Research Methodology Principles

• Psychology: the scientific study of human mental processes and behavior.
• Science: understanding the natural world using systematic empiricism, empirical questions, and public knowledge.

Systematic Empiricism

• Learning that requires methodical and consistent study of behaviors, events, or phenomena.
• Requires protocols, criteria, and methods to ensure observations are unbiased, repeatable, and accurate.

Empirical Questions

• Questions about the world answerable through systematic observations.

Public Knowledge

• Detailed research descriptions are available to other researchers and to the general public.
• Information is usually disseminated through professional journal publications.

Science vs. Pseudoscience

• Pseudoscience: a set of beliefs or activities that is claimed to be scientific but lacks one or more of the key features of science.

Falsifiability

• A claim is falsifiable if observations could count as evidence against it.
• Scientific claims must be falsifiable.

Concerns with Pseudoscience

• Human behavior cannot be predicted perfectly.
• Much of its subject matter cannot be directly observed.

Scientific Method

• Observation, Research and background, Hypothesis, Experimentation, Data collection, Analysis, Conclusions, Repeat.

Basic vs. Applied Research

• Basic research studies fundamental human behavior and for the sake of learning something new.
• Applied aims to solve a practical problem.
• Basic and applied research influence one another.

Open Science

• Practices include pre-registering studies, sharing study materials/data, and encouraging replication.
• Aims to make scientific research more reliable and transparent to scientists and the general public.
• Poorly conducted scientific work has profound effects.
• Open science practices minimize statistical flukes, making them more difficult.
• Practices: publishing replicated/pre-registered studies, providing better descriptions how studies were conducted, and using larger sample sizes.

Science and Common Sense

• Intuitive beliefs about human behavior and mental processes- fold psychology.
• Forming detailed/accurate beliefs requires observation, memory, and analysis.
• Intuitive beliefs are assumed to be true if widely shared.
• Focus is often on cases confirming beliefs, not challenging ones.
• Belief gives hope.
• Critical thinking requires skepticism.

Skepticism

• Cautious approach is important when accepting claims and hypotheses, which should be supported by empirical evidence.
• Consider alternatives.
• There's often not enough evidence to evaluate beliefs or claims; scientists understand this limitation.

Clinical Practice of Psychology

• Encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and related problems.
• Clinical psychologists diagnose and treat psychological disorders and related problems.
• Includes clinical and school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and licensed clinical social workers.

Empirically Supported Treatment

• A psychological treatment proven effective in scientific research studies.
• Examples of tx: acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain, behavioral activation for depression, cognitive behavioral therapy for adult ADHD, dialectical behavioral therapy for borderline personality disorder, exposure therapy, family focused therapy (bipolar disorders), stimulus control therapy (insomnia).

Trigger Warnings

• Some research suggests trigger warnings may undermine individual resilience or increase anxiety.

Research Process

• Includes finding research ideas, turning them into empirical research questions, and reviewing the research literature.

Variable

• Something that can be measured, changed, and quantified.
• Quantitative: Variable (number).
• Categorical: Variable (assigned a class).

Population

• Population: large group of humans with a common characteristic.
• Example: people with psychological problems.

Sample

• Sample: a subset of the population.
• Example: college students, representative samples are vital.

Random Sampling

• Every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Convenience Sampling

• May not be representative of the population.

Operational Definition

• A precise definition of how a variable will be measured.
• Example: paper and pencil depression scale.

Score

• Result from a test or evaluation.

Data

• Set of scores.

Relationships Between Variables

• Single variable questions look at how often trigger warnings are issued in universities.
• Another example is how talkative are American college students.
• Single variable categorical research includes measurement and computation of percentage scores for variables.
• A single variable experiment does not explain observed phenomena.

Statistical Relationship

• Reflects differences in average scores of a variable relative to another.
• Provides information about causes, consequences, development, and processes of organization.
• Basic relationship forms analyze differences between groups and correlations of quantitative variables.

Differences Between Groups

• Examines discrepancies like whether women are more talkative than men.
• Another example is whether college students who receive trigger warnings are more anxious comparatively.

Correlation of Quantitative Variables

• Measures the average score on one variable that differs systematically.
• Examines whether being a happier person is associated with being more talkative.
• Explores if more anxious college students tend to learn less in their classes.

