researchers should find a way to minimize the risks ex. Keeping everything confidential and making and making the information anonymous)
Obtaining informed consent
potential volunteer must be informed (know the purpose, taksks, and risks involved in the study) and give consent without pressure
Volunteers Should Be Told… (6)
- The topic of the study
- The nature of the stimuli to which they will be exposed
- The nature of any tasks they will complete
- The approximate duration of the study
- Any potential physical, psychological, or social risks involved
- The steps that researchers have taken to minimize those risks
Deception
Only partially informing participants of the true topics of the hypothesis
Rights held by participants
- Freedom to chose
- Equal opportunities
- The right to withdrawal
- The right to withhold responses
- Debreifing
Ethical Indigenous Perspectives
- studies conducted in the 20th century on Indigenous Peoples would now be viewed as unethical
- They were dehumanized and treated as subjects stripping them of their rights, without their consent (especially children)
- Indigenous communities have now taken lead and developed their own review protocols for work conducted within their communities to improve the practices
Anonymity
data collected can not be connected to individual participants
Confidentiality
- researchers can not share specific data or observation that can be connected with an individual 2. All records must be kept secure
Animal’s in Research
Animal research is equally important to psychological research as humans
- Some research must be done on animals because of their qualities that humans can not provide
The animal model
is a living, non-human, often genetic-engineered animal used during the research and investigation of human disease, for the purpose of better understanding
How to maintain proper ethics for animal-based research
There are ethical standards from animal-based research that reduce harm and discomfort for these animals
- Animals are provided for with proper housing, feeding and sanitation
- Pain and stress is minimized as much as possible
Ethical collection, storage and Reporting of Data
- the data should be kept for 5-7 years typically after the journal is published for good relationship to the public nature
- Scientists must be honest with their data regardless of the external pressures
- Cases breaching scientific misconduct sometimes arise when individuals fabricate or manipulate their data to fit their desired results
Descriptive Statistics
Set of techniques used to organize, summarize and interpret data
Frequency
The number of observations that fall within a certain category, range or score
Normal Distribution
Symmetrical distribution with values clustered around a central mean value (Bell curve)
Skewed Distribution
Asymmetrical distribution with a large cluster on one side and a long “tail” on the other
Central Tendency
A measure of the central point of a distribution
Mean
The arithmetic average of a set of numbers
Median
The point on the horizontal axis at which 50% of all observations are lower, and 50% of all observations are higher
Mode
Which is the category with the highest frequency
Variability
The degree to which scores are dispersed in a distribution
- can be caused by measurement errors and differences within the elements of the study
High Variability
That there are a large numbers of cases that are closer to the extreme ends of the continuum for that set of data
Low Variability
Means that the most of the score are similar
Standard Deviation
Measure of variability around the mean
Hypothesis Testing
Statistical method of evaluating whether differences among groups are meaningful or could have been arrived at by chance
Statistical Significance
The means of the groups are farther apart than you would expect them to be by random chance alone
The null hypothesis
Assumes that any differences between groups are due to chance
Experimental hypothesis
Assumes hat any differences are due to a variable controlled by the experimenter
