The Scientific Method Flashcards
Accuracy definition
Gathering and evaluating info in as careful, precise, and error free manner as possible
Grade one students doing a university exam
Objectivity definition
Obtaining and evaluating info in a manner that is free from bias
Skepticism definition
Accepting findings as accurate only after they have been repeatedly verified by many different scientists
Open mindedness definition
Willingness to change ones views in the face of new evidence
4 essential components of the scientific method
Accuracy, objectivity, skepticism, open-mindedness
Authority definition
Accepting unquestioningly what someone tells you about behaviour (can be useful in early stages of research, not always provide valid answers, source may not be authoritative, they are often biased)
Intuition definition
Accepting as true our own judgement about behaviour and the world (can be useful in early stages of research, answers not always valid)
Ways of knowing: how do we explain behaviour?
Authority and intuition
Reasons we cannot trust intuition
Fundamental attribution error, confirmation bias, availability heuristic, mood effects, hindsight bias
Fundamental attribution error definition
When interpreting another’s behaviour we tend to overestimate internal and underestimate situational factors
Confirmation bias definition
A tendency to notice and remember info consistent with our views and ignore info counter to our views
Availability heuristic definition
People judge the frequency of an event by how easily examples come to mind
Mood effects definition
Our moods influence our perceptions, judgements, and decisions
Hindsight bias (the knew it all along effect) definition
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it
Intuitive explanations are…
Accepted at face value (ie tbey are not rigorously evaluated)
Scentific explanations are…
Subjected to rigorous research scrutiny
The scientific method insisits…
That all ideas concerning behaviour be subjected to an empirical test (in conditions where its either supported or refuted). It helps us avoid biases by providing an objective set of rules for gathering/evaluating info
The fundamental characteristic of the scientific method is…
Empiricism (based on observation)
Empiricism emphasizes..
The role of experience and evidence, especially sensory perception, in understanding the world over intuition, authority and tradition
When a theory is supported…
You simply have more confidence in its ability to explain and predict phenomena
You cannot prove a theory as…
Correct (new info may come along and destroy a theory)
Scientific method diagram
- A theory is formulated 2. Make predictions (hypothesis) 3. Hypothesis are tested through observation 4. If results support hypothesis, confidence in the theory increases or 4. If the results do not support the hypothesis, the theory is modified 5. Research continues or 5. If continually not supported, the theory may be abandoned
Variable definition
A characteristic or quantity thay can take on two or more values
Independent variable IV definition
The variable that is manipulated; researcher manipulates IV to see effects on DV
Dependent variable (DV) definition
The variable that is measured; may change in response to manipulation
You have an IV and DV only when…
You conduct an experiment (for other methods, case studies, correlations, surveys, you do not manipulate variables. Instead you simply describe or measure them)
Steps in the research process
- Developing a research idea 2. Generating a research question (specific and focused; can be tested empirically) 3. Decide how you are going to answer your research question (choose method, eg case study, experimental, etc, choose location, measurement and participants) 4. Operationally define variables (how they are measured or manipulated - neccesary) 5. Conduct study & collect data 6. Analyze the data (descriptive and inferential stats) 7. Report the results
To test a hypothesis…
One puts it in carefully and clearly operationalized terms, and uses carefully controlled, standardized procedures, reliable measures, large samples, and random assignments to conditions
Basic research definition
Attempts to answer fundamenral questions about the nature of behaviour; the major goal is to aquire general info about a phenomenon
Applied research definition
Concerned with immediate practical application or with the solution to a particular problem; the major goal is to generate info that can be applied to a “real world problem”
Primary source definition
Contains the full research report
Secondary source definition
Summarizes info from primary sources
Problems with secondary sources
Author may interpret the findings incorrectly; often lacks detail
Books are usually..
Secondary sources, have not undergone a review process (although some do have original research)
Journal articles are…
The best source because they have undergone the review process
Parts of a research paper
Abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references, appendix
Abstract definition
A breif comprehensive summary of the contents of the article. Should not exceed 150 words.
