The Starting Point: Asking Questions

1
The Starting PointAsking Questions

• Graziano and Raulin
• Research Methods Chapter 3

2
Asking Questions

• Research always starts with questions
• Fueled by the curiosity of the scientist
• Sources of questions
• Personal interests and observations
• Theories and research of others
• Most research is stimulated by other research
• Theories and research build on each other
• Seeking solutions to practical problems
• Termed applied research

3
Refining Questions

• Initial questions may be vague
• You cannot answer a vague question
• Refine the question so that specific variables
  are defined as well as their expected
  relationship
• Further refined into a statement of the problem
  and then one or more research hypotheses
  (covered in detail in Chapter 8)

4
Types of Variables in Research

• Variables defined by their nature
• Behavioral variables
• Stimulus variables
• Organismic variables
• Variables defined by their use in Research
• Independent variable
• Dependent variable
• A constant

5
Defined by their Nature

• Behavioral variables
• Any behavioral response of the organism
• Stimulus variables
• Any factor that affects or could affect behavior
• Organismic variables (not as much fun as orgasmic
  variables)
• Any characteristic of the research participant

6
Defined by their Use in Research

• Independent variable
• The variable that is manipulated by the research
  in experimental research
• Dependent variable
• Variable, measured by the researcher, which is
  expected to change as a result of the independent
  variable manipulation
• Constants
• Variables that are not allowed to vary

7
Validity and Control

• Validity How well a study, procedure, or
  measure does what it is supposed to do
• Validity is enhanced when the researcher controls
  variables that could affect the dependent measure
  
• Such variables are called extraneous variables
• This course is devoted to the procedures required
  to control extraneous variables

8
Research Ethics

• Ethical principles apply to all activity,
  including research
• Ethical guidelines
• For human research
• Focused on protecting the rights of participants
• Stimulated by the atrocities committed by some
  Nazi scientists in the name of research
• For animal research
• Focused on proper care and minimizing pain

9
Human Research Ethics

• Formalized guidelines that must be followed in
  any research with humans
• All research proposals must be approved by an
  Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• First safeguard is informed consent
• The greater the potential risk to participants,
  the more responsibility the researcher has to
  protect participants from harm

10
Summary

• Research starts with questions
• Questions come from many sources
• Most questions need to be refined before they are
  ready to be answered through research
• Questions involve the presumed relationship
  between variables
• Research ethics must be considered in any
  research project