Chapter 1 - Research Methods & Design I PDF

PSYC 310 Research Methods & Design I Chapter 1  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? 1. To be able to conduct research and evaluate the work of others.  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? 2. To be able to distinguish between science (fact) and pseudoscience (fiction).  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS...

PSYC 310 Research Methods & Design I Chapter 1  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? 1. To be able to conduct research and evaluate the work of others.  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? 2. To be able to distinguish between science (fact) and pseudoscience (fiction).  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? 3. To protect yourself (and others) against people like this!  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? …and like this!  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? “Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world’s existential problems.” -Maria Ressa, Nobel Laureate  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? 4. To learn to think like a scientist – develop a systematic way of asking questions…. ….and determining if the findings support the conclusions.CD  WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS? In science, we keep track of both the hits and the misses. If you want to demonstrate that dogs can sniff out cancer, then you need to show that their hit rate is higher for both ”true” boxes in the matrix.  SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE 1. THE METHOD OF TENACITY: Ideas are accepted as truth because (1) they’ve been around for a long time and/or (2) based on superstition.  SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE 2. THE METHOD OF INTUITION: Information is accepted as being true because it makes sense, seems plausible, or feels right. + =  SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE 3. THE METHOD OF AUTHORITY: Knowledge obtained from an authority figure or expert in a given area.  SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE 3B. THE METHOD OF FAITH: Knowledge obtained from an authority figure and based on complete trust – parents, teachers, clergy, spiritual leaders.  SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE 4. THE RATIONAL METHOD: Knowledge acquired through logical reasoning. Begin with known facts or assumptions (premise statements) and use logic (arguments) to arrive at an answer (conclusion). Careful! A faulty premise statement can lead to the wrong answer conclusion. E.g.: all peppers are hot. Wait a minute! This isn’t a cat!! The logic is right, but the premise statement is not specific enough; therefore, conclusion is wrong.  SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE 5. EMPIRICISM: Knowledge acquired through direct observation or personal experience. Can you always trust your observations? If we removed the arrowheads from the lines above, would the lines be the same length? The lines are indeed the same length! This is the Muller-Lyer illusion; a trick of visual perception where two lines of the same length appear as if they are different lengths. Objects appear to be spinning when they are, in fact, static !  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD A systematic way of examining a specific issue or problem. Series of techniques for acquiring new knowledge and also for correcting previous knowledge. Knowledge is constantly evolving – what is true today may be proven false tomorrow.  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD What we know about any given phenomenon is limited by the investigative techniques available to us. MRI technology has allowed us to discover things about the human brain that previously were not knowable. Researchers in the UK discovered that baby brains grow to half the adult size in just 90 days!!  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD What the scientific method allows us to do is to put forth our best guess, based on the evidence before us. But we can never say we have “proven” something; there is always more for us to learn.  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD This is both the strength and the vulnerability of the scientific method. Naysayers claim science is hogwash because scientists never give a definitive answer. Beware of those who claim to have the definitive answer!  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Fundamental assumption: The world is orderly and governed by natural laws. There are links between events – cause and effect relationships. The scientific method allows us to uncover these laws.  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD The Importance of Logic: We discover the laws of nature through a process of logical thinking. Helps us arrive at an understanding of various cause-effect relationships. If A… … then B If no A… … then no B  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD v Observe v Describe v Explain v Predict Carrying Out: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Step 1: Observation Observe a phenomenon and reach a conclusion Inductive reasoning: make a generalization based on a few observations. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/class-attendance/ Carrying Out: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Step 2: Formulating a hypothesis Hypothesis: proposed relationship between variables - tentative explanation that must be tested and critically evaluated.  VARIABLES Two major types: Independent variable: can be thought of as the cause and is manipulated by the experimenter. Dependent variable: can be thought of as the effect that results from the manipulation of the independent variable.  VARIABLES Independent Dependent variable variable Alcohol Visual consumption acuity Carrying Out: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Step 3: Generating a testable prediction A specific statement about the expected relationship between variables on a given situation. Deductive reasoning: begin with a general statement to make a prediction about a specific situation. Carrying Out: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Step 4: Making systematic, planned observations Collect and analyze data. Carrying Out: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Step 5: Evaluating the original hypothesis Based on observations, support, refute or refine the hypothesis. Perhaps other factors must be considered. Leading the researcher to test other hypotheses.  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD There are three important principles of the scientific method. It must be: Empirical: A phenomenon must be systematically observed in order to be accepted. Public: The methods used must be available to others (transparency) to allow for verification and replication. Objective: Observations and conclusions must be free of bias and personal opinions.  THEORY Through observing events, we arrive at an explanation about the cause-and-effect relationship between them. A theory is a statement or series of statements that: -organize our observations and ideas, -explain our observations, and -predict events not yet observed.  THEORY - CONDITIONS To be considered good, a theory must meet three conditions: Parsimony: It should be able to explain many results with few concepts. Precision: A theory must be precise enough so that different investigators can agree about its predictions. Testability: A theory must make predictions that can be tested empirically (falsifiability).  THEORY Key points about theories: no single confirming finding can prove a theory correct. findings either support a theory or not.  THEORY Key points about theories: the more data that supports a theory, the more confidence we have in that theory. no single disconfirming finding leads to theory rejection; it will lead to further testing, or to an adjustment of the theory. ACCUMULATION OF EVIDENCE  REASONING Inductive: from data (observations) you develop theories. Deductive: from theories you develop hypotheses to test.  THEORY – DATA CYCLE Continuous back & forth cycle between theories and data (a circular relationship) – where there is an ongoing process of testing and correcting, based on how data fits predictions. THEORY INDUCTION DEDUCTION (theory) (hypothesis) DATA  THE RESEARCH PROCESS Choose your topic Communicate findings Identify a specific problem Formulate conclusion Research the problem Analyze results Develop a hypothesis Collect data Design an experiment