Introduction definition
Presents the specific problem under study and describes the research strategy, discusses relevant literature, discusses the purpose and rationale of the study
Method definition & subsections
Describes in detail how the study was conducted. 3 indentified subsections: 1. Participants or subjects 2. Apparatus or materials 3. Procedure
Results definition
Summarizes the data collected and the statistical or data analytic treatment used
Discussion definition
Interprets and evaluates the results in terms of the original hypothesis
References definition
An alphabetical list of all works cited in the paper
Appendix definition
Used for a detailed description of materials, etc
Nuremberg Code
December 9th, 1946 - American military tribunal opened criminal proceedings against german physicians and administrators for war crimes and crimes against humanity on concentration camp victims. 1948 - nurmeberg code created which stated that the consent of the participant is necessary.
Declaration of Helsinki
1964 - world medical association established reccomendations for conducting biomedical research with human participants. Research proposals should be viewed by independent commitees, informed consent is necessary, risks should not outweigh benefits.
National research act
National research act passed in 1974 which created the national commission for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioural research. Commission given the task of identifying basic ethical principles that should be kept when working with human subjects. Commission drafted the belmont report in 1979
Belmont report
Report summarizes the basic ethical principles identified by the commission. 3 basic principles:
- Respect for persons - anonymous, full informed consent
- Beneficence - risk vs benefits
- Justice
Instead of the belmont report, Canada has the…
Tri-council policy statement
Ethical guidelines set by 3 majour research funding agencies (tri council)…
- Natural sciences and engineering research council of canada (NSERC) 2. Social sciences and humanities research council of canada (SSHRC) 3. Canadian institutes of Health research (CIHR)
Research ethics boards definition
Committees that judge the ethicality of proposed research
Respect for human dignity -
Protect the interests of the person (eg from bodily and physical harm); this is the fundamental principle behind modern research ethics
Respect for free and informed consent -
Respecting the excersize of individual consent
Respect for vulnerable persons -
Those who diminished competence make them vulnerable (children, institutionalized persons, etc) require special protection against abuse, exploitation or discrimination
Respect for privacy and confidentiality -
Protect the access, control, and dissemination of personal information
Respect for justice and inclusiveness -
The benefits and burdens of research should be distributed fairly across individuals and groups in society
Balancing harms and benefits -
Forseeable harms should not outweigh anticipated benefits
Minimizing harm -
The duty to avoid, prevent, or minimize harm to others; subjects must not be subjected to unnecessary harm
Maximizing benefit -
A duty to benefit others and to maximize net benefits; human research is intended to produce benefits for subjects themselves, for other individuals or society as a whole, or for the advancement of knowledge
Problem with informed consent:
The possibility of participant reactivity is very strong; by providing enough info for informed consent, the researcher may undermine the validity of the exp. Design
Informed consent means…
Prior to participation, participants should be informed of all aspects of the research (eg purpose of research, identity of the researcher, description of procedures, their rights, etc)
Partial disclosure means…
When you actively mislead or purposely withold info from the participant (used in cases where full disclosure would invalidate the findings).
You can only use partial disclosure if…
The risk to subjects is minimal.
It does not affect the rights and welfare of the participants
Alternative methods have been ruled out
Participants are provided with full disclosure after participation
Problems with partial disclosure
Once they have been mislead, they may react differently subsequent experiments
They may feel duped and consequently experience a loss of self esteem or develop negative attitudes towards research
Freedom to withdraw means
Participants should be allowed to decline to participate or to withdraw at any time
Debriefing means…
After any experiment, the experimentar explains the general purposes of the research so questions are answered and misunderstandings are removed.
