RESEARCH METHODS STUDY GUIDE #10 WELL EXPLAINED
Behavioral Research - correct answer The goal of this type of research is to discover,
among other things, how people perceive their world, how they think and feel, how they
change over time, how they learn and make decisions, and how they interact with
others.
- basically, it exists to study important human problems and provide solutions to them
- "because people have their own hypotheses and beliefs about human behavior, they
can easily make their own interpretations of the results of behavioral research, such as
the differences on IQ tests between White and African-American students."
- Good scientific research is testable and falsifiable by data
Hindsight Bias - correct answer The tendency to think that we could have predicted
something that we probably could not have predicted.
- ex: reading a description of the research finding leads us to think of the many cases
that we know that support it, and thus, makes it seem believable
- a reason why it is not good to rely on one's intuition over using science
Scientific Method - correct answer The set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that
scientists use to conduct research.
- provides a basis for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data within a common
framework in which information can be shared
- requires science to be empirical and Objective
- H.O.M.E.R.
O Hypothesize (I think...)
O Operationalize (designing the procedure, how we are going to measure something)
O Measure (the act of measuring, the numerical data we receive)
O Evaluate (statistical comparisons, analysis of the data)
O Replicate/Revise/Report
- > studies find the same thing, the greater the validity of the experiment's findings
Objective - correct answer The quality of being free from the personal bias or emotions
of the scientist.
Values - correct answer Personal statements such as "Abortion should not be permitted
in this country," "I will go to Heaven when i die," etc...
- science cannot prove or disprove these because they can't be considered true or false
Facts - correct answer Objective statements determined to be accurate through
empirical study.
- ex: "There were over 16,000 homicides in the United States in 2002." Another one is
"There were over 30,000 deaths caused by handguns in the United States in 2002."
- statements like this can help people develop their values
Research Report - correct answer A document that presents scientific findings using a
standardized written format.
,- is made public
- frequently published under the APA (American Psychological Association) format
Basic Research - correct answer Research that answers fundamental questions about
behavior.
Research for research's sake
- provides underlying principles that can be used to solve specific problems
- When people aren't looking to solve a problem
- To expand our knowledge and satisfy our curiosity
- Most research is basic, unless it is trying to influence or evaluate something
- ex: how the brain works
Science - correct answer A set of logical, systematic, documented methods for
investigating nature and natural processes, and the knowledge produced by these
investigations
Applied Research - correct answer Research that answers a specific question
- Ex: "Smart technology may help kids with Autism learn, Communicate"
- Question this may have been asking was: How do kids with Autism learn, and how can
we increase their communication?
- gives ideas for the kinds of topics that basic research can study
Program Evaluation Research - correct answer Research that is conducted to study the
effectiveness of methods designed to make positive social changes, such as training
programs, anti-prejudice programs, and after-school learning programs.
Research Design - correct answer The specific method a researcher uses to collect,
analyze, and interpret data.
- 3 basic ones: Descriptive, Correlational, and Experimental
Descriptive Research - correct answer A type of research design that answers
questions about the current state of affairs and provides a 'snapshot' of thoughts,
feelings, or behaviors at a given place and time.
- uses surveys, interviews, naturalistic observation, case studies
- con: does not assess relationships among variables
Qualitative Research - correct answer Descriptive Research that is focused on
observing and describing events as they occur, with the goal of capturing all of the
richness of everyday behavior and
- also hopes to discover and understand phenomena that might have been missed if
only more hasty examinations had been used
- does not use statistical analysis, so may be more subjective
Quantitative Research - correct answer Descriptive Research that uses more formal
measures of behavior (questionnaires and systematic observation) which are designed
to be subjected to statistical analysis.
, Correlational Research - correct answer A type of research design that involves the
measurement of two or more relevant variables and an assessment of the relationship
between or among those variables.
- You CAN describe relationships, links, associations, but CANNOT state why those
relationships have occurred (no causes, effects, influences, etc...)
- goal: to uncover variables that show systematic relationships with each other
Variable - correct answer Any attribute that can assume different values among different
people or across different times or places.
- can be simple as well as incredibly complex (egomania, burnout, sexism, cognitive
development)
Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient - correct answer The most common
measure of relationships. In addition to providing information on the strength of
relationship between two variables, it indicates the direction (positive or negative) of the
relationship.
- r = -1.00 --> +1.00
- closer to zero = weaker relationship
Experimental Research - correct answer A type of research design that involves the
active creation or manipulation of a given situation for two or more groups of individuals,
followed by a measurement of the effect of those experiences on thoughts, feelings, or
behavior.
- designed to make both groups equal before the study begins so that any differences
found can confidently be attributed to the effects of the experimental manipulation
(random assignment)
- con: cannot experimentally manipulate many important variables (severe depression,
schizophrenia, etc...)
Converging Operations - correct answer The act of using more than one Research
Design to study the same thing, with the hope that all of the approaches will produce
similar findings.
- is common in the behavioral sciences
Descriptive Statistics - correct answer Numbers that summarize the pattern
(Distribution) of scores observed on a measured variable.
Central Tendency - correct answer The point in the distribution around which the data
are centered.
- includes the Mean, Median, & Mode
Dispersion - correct answer Refers to the spread of the data on the graph/table set.
