Overview of Research Outline

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Overview of Research Outline

• Ways of Knowing
• The Scientific Approach
• What is Research?
• Scientific Method The Research Loop
• Goals of Science
• Types of Research
• 4 Types of Research Designs
• Types of Variables
• Hypotheses and Theory
• Which Design to Use?
• Evaluating Research

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Intuitive vs. Empirical Sources of Knowledge

• Intuition
• Tenacity (e.g., habit, repeated exposure,
  superstition)
• Authority (e.g., moral, psychological,
  intellectual leaders)
• Reason (i.e., logical syllogisms)
• Serendipity (e.g., Columbus India)
• Empiricism (relies on formal methods of
  observation)

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THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

• Limitations of Intuition
• Intuition relies unquestioningly on personal
  judgment
• Involves cognitive and motivational biases
• Erroneous conclusions about cause and effect
• (e.g., Fundamental Attribution Error)

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THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

• Skepticism, Science, and the Empirical Approach
• Empiricism
• Falsifiability
• Peer review
• Integrating Intuition, Skepticism, and Authority

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Elements of Goodsteins Evolved Theory of Science

• Observations accurately reported to others
• Search for discovery and verification of ideas
• Open exchange and competition among ideas
• Peer review of research

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THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

• Characteristics of pseudoscience
• Hypotheses generated are not typically testable
• If scientific tests are reported, methodology is
  not scientific and validity of data is
  questionable
• Supportive evidence is anecdotal and does not
  cite scientific references
• Claims ignore conflicting evidence
• Claims tend to be vague, and appeal to
  pre-conceived ideas
• Claims are never revised

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What is Research?

• A systematic process of asking and attempting to
  answer questions about the world.

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Research Questions

• Any questions can be adapted for research
• What features make people attractive?
• Does lack of sunlight cause depression?
• Do men and women differ in terms of how they
  behave in their relationships?
• Does alcohol consumption increase aggression?

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Who Am I?
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Scientific Method 5 Steps

• Identify a Research Problem or Question
• Develop Hypotheses and Research Design
• Conduct the Study
• Test the Hypotheses
• Communicate Results
• -File Drawer Problem
• Research findings often create new research
  questions which result in a Research Loop

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Scientific Method Steps
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Goals of Science

• Description
• -What is the relationship found between alcohol
  consumption and aggression?
• Prediction
• -How many aggressive acts will a person exhibit
  if he/she were to consume 3 beers?
• Causation Explanation
• -Does alcohol intoxication and/or social
  expectations about drinking behavior increase
  aggression?

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Determining Causality

• Temporal Precedence The cause must precede the
  effect
• Covariation Principle The effect occurs
• when the cause is present, but does not
  
• occur when the cause is not present
  
• 3. Elimination of Alternative Explanations
• Plausible explanations for the causal
• relationship are ruled out.

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Types of Research Approaches

• Basic Science vs. Applied Approaches
• Qualitative vs. Quantitative Approaches

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Basic Science vs. Applied Approaches

• Basic Science
• Further an understanding of psychological
  functioning (e.g., What is the nature or basis of
  peoples self-esteem?)
• Applied Research
• -Provide practical solutions to optimize
  psychological functioning (e.g., How do we
  increase peoples self-esteem?)

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Qualitative vs.Quantitative Approaches

• Qualitative Approach
• Collects and examines responses from people
  without translating the responses into numbers
  Emphasis on Broad Themes of phenomena of
  interest.
• Quantitative Approach
• Similar to qualitative but does rely on numbers
  to represent phenomena. Emphasis on Specific
  Tests of phenomena of interest.

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3 Basic Types of Research Designs

• Non Experimental Designs
• Archival -Correlational
• Observational -Program Evaluation
• True Experimental Designs
• Manipulation Randomization -Control Group
• Quasi-Experimental Designs
• Similar to true experimental method but lacks 1
  or more of its core features

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Psychological Variables The Soft Science

• A Variable any observable characteristic that
  is not constant
• Psychological variables characteristics of
  psychological
• functioning (i.e., thoughts, feelings, and
  behaviors, and the
• processes that regulate them) that vary in
  people.
• -Hypothetical Constructs that by nature are
  abstract ideas/concepts
• -Often are ambiguous,
• -Difficult to define and measure
• Psychology is considered a soft science because
  of the
• inherent qualities of the variables that are
  examined.
• -To scientifically examine research questions
  involving psychological
• variables they must be precisely defined and
  measured.

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Conceptual and Operational Definitions of
Variables

• Empirical examination of psychological variables,
  requires that they be (1) conceptually defined,
  and (2) translated into concrete, observable
  forms.
• Conceptual Definitions broadly based dictionary
  like descriptions of a variable.
  (e.g., Self-Esteem The
  general extent to which a person has positive or
  negative feelings of self-worth).
• 2. Operational Definition of variables the
  specific way that a variable is measured,
  manipulated, or operating within the context of
  a study. (e.g., Self-Esteem the score
  a person gets on a self- esteem questionnaire
  that he/she had completed).

