Research Methods: Sources & Structure

5 broad sources of ideas for research 1. Common assumptions a. Things like do "opposites attract" or do "birds of a feather flock together" 2. Observation of the world around us b. Places like part time jobs or volunteer positions can provide a rich source of material...

5 broad sources of ideas for research 1. Common assumptions a. Things like do "opposites attract" or do "birds of a feather flock together" 2. Observation of the world around us b. Places like part time jobs or volunteer positions can provide a rich source of material for scientific investigation 3. Practical problems c. Applied research is used to address practical problems directly; whereas basic research is used to address wider societal problems like memory difficulties faced by people who had a brain injury 4. Scientific theories d. Theory: an organized system of logical ideas that are proposed to explain a particular phenomenon and its relationship to other phenomena e. Theories help to organize and explain a large number of previous observations along with generate new knowledge. f. Parsimony: the simpler the theory, the more desirable it is 5. Past research g. Becoming familiar with a body of research already published on a topic is one way to generate ideas for new research. Across all sciences, research articles that report the results of one study usually have six major sections. 1. An *abstract* that summarizes the entire report 2. An *introduction* that explains the problem under investigation and any specific hypotheses being tested 3. A *method* section that describes in detail the exact procedures used a. Generalization: the ability for a finding based upon a sample of participants to tell is about the wider population from which that sample was drawn. A key question to tell us about the wider population from which that sample was drawn. A key question of generalization is not only whether a finding generalizes, but to what populations it can be generalized. 4. A *results* section that presents the findings 5. A *discussion* section that might include speculation on the broader implications of the results, address potential alternative explanations, discuss reasons why a particular hypothesis might not have been supported by the data, and make suggestions for future research. 6. A *references* section that lists all the sources that were cited in the article. Literature review: a narrative summary of the past research conducted on a particular topic. Meta-analysis: uses statistical techniques to re-analyse past data Psyc-INFO: (similar to web of science) the American psychological association's searchable database system (coverage of publications in psychology and related fields from the 1800s to the present. Research hypothesis: a statement about a phenomenon that may or may not be true, is informed by past research or derived from a broader theory and requires further evidence to support or refute it. Prediction: a statement that makes a specific assertion about what is believed will occur