Experimental Psychology & Scientific Method

• Experimental psychology is related to science.
• Science (Scientia) is Greek for knowledge.
• Science is a systematic gathering of data to describe, explain, predict, and control events.
• Scientific method (steps), methodology (techniques), and data/datum (information) are elements of this.

Methodology

• Commonsense psychology is a type of methodology.
• Pseudoscience is a type of methodology; the Greek definition is false.
• Non-scientific data involves an improper gathering of data, subject to confirmation bias.
• Non-scientific inference involves an improper assessment of data, subject to overconfidence bias.

Modern Science

• Scientific mentality relies on a natural order of assumptions like hypothesis and determinism.
• Empirical data is a component of modern science.
• Generalization involves law (explains) and theory (predicts)
• Self-correction is required.
• Publication of results and repetition are best practice
• Good thinking involves parsimony (Occam's Razor) and deems the simplest reason without overcomplicating.
• Parsimony is the simplest reason.

Research

• Applied and basic research are types of research.
• Applied research involves real-world applications
• Basic research involves theoretical testing and phenomena hypotheses.
• Additional variables in experimentation are antecedent, treatment, and control.
• Antecedent as a variable is prior/outside circumstance.
• Treatment as a variable is a curated/specific circumstance.
• Control as a variable are methods: random assignment, between-subjects, and within-subjects.
• Cause & effect is relationship between a particular behavior and an antecedent that precedes it, whereas other antecedents don't threaten the inferred.
• Responsible research works to advance understanding in beneficial ways.
• IRB (Institutional Review Board), IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), and APA (American Psychological Association) help facilitate this

Permissions

• Informed consent includes the purpose, duration, procedure, and risks (foreseeable, discomfort, and adverse effects) of a study.
• Rights include to decline & withdraw with limits of confidentiality.
• Prospects are incentives in participating and in the overall result; there should also be contact information available.
• The Nuremberg Code gives the first set of principles adhering to international standards, outlining the ethics within conducting medical-based research.
• The Belmont Report (1979) establishes ethical principles & guidelines for the protection of the human subject participants.

Parts of a Research Article

• Title has the author/s.
• The abstract has a maximum of 180 words.
• The introduction builds on prior research; the parts of this include serendipity (unexpected), intuition (gut feeling/hunches), and literature search (past studies).
• Subsequent parts are method, results, discussion, and references.

Hypothesis

• Application of laws and theories helps to predict the interaction of variables
• Types of hypothesis are experimental (causal) and non-experimental (correlational).
• Characteristics include that it's synthetic: analytic (always true) and contradictory (always false).
• It must be testable, falsifiable, parsimonious, and fruitful.
• Hypothesis testing involves null, to favor rejecting, and alternative, to favor accepting.
• Types of reasoning are: Inductive creates general top, and deductive tests specific bottom.

Research Variables

• Independent variables are manipulated.
• Dependent variables are responses.
• Control is used to avoid confounding results.
• Real treatment is experimental; no treatment is controlled and fake treatment is placebo.

Research Designs

• Between-subjects has a large sample without carry overs.
• Within-subjects tests under all conditions and acts as its own control variable.
• Multiple-group is a type of research design.
• Multiple-independent-group allows using different levels of IV, block randomization and equal levels of IV
• Matched subjects have similar characteristic pairing and can be matched via DV
• Two-matched-groups is via DV.
• Two-independent-groups have two different condition assignments

Research Assignment

• Random has equal chances, any assigned condition, and technique use.
• Matching comes in the variations: precision (score specific pairing), range (score range pairing), and ranked (score & order pairing).

Surveying (Data Collection)

• Gathers one's opinion, preference, and more regarding a certain topic.
• This is useful for inference, and low-high antecedent research
• Surveying is efficient for large data gathering, but can not show causal relationships
• Written questionnaires, interviews, computer & internet, focus groups, mail (low response), telephone (high response), and self-administered methods are types of surveying.
• Surveys should be concise, avoid redundancy and lengthy items, be appropriate to participants, and avoid double-barreled questions, + or - bias in questions.
• Surface level answers without deeper specifications of participants, yea-sayers (acquiescence) and nay-sayers (deviation) are all pitfalls to avoid.
• Response styles are deviance and variation response, and involves willingness, questionnaire type, position effect (likelihood to answer C), response question, and manifest content.
• Avoidance of biases involves Questions initiating reflection, and pretest/trial.

Scales

• Nominal scales use words or categories.
• Ordinal scales are systems of ranked order.
• Interval scales use numbers without an absolute zero.
• Ratio scales use numbers with an absolute zero.

Evaluation (Data Analysis)

• Reliability is consistency of scores.
• Validity is target goal/score.
• Accuracy is reliability + validity.
• This applies the study from the sample to the general population.
• Sampling: Population is parameter and sample is statistic
• Simple as an element of probability is portion of a whole, systematic is within every 'nth', stratified is selection in sub-groups, and cluster are groups that naturally occur.
• Non-probability is another element: convenience, purposive, and snowball are types of this.
• Convenience is towards availability,
• Purposive is specific aim of participants.
• Snowball is participant leading to others.
• Research activities are a part of this.

Degree of Imposition

-LOW focuses on every participants -HIGH focuses on specific participants

• Imposition is how and what researchers focus on; Low focuses more on majority the paper.

Manipulation

-LOW has scale application over to -HIGH and natural has control

• High Antecedent or Controlled Condition are good for predetermining evaluation but are bad to apply in real life situations Degree Graph (Both)

ALTERNATIVES Alternatives (Qualitative)

When conditions/treatments are not met, do not have control & is naturalistic.

• y-axis (Imposition) x-axis (Antecedent)

• If antecedent can't be created

• If conditions are unethical

• High Antecedent or Controlled Condition are good for predetermining evaluation but are bad to apply in real life situations. Degree Graph (Both) High

Major Alternatives

• Degree Graph (Both) External Validity

• (Causation -Control) Internal validity

• Correlational: Relation of variables and not for causal effects

• The proceeding items apply to: Observational-/Field Studies, Case Studies, Survey-Questionnaire, Meta- analysis, Archival Research, Phenomenology, and Logitudinal & Cross Sectional.

• Observational/field studies is combination of types

• Participant observation is to be with Natural Observation and Structured observation.

• Not for causal effects and is subjected to multiple biases (Observation- Reactivity, Unobtrusive Ambiguity, Halo Effect)

• Case studies is rare phenomena Individual or small group examination: Deviant Case Analysis.

• not for generalization of idea Subjected to biases: Retrospective data and Inference Bias

• Survey-Questionnaire

• Narratives, expression, ideas, opinions: Anecdotes, oral/written descriptions and First/Second- hand accounts

• Subjected to multiple biases Observation- Reactivity, Social Desirability Bias,Misinterpretation

• Meta - Analysis Based on multiple studies. Not good for quality wise application

• Archival research Based on pre- existing records and Not good for dated wise app.

• Phenomenology is Immediate experience

• Longitudinal & Cross-Sectional: Timeline based comparison and Not for timely & non cohort studies