PSYCHOLOGY & THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD FROM QUESTIONS TO RESULTS
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Psychology uses the scientific method to systematically study behavior and mental processes. The scientific method involves making observations, forming testable hypotheses, collecting data to test hypotheses, and reporting findings. There are four main goals of psychology: describe, explain, predict, and change behaviors. Researchers use a variety of methods including observational, correlational, and experimental studies. Experiments are powerful because they use random assignment to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables. Strict research protocols are followed to ensure studies are valid, reliable, and ethical.
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PSYCHOLOGY & THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD FROM QUESTIONS TO RESULTS
- 1. PSYCHOLOGY & THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD FROM QUESTIONS TO RESULTS
- 6. REFLECT: WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS?
- 7. BECOMING A PSYCHOLOGICAL DETECTIVE In evaluating causal or research claims, we should ask the following questions: • What is the statement or claim, and who is making it? • Is the statement or claim based on scientific observations? • What do statistics reveal? • Are there plausible alternative explanations for the statement or claim?
- 10. PSYCHOLOGY IS SCIENCE • explores theories, general scientific understanding (meets first three goals of psychology—describe, explain, and predict) Basic research— • addresses real-world problems (meets fourth goal—change) Applied research— The scientific method is a system of investigation in which a person makes careful observations of a phenomenon, proposes theories to explain the phenomenon, makes hypotheses about future behaviors, and then tests these hypotheses through more research and observation.
- 12. RESEARCH METHODS •Ambiguity about Causation•Establishing Cause and Effect •Experimental Groups versus Control Groups •Random Assignment •Within-Subject Comparisons •Internal Validity •Descriptive Statistics •Inferential Statistics •Defining the Question •Systematically Collecting Data •Defining the Sample •Assessing External Validity •Monitoring Demand Characteristics Making Observations Working with Data Observational Studies Experimental Design
- 13. THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Step 1 •Forming a Testable Hypothesis Step 2 • Devise a Study and Collect Data Step 3 •Examine Data and Reach Conclusions Step 4 •Report the Findings of the Study
- 14. MAKING OBSERVATIONS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS Defining the Question Systematically Collecting Data Defining the Sample Assessing External Validity Monitoring Demand Characteristics A comprehensive flow chart of the research process
- 15. WHAT IS A VARIABLE? Variable: Any characteristic whose values can change i.e. something that can vary
- 16. DEFINING THE QUESTION Observe the World! The basis of research, is coming up with a question and making a prediction about the answer that you can test (hypothesis) Observe Question Predict YOUR HYPOTHESIS IS YOUR PREDICTION
- 17. HYPOTHESIS & VARIABLES Hypothesis: prediction about future behaviors that is derived from observation and theories. Variable: A factor or element that can change in observable and measurable ways. The hypothesis expresses a relationship between two variables. YOUR HYPOTHESIS IS YOUR PREDICTION ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF VARIABLES
- 18. FROM QUESTIONS TO TESTABLE HYPOTHESES Testable Hypothesis Must be falsifiable Create operational definitions for variables Predicting the Answer (Defining your Hypothesis) The hypothesis is a possible answer to your question Defining the Research Question What are you interested in? What should you observe? What question do you have about your observation?
- 19. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS Operational definition: A definition that translates the variable we want to assess into a specific procedure or instrument • Explain what you mean • Put the variables in “real life” terms
- 20. DEFINING YOUR VARIABLES Independent Variable: • The variable that the experimenter manipulates as a basis for making predictions about the dependent variable Dependent Variable: • The variable that is measured or recorded in an experiment
- 21. COLLECTING DATA
- 22. DEFINING THE SAMPLE Population: • The entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions Sample: • The subset of the population that the investigator studies in order to learn about the population at large
- 23. EXTERNAL VALIDITY Can we generalize? Population Validity: Generalizability to other people Ecological Validity: Generalizability to other settings
- 24. EXTERNAL VALIDITY External Validity • The degree to which a study’s participants, stimuli, and procedures adequately reflect the world as it actually is
- 26. THREAT TO CONSTRUCT: DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS Keep subjects blind and experimenters so they don’t know what is expected from them
- 27. DOUBLE BLIND STUDY Random assignment of test subjects to the experimental and control groups is a critical part of any double-blind research design. The key that identifies the subjects and which group they belonged to is kept by a third party, and is not revealed to the researchers until the study is over.
