Week 3 Flashcards
What are the four main sources of research ideas?
- Everyday life
- Practical issues
- Past research
- Theory
What is a theory?
A framework of ideas intended to explain how or why something occurs.
Briefly explain bias in research ideas.
Scientists are humans and therefore have biases, these biases influence what research ideas are generated, so it is important that the scientific community includes people of many different backgrounds.
Briefly explain why some ideas cannot be tested.
For ideas to be testable they must be able to be confirmed or refuted, this is not possible in all circumstances, moral rules are an example of this.
Why is literature review important?
- Identifies the extent of research in that area
- Identifies how experiments are designed in this area
- Identifies methodological problems in the area
- Identifies if specific equipment or groups are needed
- Allows for comparison between reports and studies (yours included)
How do you review literature?
- Define your objectives (what are you reviewing the literature for?)
- Search for resources, these include books, journals, electronic databases, academic associations and the internet.
- Obtain resources of interest.
- Critically review all resources.
How do you determine the feasibility of a study or research idea?
- Time, how long will it take to study?
- Funding, how much money is required to conduct the study and where will that money come from?
- Access to participants, do you have access to the amount or demographic you need?
- Ethics, is the study ethical?
- Expertise, are you qualified?
- Is the study worth doing?
How do you specify a research problem and question?
A statement that satisfies these criteria:
1. Question form.
2. States the relationship between two variables.
3. Can be empirically tested.
Example: Do non-smokers have better lung capacity than people who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day?
How do you evaluate the validity of information (especially on the internet)?
- Authority, where does it come from?
- Objectivity, is bias absent?
- Currency, how recent is it?
- Coverage, how easy is it to access?
How do you formulate hypothesis from a research problem/question?
By turning your research problem/question into a statement that predicts the relationship between variables, can be refuted/confirmed and is consistent with current body of knowledge, all of which should be stated concisely.
Example: Pack-a-day smokers have measurably less lung capacity than non-smokers.
What is a research hypothesis?
A predicted relationship between variables being studied that can be empirically tested.
What is a null hypothesis?
A statement claiming no relationship between the variables being studied.
What are some good electronic psychology databases?
- PsychINFO - Psychology, mental health and biomed.
- MEDLINE - Medicine, biomed and healthcare.
- CINAHL - Allied health and nursing.
It would be wise to view neuroscience, biology, genetics databases to name a view.
What are research ethics?
A set of guidelines to aid in conducting ethical research, ethical concerns can be broken down in three main areas.
- Relationship between society and science.
- Professional issues.
- Treatment of research participants.
Explain the ethical concerns regarding the relationship between society and science.
Research needs to be funded, this is either at the cost of the government (research that contributes to current societal needs), corporations (research that contributes to the companies needs, which causes conflict on interest) or funding can be provided by researchers, however this is far more unlikely.
What is conflict of interest?
When the interests of the funding body conflict with the interests of science or the researcher.
Explain the ethical concerns regarding professional issues.
This includes the problems in research misconduct; fabrication, replicability issues, plagiarism and the inaccurate or biased reporting of results.
Explain the ethical concerns regarding treatment of participants.
Researchers must constantly evaluate how studies will affect participants.
What is an ethical dilemma?
The conflict between the potential cost to the participants and the potential scientific gain from the study, there is no formula to determine the degree of conflict, however federally funded studies are evaluated by the Institutional Review Board using a decision-plane model with the X-axis being benefit of doing and the Y axis being the cost of doing.
The researcher has the final decision, provided is it approved by the IRB.
What is beneficence and nonmaleficence?
Beneficence, acting for the benefit of others.
Nonmaleficence, do no harm to others.
What are the three categories provided by the Institutional Review Board?
- Exempt - no physical, emotion or economic risk (prisoners and in most cases children, cannot be exempt due to being classed as venerable demographics).
- Expedited - No more than minimum risk.
- Full board review - More than minimum risk.
Explain fidelity and responsibility in psychological research.
A requirement that psychologists must adopt a responsibility and fidelity (faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.) when working with participants.
Explain integrity in psychological research.
Psychologists must be honest and accurate when teaching and researching (and other professional activities).
Explain justice in psychological research.
How should the benefits of the research be distributed?
