research methods in dev psych

Question 1

what is research agreement

Answer 1

research conclusions aren’t always the same, new sources may provide bias - read critically

Question 1

what is science

Answer 1

studying the world empirically, asking questions, recognizing and overcoming biases

Question 2

order of the scientific process

Answer 2

observation of a phenomenon - formulate testable hypothesis - select methods/design study - submit research proposal to IRB - collect/analyze data - write paper - submit for review

Question 3

what should a developed hypothesis include

Answer 3

prediction stated in a testable way, offers support or refutes explanation of phenomena

Question 4

three types of research designs

Answer 4

scientific observation, experiment, survey

Question 5

what is scientific obs

Answer 5

researcher systematically and objectively records behavior, requires careful and measurable definitions

Question 6

measures in scientific observations

Answer 6

reliability, validity

Question 7

what is reliability

Answer 7

produce consistent results, ex: internal consistency, test-retest reliability, IRR

Question 8

what is validity

Answer 8

accurately measures what it’s supposed to
ex: construct validity - correlates with other measures of the construct

Question 9

three types of obs. methods

Answer 9

naturalistic observation, ethnography, structured observation

Question 10

what is naturalistic observation

Answer 10

observe participants in their natural environment
disadv: does not allow for control over factors of interest, not practical for low base rate behaviors

Question 11

what is an ethnography

Answer 11

thick description, investigates cultural questions, researcher is a participant observer
disadv: possible researcher influence

Question 12

what is structured obs

Answer 12

in a lab potentially, assigns participants to specific tasks
disadv: would behavior occur in a natural setting?

Question 13

what is an experiment

Answer 13

manipulation of environ. or variables to establish a causal relationship between independent and dependent variables

Question 14

how to know if IV is the cause

Answer 14

measure DV before the treatment (pretest) and after treatment (post test) and compare results – difference = IV cause

Question 15

pros of experiments

Answer 15

internal validity, enables researchers to learn more clearly about relationship btwn IV and DV; random assignment and blinding increases

Question 16

cons of experiments

Answer 16

external validity decreases as int. validity increases

Question 17

what is a survey

Answer 17

collecting info from large number of people using interviews, questionnaires

Question 18

pros of surveys

Answer 18

can control sampling and sample size, good at answering questions about specific behaviors

Question 18

types of surveys

Answer 18

self-report, national (w/ nationally representative sample

Question 18

cons of surveys

Answer 18

lacks ability to manipulate variables, self-report, validity of measures harder to control, less ideal for examining process behind behavior

Question 19

what is a cross-sectional study, pros vs cons

Answer 19

compare different aged children at the same time point

pros: convenient, quick, inexpensive
cons: can’t answer q’s about development, differences may due to cohort not development

Question 20

what is a longitudinal study, pros vs convs

Answer 20

follows same children over time and assesses at different ages
pros: can uncover changes over time, strong support for causal relationships
cons: takes longer, need more resources (time, $), participant burden/fatigue

Question 21

what is a cross-sequential study, pros and cons

Answer 21

follows several groups of dif ages over time
pros: checks for historical context/cohort differences
cons: resource intensive

Question 22

correlational studies

Answer 22

cannot prove causality, can provide information

Question 23

natural or quasi-experiments

Answer 23

measures effects or changes that occur naturally in real world
- comparing groups. that were not set up by researcher, used when assignment to groups is not practical
cons: more difficult to determine causality (3rd variable problem)

Question 24

case studies

Answer 24

used with individuals or small groups to come to more generalized conclusions

Question 25

psychophysiological studies

Answer 25

• not subject to report bias or verbal fluency
  ex: EEG, CAT, fMRI etc

Question 26

statistical significance vs practical significance

Answer 26

results not found by change vs how large difference is between groups (is it realistically significant) - Cohen’s D (effect size statistics)

Question 27

pros of meta analysis

Answer 27

small samples can be added together, widely accepted as standardized less biased way to weight evidence

Question 28

cons of meta analysis

Answer 28

variations across studies make combining impossible sometimes, publication bias, unpublished study exclusion

Question 29

experiment disusage

Answer 29

logically impossible - some situations uncontrollable (ex: who will present with symptoms of ASD)

ethically impossible

Question 30

ethical guidelines for children by Society for Research in Child Dev. (SRCD)

Answer 30

1. beneficence and non-maleficence - protect from hard
2. informed consent - must be obtained before study (or parental consent)
3. confidentiality - participant privacy must be maintained