- 28. WORKING WITH DATA Descriptive Statistics Inferential Statistics Descriptive Statistics: • Mathementical procedures that allow a researcher to characterize a data pattern; these procedures include measures of central tendency and variability Inferential statistics: • Mathematical procedures that allow a researcher to draw further cliams from a data pattern, including claims about whether the pattern observed in the sample is likely to be observed in other samples
- 29. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH Experimental research Descriptive research • Naturalistic Observation—measure and record behavior of participants • Surveys—used to determine opinions, attitudes, feelings or behaviors related to a specific issue • Case studies—intensive study of a particular case, patient or situation Correlational research • Identifies relationships between variables • Statistical analysis • No cause and effect only relationships Biological research • Studies brain and nervous system • Identifies cause, description and prediction • Shares advantages/disadvantages of other three types • Several methods of study (see text pp. 37-38)
- 30. MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY Mean: Average of data Median: 50th percentile, half above, half below Mode: most frequently occurring score Usually the mean is the best measure, but with very extreme scores or skewed data, the median is most accurate
- 31. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007 1-31 RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY Correlational research tells whether the values of two variables are related.
- 32. THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENT Looking at the relationship between X (predictor) and Y (criterion) While there isn’t an IV/DV, X is often consider the X the IV and the Y the DV Range: -1.0 – 1.0
- 33. CORRELATION IS ABOUT ASSOCIATION NOT CAUSATION Correlation coefficient (r): • summarizes degree of association between X and Y variables • r ranges from -1.0 to + 1.0 • Close to zero is weaker, close to -1 or +1 is stronger • Positive: One goes up, the other does, Negative: Inverse Degree of association between two or more variables X = Predictor (IV) Y = Criterion (DV)
- 34. CORRELATIONS GRAPHICALLY Closer the points to the line, the stronger the correlation Variability (spread) is equal on X and Y when there is a 0 correlation.
- 35. INFERENTIAL STATISTICS Tests of Relationships and Prediction
- 36. OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES Ambiguity about Causation One common observational study is about the possible effect of a treatment on subjects, where the assignment of subjects into a treated group versus a control group is outside the control of the investigator.
- 37. ESTABLISHING CAUSE AND EFFECT: THE POWER OF EXPERIMENTS Experimental Groups versus Control Groups Random Assignment Within-Subject Comparisons Internal Validity
- 38. VARIABLES IN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH Independent Variable Whatever is being manipulated Brings about change (hopefully) Drug trials- IV is the drug Dependent Variable Whatever is being measured It is dependent on the independent variable Drug trials- DV is the effect of the drug.
- 39. True Experimental •IV is manipulated •Randomly assigned Quasi-Experimental •IV manipulated •NOT randomly assigned Non-Experimental, Observational, Passive TYPES OF RESEARCH
- 40. TRUE VERSUS QUASI EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN True experimental • MUST BE ABLE TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN SUBJECTS TO TREATMENT OR NON-TREATMENT CONDITIONS Quasi-experimental • Cannot control random assignment • i.e. sex offenders, addiction status • Effects can be caused by other confounding factors RANDOM ASSIGNMENT DISTINGUISHES TRUE V. QUASI- EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
- 41. MEDIATING AND MODERATING VARIABLES Mediator Variable: Is responsible for the observed relationship between IV and DV Moderator Variable: Affects strength of relationship between IV and DV EXAMPLE OF MEDIATOR VARIABLE
- 42. RANDOM ASSIGNMENT VERSUS RANDOM SELECTION Random Selection: How you got the subjects from the population Random Assignment: Once you have the subjects, how do you assign them to groups
- 43. BETWEEN GROUPS VS. WITHIN SUBJECTS
- 44. INTERNAL VALIDITY Internal Validity: • Can we determine there is a causal relationship between IV and DV? External: • Can the relationship be generalized?
