Week 2- Research Methods in Psychology

Question 1

Define research

Answer 1

Systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions

Question 2

How is empirical research obtained?

Answer 2

Obtained from direct or indirect observations and measurement to test research questions

Question 3

What does research evidence allow us to do?

Answer 3

Obtain ‘evidence based’ answers to many questions

Question 4

Empirical research advantages

Answer 4

• Improved ability to think critically about research- better informed consumer research
• Keep abreast of developments in your field of expertise (professional development). Critical to all health sciences

Question 5

Discuss psychology as a science

Answer 5

• Scientific study of behaviour and the biological and cognitive processes that underlie behaviour
• Scientific approach: assumes that events are governed by some lawful order and seeks to identify laws, principles or consistencies governing behaviour
• Human behaviour: systematic

Question 6

List criticisms to the scientific approach

Answer 6

• Do we need to use a scientific approach? Alternatives?
• Logic/reason alone
• Casual observation
  
  • not systematic
  • common sense
  • can be vague, ambiguous, contradictory
  • someone told me
• Bias- when using common sense or logic only

Question 7

List reasons for using the scientific approach

Answer 7

• Precision, clarity
  
  • must specify exactly what you mean
• Tries to avoid error
  
  • scientists trained to be sceptical about their own and others’ ideas and conclusions
  • demands objective data, through documentation before accepting ideas
  • must find reasons for conflicting findings

Question 8

What are the goals of the scientific approach?

Answer 8

• Description- summarising responses/data in a way that makes the events and relationship between them easily understandable
• Prediction- using outcome of research to identify what us likely to occur in the future
• Explanation/understanding- identifying the casual factors that led to the results
• Application- apply to the ‘real world’

Question 9

Define theory

Answer 9

A systematic way of organising and explaining observations

Question 10

Define hypothesis

Answer 10

A tentative statement about the way two (or more) variables interact/impact each other. Can be directly tested scientifically

Question 11

Describe the scientific method

Answer 11

• Investigator manipulates a variable under controlled conditions and observes whether changes occur in a second variable (DV)
• Powerful procedure- allows detection of cause-effect relationship between variables
• What are these controlled conditions?

Question 12

Outline basic concepts in empirical research

Answer 12

• Before conducting research, important methodological steps must be considered
• Specifically, what and how we are going to test our hypothesis- variables, operationalising variables
• Who is the target population

Question 13

Outline the 6 steps in an experiment

Answer 13

1. Framing the hypothesis- predicting relationships between two or more variables
2. Operationalising variables- converting abstract concepts into testable form
3. Developing a standardised procedure- setting up an experiment and control conditions; attending to demand characteristics and researcher bias
4. Selecting and assigning participants- randomly assigning participants to different conditions
5. Applying statistical techniques to the data- describing the data and determining the likelihood that differences between the conditions reflect causality or chance
6. Drawing conclusions- evaluating whether or not the data supports the hypothesis; suggesting future studies to address limitations and new questions raised by the study

Question 14

Define categorical variable

Answer 14

Can take on fixed volumes (e.g. eye colour)

Question 15

Define independent variable (IV)

Answer 15

Condition or event that an experimenter varies/manipulates in order to observe its impact on another variable (DV)

Question 16

Define dependent variable (DV)

Answer 16

• Variable thought to be affected by the manipulation of the IV
• Measured, counted or recorded by the investigator
• The ‘outcome’
• The results, the ‘data’

Question 17

Operationalise variables using the mindfulness experiment example

Answer 17

• Mindfulness meditation- use same program with instructions for each participant
• Control condition- have all control participants do the same thing e.g. read same restful book
• Anxiety (DV)
  • measured using same anxiety scale
  • reliable- consistent response pattern to similar items
  • valid- actually measuring anxiety

Question 18

Define population

Answer 18

• The entire group of people that a researcher is interested in. Depends on research question
• Contacting and ‘measuring’ entire population is not practical
• Researchers typically study samples (population subsets)
• Make inferences about the entire population based on the sample
• Sample must be representative of population being tested

Question 19

How do we test the hypothesis?

