research methods

Question 1

what are the features of science and how are they seen in tests

Answer 1

• constructing theories + testing hypothesis
  – deductive process (top-down)
  – observe behaviour -> propose theory -> hypothesis -> test hypothesis -> conclusions
  – inductive process (bottom-up)
  – observe behaviour -> hypothesis -> test hypothesis -> conclusions -> propose theory
• psychology uses both types of theories - some aspects of psych have theories that are hard to generate, like cognitive theory as it’s hard to demonstrate proof and has ID
• falsifiability = allows others to test your H wrong
  – argues that no amount of (+) validations of a theory prove it to be true, but one piece of falsifications = enough to render a theory untrue –> H should be tested + refuted (shows that it uses scientific methods) –> the swan theory
• there are many aspects of psych that are F {biological (localisation) + behaviourist approach (operant conditioning)} as these can be tested {shows physical behaviour}
  – however some aspects = not F {psychodynamic (unconscious mind - id, ego, super-ego) + humanistic approach (self-actualisation)} as they are internal mental processes that aren’t as easily testable - can suffer from ID / case studies
• replicability - repeating a study to ensure generality & the data affirms the original results
  – done by recording + standardising methods carefully
• most RM used = replicable –>e.g milgram + Asch + lofuts+palmer + bandura, drug trials, twin + adoption studies, but case studies = hard to replicate (due to the individual or the ethics of it) - Zimbardo + HM case
• objectivity + empirical method
  – researchers must retain objectivity during their empirical research –> no investigator bias - their personal opinions shouldn’t interfere with the study / outcome
  – ways to increase objectivity:
  — control methods, double-blind + operationalised + standardised + peer review
  – empirical = direct experience {observations + experimentation} - doesn’t rely on arguments or beliefs
  – however subjectivity = needed when studying personal experiences (complex cognitive functions - like eotions)
• paradigm –> a common theory / perspective / belief - a science should have a shared set of: assumptions + scientific methods + terminology about what should be studied and how
• paradigm shifts (significant change in dominant theory / belief) - when current theories can’t explain a phenomenon, a new theory = suggested
  – when a new paradigm better explains observations
• the approaches w= not dominant together (appeared @ diff times) –> possible that psych had various paradigm shift
  – the supporters could believe in more than 2 approaches @ the same time

Question 2

what are type 1 + type 2 errors?

Answer 2

• type 1: occurs when a researcher claims support for the research hypothesis w a significant result when the results = caused by random variables - a false positive
  – rejects H0 and accepts H1 = wrong decision
• type 2: occurs when the effect the researcher was attempting to demonstrate exists but the researcher claims there was no significance - researcher = too strict // false negative
  – accepts H0 + rejects H1 = wrong decision

Question 3

spearman’s ro

Answer 3

• non parametric test
• ordinal data
• tests for correlation
• degree of freedom = N
• OV >/= CV –> reject H0

Question 4

pearson’s R

Answer 4

• parametric
• interval data
• testing for correlation
• DF = N-2
• OV >/= CV –> reject H0
• related data

Question 5

wilcoxon test

Answer 5

• ordinal data
• related designs {matched pairs / repeated measure}
• testing for a difference between conditions
• DF = n
• OV < CV –> reject H0

Question 5

mann-whitney

Answer 5

• ordinal data
• unrelated designs {independent}
• OV < CV –> reject H0

Question 5

T-tests

Answer 5

• unrelated
  – testing for diff between groups
  – independent
  – interval data
  – OV >/= CV –> reject H0
• related
  – testing if there’s a diff between groups
  – repeated designs
  – interval data
  – OV >/= CV –> reject H0