- 45. THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY History Maturation Testing or Test Practice Instrumentation Statistical Regression Selection Bias Attrition or Experimental Mortality Diffusion
- 46. EFFECT SIZE The practical or clinical significance of the results Types of Effect Size: • Cohen’s d • Eta squared Also used in meta-analysis. Different studies converted to common metric so results can be compared
- 47. RESEARCH ETHICS Human participants • Informed consent • Deception • Confidentiality/anonymity • Special issues for students Non-human participants Ethical issues related to psychotherapy
- 48. INFORMED CONSENT Informed consent: • process for getting permission before conducting a healthcare intervention on a person. A health care provider may ask a patient to consent to receive therapy before providing it, or a clinical researcher may ask a research participant before enrolling that person into a clinical trial.
- 49. DEBRIEFING End of study, researcher explains the purpose and undoes manipulations
- 50. KEY TERMS Making Observations Variables Testable Hypothesis Operational Definition Dependent Variable Independent Variable Population Sample Random Sampling Case Study External Validity Demand Characteristics Double-Blind Design Working with Data Descriptive Statistics Inferential Statistics Mean, Median & Mode Variability Standard Deviation Correlation Correlation Coefficient Reliability Validity Effect Size Statistical Significance Observational Studies Quasi-experiment Correlational Studies Third-Variable Problem Establishing Cause and Effect: The Power of Experiments Experiment Experimental Manipulation Experimental Group Control Group Random Assignment Within-Subject Comparisons Between-Subject Comparisons Replication Meta-Analysis Research Ethics Informed Consent Debriefing Empirical Claims
Notas do Editor
- Psychologists use the scientific method to conduct their research. The scientific method is a standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results. Researchers make observations in order to describe and measure behavior. After observing certain events repeatedly, researchers come up with a theory that explains these observations. A theory is an explanation that organizes separate pieces of information in a coherent way. Researchers generally develop a theory only after they have collected a lot of evidence and made sure their research results can be reproduced by others. Key Info The scientific method is a way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments. The steps of the scientific method are to: Ask a Question Do Background Research Construct a Hypothesis Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion Communicate Your Results It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. A "fair test" occurs when you change only one factor (variable) and keep all other conditions the same.
- Tips for Writing Research Questions Be as specific as possible. In some cases, you may make two or more research questions to cover a complex topic. Be flexible. For example, if you are studying the effects of sleep on reflexes, you might formulate the following research question: What are the effects of sleep on reflexes? A similar question might be: Does sleep have an effect on reflexes? OR Is maximum reflex efficiency achieved after eight hours of sleep? Remember: The goal of your research is to find the answer to the research question. Make sure that the question reflects your goals in its words and phrasing. Use this tutorial if you are writing research questions for a qualitative design. Tips for Writing Hypotheses When you state your hypotheses, be sure that the content of the hypothesis matches the experimental procedure. What you write should be the best estimation of the outcome of the lab procedure. Along with the hypothesis, you should write several sentences which explain the scientific reasoning that led you to that hypothesis.
- 2. Theory 3. How might you test it?
- Any other questions anyone wants to add? And anyone else want to form a hypothesis?
- Psychologists and other social scientists regularly propose explanations for human behavior. On a more informal level, people make judgments about the intentions, motivations and actions of others on a daily basis. While the everyday judgments we make about human behavior are subjective and anecdotal, researchers use the scientific method to study psychology in an objective and systematic way. The results of these studies are often reported in popular media, which leads many to wonder just how or why researchers arrived at the conclusions they did. In order to truly understand how psychologists and other researchers reach these conclusions, you need to know more about the research process that is used to study psychology and the basic steps that are utilized when conducting any type of psychological research. By knowing the steps of the scientific method, you can better understand the process researchers go through to arrive at conclusions about human behavior.