Reasons for debriefing:
- To inform the participants about the nature of any misleading that has occured during the experiment
- To provide an additional safegaurd against unintended affects of the research
- Provides an opportunity to answer any of the participants questions
(Should be conducted as soon as possible)
Debriefing should include:
A full disclosure of the purpose of the experiment
Reasons for partial disclosure and a thorough explanation of why it was necessary
Removal of any misconceptions and to reestablish trust
An argument for the necessity of the procedures for scientifically valid findings
Removal of harmful consquences means…
If a participant could suffer long term consequences as a result of serving in an experiment the investigator has the responsibility to remove those consequences
Confidentiality means:
What a subject does in an experiment should be confidential unless otherwise agreed
Personal info about particular participants should not be revealed without their permission
Research using child participation -
- Informed consent from parents/gaurdians/subjects themselves
- Child not coerced (right to refuse participation)
- May be better to debrief parents/guardians than subjects
- Precautions for the long term consquences of the experiment in children
Ethical guidelines for research with animal subjects:
- Maintain physical comfort and mental wellbeing
- Not subject them to unnecessary pain or stress
- If pain/distress is necessary, must be minimized in intensity and duration
- Humanely kill an animal in extreme discomfort or pain
- Physical restraint should only be used after the alternative procedures have been fully considered
Ethical guidelines for research with animal subjects:
- Maintain physical comfort and mental wellbeing
- Not subject them to unnecessary pain or stress
- If pain/distress is necessary, must be minimized in intensity and duration
- Humanely kill an animal in extreme discomfort or pain
- Physical restraint should only be used after the alternative procedures have been fully considered
Ethical guidelines for research with animal subjects:
- Maintain physical comfort and mental wellbeing
- Not subject them to unnecessary pain or stress
- If pain/distress is necessary, must be minimized in intensity and duration
- Humanely kill an animal in extreme discomfort or pain
- Physical restraint should only be used after the alternative procedures have been fully considered
Ethical guidelines for research with animal subjects:
- Maintain physical comfort and mental wellbeing
- Not subject them to unnecessary pain or stress
- If pain/distress is necessary, must be minimized in intensity and duration
- Humanely kill an animal in extreme discomfort or pain
- Physical restraint should only be used after the alternative procedures have been fully considered
Reliability definition
The consistency of your measure - will your measure produce similar results when repeated measurements are taken under ideal circumstances
The true score definition
The real score on the variable
Measurement error definition
The difference between the measured value of a variable and the true value - a measure with low measurement error will have high reliability and a measure with high measurement error will have low reliability
Test-retest reliability
The extent to which a test yields consistent results over time
Changes across two administrations are not because of differences in the measure because the same measurement device is used
Problems with test-retest reliability
Subjects may remember how they responded and respond so accordingly, making the measurement appear reliable
The person may “change” between two administrations making the measurement appear unreliable
Best for more stable psychological variables such as IQ
Split half reliability
Total score on one half of the test is correlated with the total score on the other half of the test (two forms of the same test)
The variable being measured has no time to change
Split half reliability problem
The two forms are not equivalent
Inter rate reliability
Consistency across raters.
A measure has a good inter reliability to the extent that different raters (observers, researchers) obtain the same measurement of the same reliability
Correlation co efficient are typically used to asses…
Reliability. The higher the correlation between the two (administrations/versions/raters) the higher the reliability
Validity definition
The extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure
Construct validity definition
The extent to which a test measures the theoretical variable (construct) that it is supposed to measure
Seeks agreement between a theoretical concept and specific measuring device or procedure
A construct definition
A variable that is not directly observable that has been developed to explain behaviour on the basis of some theory (eg intellegence, self esteem, etc)
Indicators of construct validity
Face Validity, concurrent Validity, predictive validity, convergent Validity, discriminant validity, content validity
Face Validity definition
How well the test appears to measure what it was desgined to measure - weak validity
Concurrent validity definition
The scores on your measure and on the criterion are connected at the same time; the measure should be able to distinguish between groups that it should theoretically be able to distinguish between
Criterion - the variable you want to predict
Predictive validity definition
The ability of a test to predict a future outcome; you compare scores on your test with the criterion measure observed at a later point in time (SAT scores predict success in college)
Convergent validity definition
The extent that the scores on your measure are related to score on others that measure the same construct (two measures of motivation to be correlated as they are both measuring the same construct)
Discriminant validity definition
To the extent that the measure is not related to constructs to which it should not be related to (e.g. a measure of shyness should not correlate positively with a measure of extroversion)
Content validity definition
The extent to which a measure reflects the specific intended domain of interest (e.g. a survey to test for math skills should not only include multiplication questions, but should also include other mathematical functions)
Can a measure be reliable but not valid?
