Research Methods in Science
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What was the first term used by William Whewell to refer to a scientist?

  • Chemist
  • Scientist (correct)
  • Physicist
  • Astronomer

    • What are the two main techniques mentioned for overcoming limitations of everyday observation?

  • Observation and Experimentation
  • Measurement and Description (correct)
  • Analysis and Synthesis
  • Inference and Deduction

    • What is the main characteristic of a good operational definition?

  • Simplicity
  • Objectivity
  • Construct Validity (correct)
  • Generalizability

    • What is the main characteristic of a good detector?

    <p>Reliability (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of "Methods of Observation"?

    <p>Examining the limitations of everyday observation (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these is NOT a limitation of everyday observation as mentioned in the text?

    <p>Subjective (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main question raised in the section "Are Heroes and Sheroes Divided by Zeroes?"?

    <p>Are there inherent differences between male and female scientific abilities? (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these is NOT listed as a possible reason for the underrepresentation of women in science?

    <p>Socioeconomic disparities (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the ethical considerations that govern research involving humans?

    <p>Informed consent, freedom from coercion, protection from harm, risk-benefit analysis, deception, debriefing, confidentiality (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which principle requires distributing benefits and risks equally to participants without any prejudice?

    <p>Justice (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the 3Rs principle to ensure ethical animal research?

    <p>Replacement, reduction, and refinement (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used to describe the process of informing participants about the true nature of the research after deception has been used?

    <p>Debriefing (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the definition of reliability in measurement?

    <p>The extent to which a measure produces consistent results (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which ethical principle emphasizes the importance of truthful reporting of research findings?

    <p>Respecting truth (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main benefit of using naturalistic observation?

    <p>It allows researchers to observe people in their natural environments (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the two steps involved in measuring a property?

    <p>Defining the property and developing an operational definition (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a potential problem with naturalistic observation?

    <p>It is too expensive to conduct (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are demand characteristics?

    <p>Aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave in a way that is expected by the researcher (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'power' refer to in measurement?

    <p>The ability of a measure to detect a difference when one truly exists (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the example of Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake illustrate the importance of powerful measurement?

    <p>It demonstrates the need for accurate speed detectors to measure performance accurately (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why are demand characteristics a concern for psychologists?

    <p>They can make it difficult to understand the reasons behind people's behavior (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the tendency of observers' expectations to influence their observations?

    <p>Observer Bias (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How can observer bias be avoided?

    <p>Conducting a double-blind study (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a technique for avoiding demand characteristics?

    <p>Descriptive Statistics (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a frequency distribution?

    <p>A graphic representation showing how often a measurement occurs (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the difference between a population and a sample?

    <p>A population is a complete collection of people while a sample is a partial collection (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are two techniques for analyzing data?

    <p>Frequency distribution and descriptive statistics (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is an example of a graphic representation?

    <p>A bar graph (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why might knowledge of Robert Parker's wine ratings influence participants' ratings?

    <p>Because Parker is a highly respected critic, participants may be more inclined to agree with his ratings. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between variables called, when variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other?

    <p>Correlation (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a property that can have more than one value called?

    <p>Variable (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is a correlation between two variables discovered?

    <p>Measuring two variables repeatedly and examining the measurements for patterns (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the hypothetical data in the table demonstrate?

    <p>A positive correlation between hours of sleep and the number of countries named (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Based on the hypothetical data, what can you infer about the relationship between hours of sleep and the number of countries named?

    <p>There may be a relationship between the two variables, but more research is needed to confirm it. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one limitation of correlational research?

    <p>It cannot establish cause and effect relationships. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a potential benefit of studying correlations?

    <p>It can be used to predict future events. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main takeaway point for the text provided?

    <p>Correlations are a useful way to explore relationships between variables. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary purpose of random assignment in an experiment?

    <p>To ensure that participants are equally distributed across experimental groups. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the danger of self-selection in an experiment?

    <p>It can introduce bias into the study, potentially leading to inaccurate conclusions. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why is it important to use statistical testing in experiments?