The extent to which the scores are all tightly clustered around the Central Tendency
- includes the Variance and Standard Deviation
Behavioral Research - correct answer The goal of this type of research is to discover,
among other things, how people perceive their world, how they think and feel, how they
change over time, how they learn and make decisions, and how they interact with
others.
- basically, it exists to study important human problems and provide solutions to them
- "because people have their own hypotheses and beliefs about human behavior, they
can easily make their own interpretations of the results of behavioral research, such as
the differences on IQ tests between White and African-American students."
- Good scientific research is testable and falsifiable by data
Hindsight Bias - correct answer The tendency to think that we could have predicted
something that we probably could not have predicted.
- ex: reading a description of the research finding leads us to think of the many cases
that we know that support it, and thus, makes it seem believable
- a reason why it is not good to rely on one's intuition over using science
Scientific Method - correct answer The set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that
scientists use to conduct research.
- provides a basis for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data within a common
framework in which information can be shared
- requires science to be empirical and Objective
- H.O.M.E.R.
O Hypothesize (I think...)
O Operationalize (designing the procedure, how we are going to measure something)
O Measure (the act of measuring, the numerical data we receive)
O Evaluate (statistical comparisons, analysis of the data)
O Replicate/Revise/Report
- > studies find the same thing, the greater the validity of the experiment's findings
Objective - correct answer The quality of being free from the personal bias or emotions
of the scientist.
Values - correct answer Personal statements such as "Abortion should not be permitted
in this country," "I will go to Heaven when i die," etc...
- science cannot prove or disprove these because they can't be considered true or false
Facts - correct answer Objective statements determined to be accurate through
empirical study.
- ex: "There were over 16,000 homicides in the United States in 2002." Another one is
"There were over 30,000 deaths caused by handguns in the United States in 2002."
- statements like this can help people develop their values
Research Report - correct answer A document that presents scientific findings using a
standardized written format.
,- is made public
- frequently published under the APA (American Psychological Association) format
Basic Research - correct answer Research that answers fundamental questions about
behavior.
Research for research's sake
- provides underlying principles that can be used to solve specific problems
- When people aren't looking to solve a problem
- To expand our knowledge and satisfy our curiosity
- Most research is basic, unless it is trying to influence or evaluate something
- ex: how the brain works
Science - correct answer A set of logical, systematic, documented methods for
investigating nature and natural processes, and the knowledge produced by these
investigations
Applied Research - correct answer Research that answers a specific question
- Ex: "Smart technology may help kids with Autism learn, Communicate"
- Question this may have been asking was: How do kids with Autism learn, and how can
we increase their communication?
- gives ideas for the kinds of topics that basic research can study
Program Evaluation Research - correct answer Research that is conducted to study the
effectiveness of methods designed to make positive social changes, such as training
programs, anti-prejudice programs, and after-school learning programs.
Research Design - correct answer The specific method a researcher uses to collect,
analyze, and interpret data.
- 3 basic ones: Descriptive, Correlational, and Experimental
Descriptive Research - correct answer A type of research design that answers
questions about the current state of affairs and provides a 'snapshot' of thoughts,
feelings, or behaviors at a given place and time.
- uses surveys, interviews, naturalistic observation, case studies
- con: does not assess relationships among variables
Qualitative Research - correct answer Descriptive Research that is focused on
observing and describing events as they occur, with the goal of capturing all of the
richness of everyday behavior and
- also hopes to discover and understand phenomena that might have been missed if
only more hasty examinations had been used
- does not use statistical analysis, so may be more subjective
Quantitative Research - correct answer Descriptive Research that uses more formal
measures of behavior (questionnaires and systematic observation) which are designed
to be subjected to statistical analysis.
, Correlational Research - correct answer A type of research design that involves the
measurement of two or more relevant variables and an assessment of the relationship
between or among those variables.
- You CAN describe relationships, links, associations, but CANNOT state why those
relationships have occurred (no causes, effects, influences, etc...)
- goal: to uncover variables that show systematic relationships with each other
Variable - correct answer Any attribute that can assume different values among different
people or across different times or places.
- can be simple as well as incredibly complex (egomania, burnout, sexism, cognitive
development)
Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient - correct answer The most common
measure of relationships. In addition to providing information on the strength of
relationship between two variables, it indicates the direction (positive or negative) of the
relationship.
- r = -1.00 --> +1.00
- closer to zero = weaker relationship
Experimental Research - correct answer A type of research design that involves the
active creation or manipulation of a given situation for two or more groups of individuals,
followed by a measurement of the effect of those experiences on thoughts, feelings, or
behavior.
- designed to make both groups equal before the study begins so that any differences
found can confidently be attributed to the effects of the experimental manipulation
(random assignment)
- con: cannot experimentally manipulate many important variables (severe depression,
schizophrenia, etc...)
Converging Operations - correct answer The act of using more than one Research
Design to study the same thing, with the hope that all of the approaches will produce
similar findings.
- is common in the behavioral sciences
Descriptive Statistics - correct answer Numbers that summarize the pattern
(Distribution) of scores observed on a measured variable.
Central Tendency - correct answer The point in the distribution around which the data
are centered.
- includes the Mean, Median, & Mode
Dispersion - correct answer Refers to the spread of the data on the graph/table set.
The extent to which the scores are all tightly clustered around the Central Tendency
- includes the Variance and Standard Deviation