Positive Relationships

• Higher scores on one variable tend to be associated with higher scores on the other.

Negative Relationships

• Higher scores on one variable tend to be associated with lower scores on the other.

Pearson’s r

• Measures the strength of correlation between two quantitative variables.
• It ranges from -1.00 to +1.00.
• This is a good measure limited to linear relationships.

Independent Variable

• Thought to be the cause of another variable.
• In experiments, researcher manipulates the independent variable.

Dependent Variable

• Effect of the variable.

Correlation vs. Causation

• Correlation does not equal causation
• Number of electrical appliances people use has a relationship to birth control use.

Lack of Causation

• Reasons why correlation does not imply causation: directionality and third variable problems.
• A statistical relationship can mean two variables (X and Y) are related because X causes Y or because Y causes X.
• Example: Whether people exercise could be related to happiness

Third Variable Problem

• A third variable could cause both X and Y.
• Example: Being physically healthy could cause people to exercise and be happier.

Media Misinterpretation

• Media can misinterpret studies by claiming Internet use leads to lower test scores.
• Conduct experiments to test the results.

Empirical Study

• A type of empirical study in which an independent variable is manipulated and dependent variable is measured while extraneous variables are controlled.

Finding Inspiration for Research

• Inspiration sources can be informal observations, practical problems, and previous research (talkativeness, depression, bungee jumping).
• Observe your behavior and others behavior
• Research in non-scientific sources such as newspapers and books.

Observations

• One might notice being the slowest in the grocery store line.
• One might wonder if more people think the same thing.
• Reading about donating money to a cause in the local newspaper.

Practical Problems

• Effectiveness of psychotherapy for depression compared to drug therapy.
• Extent to which cell phones impair people's driving ability.
• How to teach children to read efficiently.
• What is the best mental preparation for running a marathon?

Previous Research

• Reading titles and abstracts from professional journals.
• Journals tend to be specific to narrow fields of research.

Research Questions

• Conspeculize it as a variable and ask how frequently it occurs.
• Consider possible effects, types of people exhibiting the behavior more or less, and statistical relationships.
• If answered, see if it generalizes to other cultures and age groups.

Evaluate Research Question

• But what if you have more than one question?
• Evaluate on interestingness and feasibility.
• Consider the extent to which the answer is in doubt and if it fills a gap in the research literature.

Practical Implications

• Trigger warnings, and cell phones while driving are considered.

Feasibility

• Considers time, money, equipment and materials, technical knowledge and skill, and access to research participants.

Complexity

• Includes longitudinal, brain response, and statistical analyses.
• Use methods that have worked before.

Previous Methodology

• "Tried and true" method.
• Compare results with others.

Unreliable Resources

• Avoid the use of self-help books, pop psychology, dictionary/encyclopedia entries, and general websites.

Professional Journals

• Use empirical research reports and review articles.

Theoretical Articles

• Presents new or existing theories.

Dr. Andrew Wakefield

• Falsely stated vaccines cause autism.
• Dr. Wakefield's retracted article showed: measles, mumps, rubella vaccinations, reduced MMR vaccinations, bias, and failed reproduction in follow-up studies.
• Lead researcher patented alternative vaccine to make profit.
• Article was retracted and medical license revoked.

Ethical Research

• A branch of philosophy looks at morality and mental behavior.
• Sets of principles and practices are used.

Research Participants

• Risks include ineffective treatment, physical/psychological harm, and privacy violations.
• Benefits include receiving helpful treatment, learning about psychology, and contributing to scientific knowledge.

Risks to Scientists

• Wasted resources and misunderstood results can occur if the study is bad.
• Trust results from a scientific community and society.
• Treat participants fairly.
• Benefits and risks must be distributed equally.

Autonomy

• Peoples rights should be considered to make their own decisions and take their own actions free rom coercion.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

• Participants were black men with low incomes who told they were being treated for "bad blood."
• They given free care, but researchers observed the disease's progression without treating the syphilis.
• Treatment was deliberately denied even after penicillin became the standard, so researchers could perform the experiment.

Ethical Conflicts

• Little psychological research is completely risk-free.
• Conflict is expected between risks and benefits, whether the research could benefit one group and harm another.