    <p>To confirm that the results are not due to chance. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes a statistically significant result in an experiment?

    <p>The probability of obtaining the results by chance is less than 5%. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the author suggest about the prevalence of coincidences in our lives?

    <p>They are more common than we think. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the significance of internal validity in an experiment?

    <p>It allows researchers to establish a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of an experiment with high external validity?

    <p>The study is conducted in a controlled laboratory setting. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes the relationship between internal and external validity?

    <p>Internal and external validity are often in tension with each other. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Chapter Outline

    • Empiricism: How to Know Stuff
    • Methods of Observation: Discovering What People Do
    • Methods of Explanation: Discovering Why People Do What They Do
    • Thinking Critically About Evidence
    • The Ethics of Science: Doing What's Right

    Empiricism: How to Know Stuff

    • Scientific method: Set of principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas using empirical evidence
    • Empiricism: Belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation; essential element in scientific method
    • Dogmatism: Description of the tendency to cling to one's beliefs

    The Scientific Method

    • Scientific method: Procedure for using empirical evidence to establish facts
    • Theory: Explanation of a natural phenomenon; can never be proved right
    • Hypothesis: Falsifiable prediction made by a theory

    The Art of Looking

    • Empirical method: Set of rules and techniques for observation
    • People are difficult to study because of their complexity, variability, and reactivity
    • Kinds of methods: Methods of observation and methods of explanation

    A World of Difference

    • The history of science is replete with men.
    • Until recently, women's educational and employment opportunities were limited
    • Men and women have different interests and talents
    • Men are often more interested in scientific topics
    • Women are more variable than men in quantitative ability and visuo-spatial ability

    The World's First Scientist

    • In 1834, William Whewell coined the word scientist to describe a remarkable astronomer, physicist, and chemist named Mary Somerville
    • Few people remember that the world's first scientist was a woman

    Methods of Observation: Discovering What People Do

    • Observe: Use of one's senses to learn about the properties of an event or an object
    • Limitations of everyday observation: Inconsistent and incomplete
    • Scientific techniques for overcoming limitations: Measurement and description

    What to Measure and How to Measure It

    • Operational definition: Description of property in measurable terms
    • Key feature of a good operational definition: Construct validity (extent to which the thing being measured adequately characterizes the property)
    • Key features of a good detector: Reliability (tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing) and Power (ability of a measure to detect specified conditions in the operational definition)

    Measurement

    • There are two steps in the measurement of a property: Define the Property and Detect the Property

    Power and Reliability at the Olympics

    • Usain Bolt ran the 100-meter race in 9.58 seconds, and Yohan Blake ran it in 9.75 seconds
    • Judges in ice dancing rate qualities of performance related to athleticism and artistry, and are consistent in their ratings

    Demand Characteristics: Doing What Is Expected (part 1)

    • Demand characteristics: Aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects
    • These characteristics make it hard to measure behavior as it typically unfolds

    Demand Characteristics: Doing What Is Expected (part 2)

    • Psychologists avoid demand characteristics by observing people without their knowledge
    • Naturalistic observation: Technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments
    • Naturalistic observation is not always practical
    • Some events can only be observed through direct interaction
    • Observer bias may occur

    How Do Researchers Measure "Pace of Life"?

    • Researchers make naturalistic observations, measuring the average walking speed of pedestrians in different cities

    Demand Characteristics: Doing What Is Expected (part 3)

    • Techniques for avoiding demand characteristics: Privacy, control, and unawareness

    Observer Bias: Seeing What Is Expected

    • Observer bias: Tendency for observers' expectations to influence what they believe they observed and what they actually observed
    • Why does this occur?: Expectations can influence observations and expectations can influence reality
    • How can it be avoided?: Double-blind study

    An Example of Observer Bias

    • Robert Parker is one of the world's foremost wine critics
    • His ratings indicate how good a wine tastes, but can they also influence how good a wine tastes?
    • Would knowledge of his ratings affect participants' ratings?