Answer 19

• 2 groups of participants with similar characteristics
  
  • experimental group receives some special treatment in regard to the IV
  • Control group does not receive the special treatment in regard to the IV
• Aim- isolate effects of IV on DV from the effects of other variables
• IV= X axis, DV= Y axis

Question 20

Define extraneous variables, giving mindful meditation experiment examples

Answer 20

• Variables other than IV that seem likely to influence the DV
• Age, gender, meditation experience

Question 21

Define confounding variables, giving mindful meditation experiment examples

Answer 21

• Occurs when 2 variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effect on the DV
• E.g. if more anxious adults were assigned to the mindful meditation group or to the control group, drawing conclusions about the program’s effectiveness would be difficult

Question 22

Give a solution for confounding variables, including why it is effective

Answer 22

• Random assignment of participants to levels of IV
  
  • Reduces likelihood of a confounding variable
  • Each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition in the study
  • Unlikely that all highly anxious people would end up in the same group

Question 23

Outline the three descriptive statistics

Answer 23

• Mean- sum of all values, divided by number of values
• Median- middle; half of the values are smaller, half are larger
• Mode- most frequently occurring score in distribution

Question 24

Define standard deviation

Answer 24

• How the scores vary from each other and the mean
• An index of the amount of variability in the data set. Larger SD indicates more variability

Question 25

Outline inferential statistics

Answer 25

• Used to interpret data and draw conclusions
• Indicate whether or not the hypothesis was supported
• Involves determining the probability that the obtained result is due to chance
• When the probability (p) is very low (p < .05) then statistical significance exists

Question 26

Outline advantage of experimental research (through control)

Answer 26

• Standardised procedure
• Random assignment
• Study has internal validity relationship between IV and DV has been isolated
• Permits conclusions about cause and effect relationships

Question 27

Outline disadvantages of experimental research

Answer 27

• Conducted in controlled lab settings, therefore results might not generalise to the ‘real world’
• May have poor external validity- does the research context resemble the situation found in the real world? If not, external validity could be poor

Question 28

Define and discuss generalisability

Answer 28

• Generalisability requires:
  
  • internal and external validity
  • drawing conclusions from data analysis
• Generalisability- can the research results (from the sample) be applied to the entire population of interest

Question 29

List and define (4) types of research methods

Answer 29

• Descriptive designs- concerned with describing behaviour
• Correlational designs- concerned with predicting behaviour
• Experimental designs- concerned with establishing the causes of behaviour

Question 30

State the purpose of descriptive research and give examples of methods

Answer 30

• Seeks to describe behaviour rather than manipulate variables
• Methods of descriptive research include case studies, naturalistic observation, survey research

Question 31

Outline advantages of case studies

Answer 31

• In depth study of the behaviour of one person or a small group
• Exploring complex behaviours
• Testing new ideas
• Investigate rare disorders

Question 32

Outline disadvantages of case studies

Answer 32

• Small sample size
• Susceptibility to researcher bias
• Problem of an atypical case

Question 33

Define naturalistic observation

Answer 33

• In depth study of a phenomenon in its natural setting

Question 34

Outline advantages and disadvantages of naturalistic observations

Answer 34

• Advantages:
  
  • good generalisability
• Disadvantages:
  
  • observations per se can alter behaviour
  • cannot establish cause of a behaviour

Question 35

Outline surveys

Answer 35

• Asks questions of large numbers of persons to gain information on attitudes and behaviour
• Approaches- questionnaires, interviews
• Variables cannot be manipulated, but can find associations (correlations)

Question 36

Outline disadvantages of surveys

Answer 36

• Sampling issues
• People may not respond accurately

Question 37

Define correlational research

Answer 37

• Used when variables cannot be manipulated
• A correlation exists when 2 variables are associated with one another
• Correlation coefficient (r) indicates the strength and direction of the association

Question 38

Outline positively correlated values

Answer 38

• Values vary in the same direction
• High values of one variable are associated with high values of the other variable

Question 39

Outline negatively correlated variables

Answer 39

• Values vary in opposite direction
• High values of one variable are associated with low values of the other variable

Question 40

List possible R values and what they indicate

Answer 40

• Range from -1.00 to +1.00
• Variables can be strongly correlated without being casually related. Correlation does not equal causation
• Values indicate strength, signs indicate direction
  • -1.00 = strong negative correlation
  • -1.50 = moderate negative correlation
  • 0.00 = no correlation
  • +0.50 = moderate positive correlation
  • +1.00 = strong positive correlation

Question 41

When are experimental and descriptive methods used?

Answer 41

• To answer different psychological questions
• Appropriate method will depend on the research question being addressed

Question 42

Outline ethics according to the Code of Ethics developed by the Australian Psychological Society

Answer 42

• Informed consent
• Maintain participant welfare
• Voluntary participation
• Ensure confidentiality
• Avoid deception
• Fair and humane treatment of animals and people
• Gain appropriate ethics approval

Question 43

Outline 7 questions used to critically evaluate research

Answer 43

• Does the theoretical framework make sense?
• Is the sample adequate and appropriate?
• Are the measures and procedures adequate?
• Is the data conclusive?
• Are the broader conclusions warranted?
• Does the study say anything meaningful?
• Is the study ethical?