Research Methods Flashcards
psychology as science
- general public regard psychology’s scientific status with skepticism
why is it concerning that psychology’s scientific status is questioned?
- may render would-be consumers reluctant to seek out clinical services
- lack of recognition may contribute to psychology,s lack of funding
scientific method
systematically generate knowledge through data collection, controlled observation, testing hypotheses
hypothesis
- tentative explanation for certain facts/observations
- falsifiability (hypothesis can’t be refuted)
operational definitions
concrete definitions of variables you are studying
theory
group of principles and hypotheses that explain an area of inquiry
replicability
repeating results under similar test conditions
evaluating psychopathological research
- systematic reviews and meta-analysis
- randomized controlled trials
- quasi-experiment
- cohort study
- case-control study
- surveys, case reports
- editorials, expert opinions
statistical significance
- tells you whether findings are due by chance
- testing null hypothesis
- pvalue = probability that null hypothesis is correct, type 1 error
- reject null, accept alternative hypothesis
idiographic research
- person-centered
- detailed understanding of individual
- i.e. case studies + qualitative measures
nomothetic research
- variable-centered
- uncover basic principles or laws
- measuring a group of people on a number of variables
- i.e. correlation and experiments
experiment
- allows to draw conclusions about causal relationship between variables
- refer to SMART trials on slide 17, class 7
experiment: components
- experimental hypothesis
- manipulation of IV
- measurement of DV
- compare groups on DV
experiment: random assignment to groups
- experimental group
- control group
importance of control group
- account for confounds + 3rd variables
- placebo effect
placebo effect
single-masked/single-blind
- participant = unaware of experimental conditions
double-masked/double-blind
- both participant and researcher unaware of experimental conditions
internal validity
extent to which effect can be confidently attributed to manipulation of IV (cause, effect)
external validity
can results be generalized beyond the study
ethical considerations
- ethical to randomly sign? sometimes not feasible
- what should comparison group be
correlational research
- relationship between x and y
benefits of correlational research
- complex relationships between multiple variables
- ethically cannot assign people to conditions
limitations of correlational research
- cannot infer causality
- directionality
- third variables and confounds
analogue studies
- attempts to simulate real-life situation in controlled conditions
- used when not possible to control all variables in real-life situations
- used when ethical, legal, moral issues preclude other types of studies
- animal models to test neuro/chemical activity underlying a disorder
- include panic symptoms in a lab
- simulate therapy conversation and assess trust
are examples of _____
analogue studies
field studies
- B and events are observed/recorded in their natural environment
- main technique is observation
- must avoid disrupting the natural envrionment
limitations of field studies
- no info on causality
- difficult to control variables
- observers can never be certain that their presence did not influence the interactions they observed