    Description

    • Population: Complete collection of people; rarely measured
    • Sample: Partial collection of people drawn from a population
    • Psychologists use two techniques for analyzing data: graphic representations and descriptive statistics

    Graphic Representations: Picturing the Measurements

    • Graphic representations: Describe data in two ways
    • Frequency distribution: Graphic representation showing the number of times in which the measurement of a property takes on each of its possible values
    • Normal distribution: Mathematically defined frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the middle

    Frequency Distributions

    • What do these distributions reveal about reported levels of happiness?

    Descriptive Statistics: Summarizing the Data

    • Descriptive statistics: Brief summary statements about essential information from a frequency distribution
    • Central tendency (centre or midpoint): Mode, Mean, and Median
    • Skewed distribution

    Calculating Descriptive Statistics

    • Mode = 5
    • Mean = 5.95
    • Median = 6

    Differently Shaped Distributions

    • Positively skewed distribution
    • Normal distribution
    • Negatively skewed distribution

    Variability: How Wide Is the Distribution?

    • Variability: Extent measurements differ; tells how much the measurements differ from each other or roughly how wide the distribution is
    • Range: Value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement
    • Standard deviation: Statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in a frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution

    Distributions Can Differ in Variability or Central Tendency

    • Distributions can differ in variability and central tendency

    Methods of Explanation: Discovering Why People Do What They Do

    • Correlation: Relationship between variables in which variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other
    • Variable property that can have more than one value

    Hypothetical Data Showing the Relationship Between Sleep and Money

    Synchronized Patterns of Variation

    • Synchronized patterns of variation
    • Measure pair of variables
    • Repeat; make a series of measurements
    • Examine measurements and try to discern pattern
    • When two variables are correlated, knowledge of one variable value can be used to predict the value of another variable without having to measure it

    Measuring the Direction and Strength of a Correlation

    • Correlation direction: Either positive or negative
    • Positive correlation = more-is-more relationship
    • Negative correlation = more-is-less relationship
    • Correlation strength: Limited range (r ranges)
    • -1.0 (perfect negative correlation)
    • +1.0 (perfect positive correlation)
    • 0 (no correlation)
    • Correlation coefficient: Measure of the direction and strength of a correlation (r)

    Graphing Correlations

    • Perfect positive correlation (r = 1)
    • Perfect negative correlation (r = -1)
    • No correlation (r = 0)

    Positive Correlations of Different Strengths

    Causation

    • Sometimes, we see causal relationships that do not exist
    • Natural correlations: Correlations observed in the world around us
    • Third-variable problem (Z): Natural correlation between two variables cannot be taken as evidence of a causal relationship between them because a third variable might be causing them both

    Causes of Correlation

    • Three possible reasons why X and Y are correlated: X→Y, Y→X, or Z→X & Y

    Experimentation: Establishing Causation

    • Experimentation: Technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables
    • Elimination of differences between groups by examining two key features

    Three Steps of Experimentation (part 1)

    • Experimentation allows establishment of causal relationships between variables by doing three things:
    • Manipulate: Manipulate independent variable; create at least two conditions. Independent variable: Variable that is manipulated in an experiment
    • Measure: Measure dependent variable. Dependent variable: Variable that is measured in an experiment
    • Compare: Compare measurements of conditions with each other.

    Three Steps of Experimentation (part 2)

    • Sample
    • Violent exposure condition
    • Nonviolent exposure condition

    Manipulation: Making Different Conditions

    Random Assignment

    • Random assignment: Procedure that lets chance assign participants to the experimental or control group
    • Self-selection: Problem that occurs when anything about a participant determines whether they will be included in the experimental or control group

    Statistical Testing: Making Sure Conditions Don't Differ by Chance

    • Calculating the odds that random assignment has failed each time an experiment is conducted
    • Generally, not accepting experimental results unless the calculation suggests there is less than a 5% chance that those results would have occurred if random assignment had failed
    • Statistical significance; is determined when we calculate the odds that random assignment has failed through inferential statistics
    • Statistically significant results: p < .05
    • Failure of random assignment: p > .05

    The Real World: The Surprisingly High Likelihood of Unlikely Coincidences

    • A recent survey found that roughly half of college graduates believe in ESP
    • By not using probability theory, people routinely underestimate the likelihood of coincidences
    • Mathematics professor John Paulos noted, "In reality, the most astonishingly incredible coincidence imaginable would be the complete absence of all coincidence" (Neimark, 2004).