- The study of psychology has five basic goals: 1. Describe – The first goal is to observe behavior and describe, often in minute detail, what was observed as objectively as possible 2. Explain – While descriptions come from observable data, psychologists must go beyond what is obvious and explain their observations. In other words, why did the subject do what he or she did? 3. Predict – Once we know what happens, and why it happens, we can begin to speculate what will happen in the future. There’s an old saying, which very often holds true: “the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.” 4. Control – Once we know what happens, why it happens and what is likely to happen in the future, we can excerpt control over it. In other words, if we know you choose abusive partners because your father was abusive, we can assume you will choose another abusive partner, and can therefore intervene to change this negative behavior. 5. Improve – Not only do psychologists attempt to control behavior, they want to do so in a positive manner, they want to improve a person’s life, not make it worse. This is not always the case, but it should always be the intention.
- Chapter Summary: Making Observations Defining the Question Systematically Collecting Data Defining the Sample Assessing External Validity Monitoring Demand Characteristics Working with Data Descriptive Statistics Inferential Statistics Observational Studies Ambiguity about Causation Establishing Cause and Effect: The Power of Experiments Experimental Groups versus Control Groups Random Assignment Within-Subject Comparisons Internal Validity Beyond the Single Experiment Research Ethics The Power of Science Some Final Thoughts: Methodological Eclecticism Summary
- Key Terms to Know Hypothesis: An educated guess about the possible relationship between two or more variables. Variable: A factor or element that can change in observable and measurable ways. Operational Definition: A full description of exactly how variables are defined, how they will be manipulated, and how they will be measured. Before a researcher can begin, they must choose a topic to study. Once an area of interest has been chosen, the researchers must then conduct a thorough review of the existing literature on the subject. This review will provide valuable information about what has already been learned about the topic and what questions remain to be answered. A literature review might involve looking at a considerable amount of written material from both books and academic journals dating back decades. The relevant information collected by the researcher will be presented in the introduction section of the final published study results. This background material will also help the researcher with the first major step in conducting a psychology study — formulating a hypothesis. Step 1 – Forming a Testable Hypothesis Step 2 – Devise a Study and Collect Data Step 3 – Examine Data and Reach Conclusions Step 4 – Report the Findings of the Study
- Testable hypothesis: a prediction that has beeen formulated specifically enough so that it is clear what observations would confirm the prediction and what observations would challenge it
- Explain what you mean in your hypothesis. How will the variables be measured in “real life” terms? How you operationalize the variables will tell us if the study is valid and reliable.
- Debriefing is an exchange of dialogue that occurs between a researcher and a participant after data collection. Researchers give a brief explanation of the purpose of the study, its logic, and its implications. They give their contact information in case the participants have questions or concerns about the experiment. The participants are given citations of one or two articles for more information about the research. Any manipulations performed and the rationale for using them is also explained during debriefing. Participants are given a chance to ask questions about the experiment. The researchers use simple language when conducting debriefing so that the participants do not feel like they are being buried with uninformative jargon (“Instructions for preparing,” 2007). The purpose of debriefing is to make sure that the participants are restored to pre-experimental levels. They can be emotionally affected by research involving stress, manipulations of self-esteem, or strong emotional arousal. By explaining the research and manipulations used, debriefing attempts to make sure that the participants are as well-off after participation as they were before they participated in the experiment (“What is debriefing?”). Researchers can choose to debrief immediately after participation or they can arrange a later time for group debriefing. However, if data collection involved manipulations of failure, strong humiliation, strong deception, or reduction in self-esteem, researchers should give each participant at least partial debriefing immediately so that participants are not harmed (“What is debriefing? ” ). They researchers should tell participants where they can talk to a counselor if they feel it is necessary and that the participants are free to withdraw their data if they like. Researchers should do debriefing orally in these cases. However, in other cases, debriefing can be in a written form. Participants can be handed a sheet of paper with the debriefing information (“Instructions for preparing,” 2007). Debriefing Session: References: Instructions for preparing the debriefing form for the psyc 100 subject pool application. (2007, October 22). Retrieved from http://www.queensu.ca/psychology/Research/Subject-Pool/debriefingform.doc What is debriefing? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.depauw.edu/admin/acadaffairs/researchProtocols/IRB/Debriefing.html