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The Basic Structure of a Study
Studies examine the pattern of relationships
among variables
IV
DV

• Independent Variables (IVs)
• In general, an IV is theorized to exert
  meaningful influence on a particular outcome
  (i.e., DV).
• Within true-experiments an IV is systematically
  manipulated to cause changes in the DV.
• Dependent Variables (DVs)
• In general, a DV reflects the characteristic that
  researchers are seeking to describe, predict, or
  explain.
• Reflects the outcome that emerges in response to
  the IVs.
• Differences in the DV are attributed to (or are
  caused by) the varying amounts or levels of the
  IV (i.e., the values of the DV depend upon the
  levels of the IV)

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Types of Variables

• Participant/Subject Variables
• Situational Variables
• Response Variables
• Mediating Variables
• Control Variables
• Confounding Variables

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Assessing Variables 4 Types of Measures

• Self-Report
• Behavioral
• Behavioroid
• Physiological

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Issues of Interpreting IV and DV Relationships
Longevity (Y)
Exercise
(X)
3rd Variable (Z)

• Limits often exist when interpreting the
  relationship between IVs and DVs, particularly
  causal relations.
• Directionality problem
• X ? Y Y ? X or bi-directionality?
• The Third variable problem
• When the IV DV relationship is attributable to
  another variable (Z)

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Systematic vs. Random Influences Upon the IV and
DV Relationships

• Confounding Variable
• Reasoned to exert meaningful influence on the IV
  DV relationship
• IS NOT measured
• Because its value is unknown, its influence is
  also unknown
• reflects random error, or (uncontrolled)
  influence.
• Blurs, distorts, or obscures the true IV DV
  relationships, complicates theoretical
  understanding of them.

• Control Variable
• Reasoned to exert meaningful influence on the IV
  DV relationship
• IS intentionally measured
• Because its value is known, its influence is
  detectable and systematically observed.
• i.e., Determining the IV DV relationship after
  having controlled for (kept constant) the
  influence of the 3rd variable.
• Helps to more clearly illustrate the IV DV
  relationships and a theoretical understanding of
  them.

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Hypotheses and Theories

• Hypothesis a formally stated testable
  prediction about the pattern of relationships to
  be found among variables
• Theory A set of interrelated statements
  proposed to explain phenomena

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Interplay Between Theory and Research
Theory guides research
THEORY
Research tests theory -verifies -suggests
changes
RESEARCH
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Approaches to Research Development

• Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Approaches
• Hypotheses may be used to create or broaden
  theories by inductive reasoning
• (Bottom-Up)
• or
• Theories may be used to test hypotheses by
  deductive reasoning (Top-Down)

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Bottom-Up/Inductive Reasoning

• Reasoning that proceeds from specific cases to
  general conclusions or theories.
• Used in early stages of development of studying a
  phenomenon.
• Relies on observations or data to help create or
  extend prior ideas or theories about
  relationships that exist in the world

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Top-Down Deductive Reasoning

• Reasoning that proceeds from general theories to
  specific cases.
• Used when there is a well-established theory that
  predicts certain observable outcomes.
• Once a comprehensive theory is established
  specific predictions may be made from the theory
  and tested through experimentation

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Which Design to Use?

• It depends on your particular goals, but
• Begin with non experimental methods that
  capitalize on identifying and describing
  relationships between variables. -For example,
  first observe behaviors in natural settings
  (i.e.,
• field studies), and then utilize interviews or
  survey research (i.e., correlational studies).
• Then, use Quasi-Experimental and
  True-Experimental Designs to help explain the
  relationships between variables.
• For example, determine the causal relationships
  between variables or how much change occurs in a
  DV in response to manipulated levels of an IV
• Ultimately, Convergence (similarity) in the
  pattern of findings across multiple methods is
  best!

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Seeing the Big Picture Demonstrating the
Research Process

• Research Question
• Does similarity with ones romantic partner
  influence how satisfied he/she is with their
  relationship?
• 2. Research Hypotheses
• a. Greater similarity ? Greater Relationship
  Satisfaction
• b. Greater similarity ? Lower Relationship
  
• 
  Satisfaction
• Which hypothesis do you believe?

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How would you test this Question Hypotheses?
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Bottom-Up Approach Piecing findings together to
create a theory or model

• 1. Sibling rivalries increase in tenseness when
  individuals are outperformed by their sibling on
  a personally relevant (important) domain.
  (Tesser, 1980).
• 2. People in romantic relationships report
  they are better than their partners on
  personally relevant domains (Pikington, Tesser
  Stephens, 1991).
• 3. However, people report greater attraction
  to those with similar attitudes or values (Byrne,
  1971)
• Based on these results I may start to construct a
  theory that sometimes relationships benefit from
  having similarity and other times they may not.

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Building a Theory Bottom-Up

• How might one maintain positive feelings of
  self-worth when they experience a threat to their
  self-esteem by being outperformed by a close
  other on a personally valued domain?
• The Password Game Paradigm
• Tesser Smith, 1980 Tesser Cornell, 1991
• But, what happens if people dont value the
  domain they are outperformed by a close other in?
• People in romantic relationships report their
  partners are better than they are on personally
  irrelevant domains (Pikington, Tesser Stephens,
  1991).
• From these findings the following theory may be
  proposed
• Self-Evaluation Maintenance Peoples feelings of
  self-esteem may be maintained by how they perform
  relative to close others.

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Evaluating Research

• A variety of standards exist for assessing the
  quality of a theory and research findings.
• 1. Reliability consistency in measurement
• 2. Validity accuracy of constructs and measures
  
• -internal -external -construct validity
• 3. Replication consistency in research findings
  when comparing equivalent or similarly conducted
  studies

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Distinguishing Reliability and Validity