Can a measure be valid but not reliable?
Yes
No
Scales of measurement
Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio
Nominal scale
Lowest level of measurement
No numerical or quantitative properties
Numbers refer to differences in category
E.g. english (1), psychology (2), history (3)
Ordinal scale
Ranking; they involve quantitative distinctions by allowing us to rank order people or objects on the variable being measured
A higher value means there is more of a variable but it doesn’t tell you how much more
E.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd in a race, 1-4 stars on a movie rating
Interval scale
The intervals between the numbers are equal in size
There is no absolute zero, which indicated the absence of the variable
You cannot make meaningful ratio statements
E.g. temperature scales; 0°C is still temperature - no absence of temp just because it’s 0°C
A person who scores 140 on an IQ test is not twice as smart as someone who scored 70
Ratio scale
Equal intervals and an absolute zero that indicates the absence of a variable (has absolute zero)
E.g. weight, time, number of responses, number of items remembered)
A person who weights 150 lbs does weigh half of someone who weighs 300 lbs
Sensitivity
A measure is sensitive to the extent that it detects small but real differences in what is being measured
Range effects
The sensitivity of a measure cab be affected by a restricted range of scores
The occur when the values of the measure have an upper or lower limit
Floor effects
Although differences between conditions may exist, they cannot be detected because all conditions perform near zero on the measure
Ceiling effects
Although differences may exist between groups, they cannot be detected because all conditions perform near 100%
E.g. univeristy students doing a grade 1 math test
Reactivity definition
Subjects may behave differently in experiments because they are in an experiment (compared to the real world)
The behaviour, therefore, may not be representative or normal behaviour
Demand characteristics
The aspects or the experimental situation that affect the way subjects behave (they demand that the participants behave in a certain way)
The subject may try to discover the hypothesis and then try to behave in ways that are either consistent or inconsistent with the hypothesis
E.g. experimenter wearing lab coat, equipment
Neutralizing the effects of demand characteristics
Allow participants to habituate to the researchers presence
Use filler items (unrelated items in a questionnaire)
Use naturalistic observation
Use partial disclosure
Conduct a post experiment inquiry - find out whether or not subjects guessed the true purpose of the experiment and eliminate those who did
Experimenter bias definition
Any intentional or unintentional influence that the experimenter exerts on the subjects in an attempt to confirm the hypothesis
Neutralizing the effects of experimenter bias
Run participants in all conditions at the same time
Use blind techniques
Automate your experiment (computer)
Blind techniques: single blind procedure
The participant is unaware of whether a placebo or actual drug is being administered
Eliminates the possibility of reactivity
Blind techniques: double blind procedure
The participants and testers are blind to conditions
It eliminates the possibility of experimenter bias and reactivity on part of the subject
Automate your experiment
Use computers, etc to present stimuli and collect data
Such measures tend to be more accurate and less variable
But you may miss important details
Units of analysis:
Individuals, groups, organizations, social artifacts
Units of analysis: individuals
Most commonly studied in both sociology and psychology
Units of analysis: groups
Examples: patrol districts, city blocks, gangs, cities, etc.
Units of analysis: organizations
Formal political or social organizations - police departments, prisons, drug treatment facilities
Units of analysis: social artifacts
The products of people and their behavior - police crime reports, crime stories, or criminal history records
Naturalistic observation
Observing your subjects in a natural environment without controlling or manipulating variables
Not concealed - subjects may change their behaviour and this will disrupt the external validity of your observations; concealed may be preferred
If you are not concealed you will want your subjects to habitute to your presence
Global naturalistic observation
Describing in detail the behaviours of your subjects in their natural environment
These observations are typically qualitative (words, concepts, etc)
Systematic observations
Involves observing a few specific behaviours in specific settings
It is more structured and less global than naturalistic observation
The observations are typically quantifiable (reduced to numbers)
Aim of qualitative research
To describe in detail the behaviour of interest
Aim of quantitative research
To reduce behaviours to numbers