    Drawing Conclusions

    • Internal validity: Attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish causal relationships
    • External validity: Attribute of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a representative way

    The Generalizability Restriction: “In the People We Studied . . .”

    • Case method: Method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual
    • Random sampling: Technique for choosing participants to ensure that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
    • Sample is representative of population.
    • Generalization from sample to population can be made.
    • Nonrandom sampling: Acceptable technique if the similarity between a sample and the population doesn't matter, when direct replication is available, and if the similarity between the two is a reasonable starting assumption

    Is Nonrandom Sampling a Fatal Flaw in Psychological Science?

    • No, and there are two reasons why
    • First, sometimes the representativeness of a sample doesn't matter
    • Second, sometimes the representativeness of the sample is a reasonable starting assumption
    • Learning about some people does not necessarily tell us about all people, but it can still tell us a lot

    The Reliability Restriction: “It Is Likely That...”

    • Replication: Experiment that uses the same procedures as a previous experiment but with a new sample from the same population
    • Type I error: Error occurs when researchers conclude that there is a causal relationship between two variables when there is not
    • Type II error: Error occurs when researchers conclude that there is not a causal relationship between two variables when, in fact, there is

    Other Voices Psychology Is Not in Crisis

    • Is psychology amid a research crisis?
    • Is failure to replicate a normal part of how science works? Why? Why not?
    • Do failures to replicate mean that original experiments are worthless? Why? Why not?

    Thinking Critically About Evidence

    • Critical thinking: Involves asking tough questions
    • Has evidence been interpreted in an unbiased way?
    • Does the evidence tell not just the truth, but the whole truth?

    We See What We Expect and Want to See

    • Why do people have so much trouble thinking critically?
    • A natural and intuitive way of thinking about evidence worked better for hunter-gatherers than for today's large-scale, complex societies
    • We tend to hold different kinds of evidence to different standards
    • Beliefs and desires shape which evidence to consider
    • We see what we expect and want to see
    • We don't consider what we don't see
    • The skeptical stance: Scientists constantly strive to make their observations more accurate and reasoning more rigorous

    Hours Spent Partying or Studying at Some Canadian Universities

    The Ethics of Science: Doing What's Right

    • The Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) describes the core principles, based on respect for human dignity, that all research involving human participants must follow
    • First, research should show respect for persons and their right to make decisions for and about themselves without undue influence or coercion
    • Second, research should show concern for welfare which means that it should attempt to maximize benefits and reduce risks to the participant
    • Third, research should be just, which means that it should distribute benefits and risks equally to participants without prejudice towards particular individuals or groups

    Respecting People

    • Some of the most important rules that govern the conduct of psychological research
    • Informed consent
    • Freedom from coercion
    • Protection from harm
    • Risk-benefit analysis
    • Deception
    • Debriefing
    • Confidentiality

    Respecting Animals

    • Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) standards for the ethical use and care of animals in research
    • Replacement
    • Reduction
    • Refinement

    Respecting Truth

    • Psychology, like all sciences, works on the honor system
    • Results are reported truthfully on what was done and what was found
    • Credit is ethically assigned
    • Data are shared

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    Methods in Psychology PDF

    Description

    Test your knowledge on key concepts in research methods, including the limitations of everyday observation, ethical considerations in human research, and definitions used by influential scientists like William Whewell. This quiz covers essential topics for understanding scientific inquiry and the ethical treatment of research subjects.

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