Personal Space Study

• Researchers secretly observed participants to see whether it took them longer to being urinating when there was another man (confederate of the researchers) at a nearby urinal.
• Some found this unjustified assault on human dignity, researchers had concluded that the benefits outweigh the risks.
• Some preliminary participants were interviewed and none were bothered by the fact that they had been observed

Nuremberg Code

• An Ethics code for research with human participants that was written in conjunction with the trials of accused Nazi war criminals after WW2.
• Set of ten principles written in 1947
• Provided a standard against which to compare the behavior of men on trial- many of whom were convicted and either imprisoned or sentenced to death.
• Addressed risks against benefits and informed consent importance.

Declaration of Helsinki

• Similar to nuremberg code that was created by the World Medical Council in 1964
• Updated ethics code for biomedical research with human participants in 2004
• Additions: research with human participants should be based on written protocol

Protocol

• A detailed description of the research that is reviewed by an independent committee.

Belmont Report

• Set of ethical standards for research with human participants published by the U.S department of health and human services in 1978.
• Noted importance of justice, how research distributes risks/benefits fairly across different groups at the societal level.
• Became the basis for a set of laws (Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects or the "Common rule").

Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects

• A set of federal regulations (45 CFR part 46) for research with human participants based on the Belmont report
• "common rule".
• Applies to research conducted, supported, or regulated by the federal government

Institutional Review Board

• Committee in an institution that reviews research protocols to ensure ethical standards are met.
• Board requires at least 5 people with diverse backgrounds, professions, scientists and nonscientists, men and women, otherwise unaffiliated with the institution.
• The Research is carried out fairly and the risks are minimized while the benefits are weighed.

Adequate Informed Consent Procedure

• Three levels of risks must be weighed: exempt, minimal risk, and at risk research.

Exempt Research

• Research of minimal risk is to participants and is exempt from many requirements.
• Examples: educational research, existing records and anonymized medical records.

Minimal Risk

• Subjecting participants to minimal risks (no greater than what one encounters daily) and can include group dynamics in a workplace setting.

At Risk Research

• Risk exposures are greater than those found in the research study than what one would exposure themselves to in daily life.
• Includes medication and the potential for psychological harm.

APA Ethics Code

• Published in 1952 and has been revised several times, most recently in 2002.
• Contains 150 specific ethical standards to which psychologists and their students are expected to follow.
• Concerns practices of psychology.

Standard #8

• Ethics of research and publication.
• Informed consent
• Deception
• Debriefing
• Use of nonhuman animal subjects
• Scholarly integrity

Informed Consent

• Provide details of procedure, risks and benefits.
• The subjects right to decline, withdraw and information about effects of withdrawing.
• It is important to note to describe the legal limits of confidentiality, and having participants read and sign consent form.

Consent Form

• Participants sign to show their rights.
• This includes all: procedures, risks, benefits, and right to withdraw.
• Note: Most people do not read form and there are certain situations where consent is not necessary.

Deception

• Purposely misleading participants about the study and its experiment.
• This could be giving false info or withholding from participant.
• The researcher involves oneself in the experiment.
• Instruments might falsify equipment results like Milgram's shock generator.

Arguments of Deception

• Fails to respect dignity to others and is potential to upset participants.
• Makes responses less honest and damages trust in researchers.
• Note: Some socially and scientifically may be impossible to answer without deceiving participants.

Debriefing

• Inform participants the study and allow deception and harm reduction to occur.

Nonhuman Animal Subjects

• Animal testing allows better understanding of: Learning & conditioning, Brain study, Drug and psychological surgery research
• The APA has benefits and costs of research but the animal has to acquire humane treatment.

Scholarly Integrity

• Prevent plagirism, dont falsify, keep data confidential, and name all contributors for the research.

Risks

• Indentify risks that have potential to phsycially and physcologically threaten harm, and breach confidenitality standards.
• Modify design to prevent any level of discomfort or boredom in the process or have pre screening demographic data to avoid any of the aforementioned.
• Note: Only exceptable to use deception where acceptable and explain as quickly as possible why its ethical or neccessary.

Get Approval

• Make sure to write protocol about why the study may have certain procedure or risk, and benefits.

Follow Through

• Have approved and signed documents, stay alert.

Maintain Goals

• Scientific discovery has to have integrity and must come up with proper results.

This quiz tests understanding of research feasibility, generalizability, and the formulation of compelling research questions. It also covers the use of sources for establishing a theoretical framework in psychological research.