Correlation and Ethical Research Principles

Correlation Regression

• Measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.
• r represents the correlation coefficient, ranging from -1 to +1.
• r² represents the proportion of variance shared by the two variables.

Ethical Research

• Guided by the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS).
• Core Principles:
  • Respect for persons
  • Concern for welfare
  • Justice

TCPS

• Established by three Canadian funding agencies:
  • CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research)
  • NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council)
  • SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)

Applying Ethical Principles

• Respect for persons: Informed consent, autonomy, voluntariness
• Concern for welfare: Risk-benefit analysis, confidentiality
• Justice: Equal distribution of burden and benefit

Research Ethics Board (REB)

• Reviews research proposals to ensure ethical conduct.
• Minimal risk: can be reviewed by one person.
• Greater risk: requires full board review.

Deception in Research

• Involves concealing the true purpose of the study or staging events.
• Raises ethical concerns about autonomy and informed consent.

Reliability

• Refers to the consistency and stability of a measurement.
• Types:
  • Face validity: Assesses whether a measure appears to be valid on the surface.
  • Content validity: Ensures that a measure covers all relevant aspects of the construct.
  • Measure reactivity: Occurs when participants change their behavior due to awareness of being observed.

Internal Consistency Reliability

• Measures the consistency of responses to items within a single measure.
• Methods:
  • Cronbach's alpha: Measures average correlation of each item with all other items.
  • Omega coefficient: A more robust alternative to Cronbach's alpha.
  • Split-half reliability: Correlates performance on two halves of a measure.

Complex Experiments

• Simple main effect: Analyzes the effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable at a single level of another independent variable.
• Main effect: Analyzes the overall effect of one independent variable on the dependent variable, averaged across all levels of other independent variables.

Multiple Regression

• Tests the unique contribution of multiple independent variables in predicting a dependent variable (criterion).
• Multiple correlation (R): Represents the correlation coefficient of the combined predictors on the criterion.

Partial Correlation

• Investigates the relationship between two variables while controlling for the influence of a third variable.

Reliability in Measurement

• Face validity is a measure of how well a test appears to measure what it is supposed to measure. However, it is not a reliable indicator of validity as it is based solely on appearances.
• Content validity measures how well a test or assessment captures all aspects of the variable being measured.
• Measure Reactivity refers to a situation where a participant changes their behavior due to the awareness of being observed.

Internal Consistency Reliability

• Cronbach's alpha is a measure of internal consistency reliability that calculates the average correlation between all items in a measure.
• Omega coefficient is a more desirable measure of internal consistency reliability than Cronbach's alpha.
• Split half reliability evaluates internal consistency by measuring the correlation of performance on each half of a measure.

Simple Main Effect vs. Main Effect

• A simple main effect evaluates the impact of one independent variable (IV) on the dependent variable (DV), focusing on the effect of a single level of another IV.
• A main effect refers to the overall effect of an IV on the DV, averaged across all levels of other IVs.

Ethical Research: Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS)

• The Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) is a set of ethical guidelines for research involving human participants in Canada.
• It is developed by three agencies:
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Core Principles of Ethical Research

• Respect for persons: This principle emphasizes the importance of autonomy and informed consent.
• Concern for welfare: This principle involves considering the potential risks and benefits of research, ensuring participant safety, and protecting their well-being.
• Justice: This principle ensures that research benefits are distributed equitably and that the burdens of participation are shared fairly.

Applying Core Principles of Ethical Research

• Respect for persons: Participants should be empowered to make independent decisions about their participation in research. Informed consent is crucial to ensure this.
• Concern for welfare: Risk-benefit analysis is performed to weigh potential risks against potential benefits. Confidentiality is maintained to safeguard participant privacy.
• Justice: Research should not place an undue burden on any specific group, and benefits should be distributed fairly among the population.

Research Ethics Board (REB) Actions

• Minimal risk research: This research involves minimal risk to participants and requires review by a single member of the REB.
• Greater risk research: This research involves potential risks to participants and requires full board review.

Funding Requirements for Research

• Research projects involving human participants must have REB approval.
• The research must adhere to the TCPS2 guidelines.

Deception in Research

• Deception involves:
  • Concealing the true purpose of the research.
  • Staging events or situations.

Autonomy Issues in Research

• Autonomy is compromised when participants lack the freedom to make independent decisions about their participation in research.
• Voluntarily participation is essential to uphold autonomy.

Descriptive Statistics and Correlation

• Correlation coefficient (r) measures the linear relationship between two variables.
• Coefficient of determination (r²): Represents the proportion of variance in one variable that is explained by the other variable.
• Multiple regression: Analyzes the unique contribution of several predictor variables in predicting a criterion variable.
• Multiple correlation (R): The overall correlation of multiple predictor variables on a criterion variable.
• Partial correlation: Measures the correlation between two variables, while controlling for the effects of a third variable.

This quiz covers the fundamentals of correlation regression as well as ethical research principles guided by the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS). Participants will learn about the correlation coefficient, ethical guidelines, and the role of Research Ethics Boards (REB) in studies. Test your understanding of these crucial concepts in research methodology.