Research Methods Overheads Fall24 PDF

Pseudo-psychologies and critical thinking Research Methods  Quiz 1(The Course Outline Quiz) and Quiz 2 (on Weeks 1 and 2) are now posted. ◦ You can access them  under Assignments > On-line Quizzes in the Table of Contents or  by clicking Assessment...

Pseudo-psychologies and critical thinking Research Methods  Quiz 1(The Course Outline Quiz) and Quiz 2 (on Weeks 1 and 2) are now posted. ◦ You can access them  under Assignments > On-line Quizzes in the Table of Contents or  by clicking Assessments > Quizzes from the drop- down menu at the top of the page ◦ Due Sun., Sept. 22 by 11:59 pm  Note-taker needed  A student in this course with an accessibility need is looking for a Peer Notetaker!  The Fred Smithers Centre for Student Accessibility is currently recruiting Peer Notetakers for the Fall Semester. Notetakers will be paid an honorarium of $150 per course after the end of the semester. They will be expected to maintain strong attendance in the course, provide typed and organized notes, and upload these notes weekly to a secure online location. A short online training module will also be provided, and students will gain valuable experience that can be added to their Co-Curricular Record (CCR) as this is such an important service for students with disabilities.  If you are interested in becoming a Notetaker with the Fred Smithers Centre, please email [email protected] stating your interest and the name of this course. Selections will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis. Thank you! Psyche Soul or + Breath Logos Study or Investigation Class answers (a sample):  A social science that examines the actions and behaviours of human beings  How people function in different situations  People’s attitudes in different contexts  The study of the brain  How brain and body interact  How people think  Why people act strangely…  Isn’t psychology really just common sense?  Scientific observation ◦ Systematic ◦ Intersubjective  Research methods 1- 6 “Look before you leap” “He who hesitates is lost” What do you think? Copyright © 2016 by Nelson Education 1- Ltd. 9  Pseudopsychology  Superstition  Pseudo means “false” ◦ Phrenology ◦ Palmistry There’s a lot of ◦ Graphology ◦ Astrology unsupported information out there… 1- 10 We talked about this one last class… 1- 11  Graphology Copyright © 2016 by Nelson Education 1- Ltd. 12  The theory of astrology is unconvincing  The evidence against astrology is convincing  Our horoscope… Astrology Copyright © 2016 by Nelson Education 1- Ltd. 13  Some things have not gone the way you want them to. They’re not feeling easy and you may even be having some struggles. But here’s the thing, Stu, even though things feel hard, maybe they’re bad, but maybe they aren’t. If you stop resisting your situation and accept where you’re at you can actually learn something about yourself or your life that you really need to. Embrace this moment and your capacity to make sweet delicious lemonade out of whatever lemons have come your way. Uncritical Acceptance – Tendency to believe positive or unflattering descriptions of yourself Confirmation Bias – When we remember or notice things that confirm our expectations and forget the rest Barnum Effect – Tendency to consider personal descriptions accurate if stated in general terms  Critical thinking  Thinking about behaviour ◦ Actively reflect on ideas ◦ Question assumptions ◦ Look for alternate conclusions Copyright © 2016 by Nelson Education 1- Ltd. 16 Few “truths” transcend need for logical analysis and empirical testing Critical thinkers wonder what it would take to show that a “truth” is false Authority does not make an idea true Judging the quality of evidence is crucial Critical thinking requires an open mind Copyright © 2016 by Nelson Education 1- Ltd. 17 1. What claims are being made? 2. Are the claims understandable? Is there another possible explanation? 3. What empirical tests of these claims have been made (if any)? 4. How good is the evidence? 5. How much credibility can the claim be given? 1- 18  What are psychologists trying to accomplish? Four goals: 1. Description ◦ Observation enables us to collect data 2. Explanation ◦ Why does a given behaviour occur? 3. Prediction ◦ Given this condition, that will happen.. 4. Influence ◦ Applying what we learn Research Key terms: Basic research  Conducted to advance knowledge Applied research  Conducted to solve practical problems The scientific method   Psychologists are empiricists, meaning they base beliefs on systematic, objective observation of the world. Scientific method: The process of basing one’s confidence in an idea on systematic, direct observations of the world, usually by setting up research studies to test ideas.  Scientists collect data that can either confirm or disconfirm a theory. Theory: A set of propositions explaining how and why people act, think, or feel. Hypothesis: A specific prediction stating what will happen in a study if the theory is correct. Data: A set of empirical observations that scientists have gathered. Theory: ◦ An organized system of ideas or principles which explain a set of observations Theories help us 1) organize data 2) Guides research ◦ make predictions (hypotheses)  Be testable  Rely on empirical evidence  Be falsifiable  Most theories are too complex to test all at once  Therefore, investigators test one or two specific hypotheses ◦ If evidence supports the hypothesis  Confidence in theory increases ◦ If evidence doesn’t support  Theory may be revised or discarded  Scientists do not accept ideas on faith or authority.  Means treating conclusions, both old and new, with caution.  2 basic approaches Descriptive Methods Experimental  Methods that yield Methods descriptions of  Allows researcher behaviour but not to control (or necessarily causal manipulate) the explanations. environment to see their effects on  Looking for links human behaviour  Looking for causes  Archival research  Observational studies ◦ Naturalistic observation ◦ Laboratory observation  Case studies  Surveys & Questionnaires  Correlation studies  Research in which existing data is used in order to test a hypothesis Data such as census documents, newspaper clippings, historical archives, etc. E.g., using university records to investigate if there are gender differences in academic performance Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Researchers carefully and systematically observe and record behaviour without interfering with behaviour.  Naturalistic observation ◦ Every day settings  Laboratory observation ◦ More controlled ◦ Observer bias  When researchers see what they want to see  A detailed or in-depth description of a particular individual being studied or treated which may be used to formulate broader research hypotheses. ◦ Observation, interviews, sometimes psychological testing  More commonly used by clinicians; occasionally used by researchers. Questionnaires and interviews  Should have a representative sample  Popular polls and surveys use volunteers rather than representative samples ◦ Socially desirable responding  Measure & evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values.  Psychological tests can be objective or projective. ◦ Standardization.  Includes uniform procedures for giving & scoring the test.  Individual’s outcome or score is compared to norms. ◦ Given to large groups ◦ Establishing standards of performance  a sample is a subset of a larger group  samples should be representative of the population  representative sampling allows researchers to generalize to the larger population  Defining a correlational study Understanding directions of correlations Reading Scatterplots Evaluating Correlations  Correlation ◦ Looks for a consistent relationship between two variables. ◦ How strongly two variables are related to one another.  Correlations show patterns, not causes  Correlation coefficient ◦ Indicates the strength and value between two variables ◦ Range from - 1.0 to 1.0.  No Correlation ◦ There is no relationship between the variables ◦ This is your null hypothesis  Increases in one variable leads to increases in another ◦ Example: relationship between hours spent studying and GPA  As values of one variable increase, values on the corresponding variable decrease  Example: ◦ the relationship between the number of hours spent watching TV per week and GPA What do we mean by this? 3 possible explanations of correlations: Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Looking for causes  The relationship between two (or more) variables is investigated  by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation  and observing the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation Identifying cause and effect relationships  Allows researcher to control (or manipulate) the environment to see their effects on human behaviour  An experiment includes: ◦ Variables ◦ Control conditions. ◦ Random assignment. Variable Behaviour, event, or other characteristic that can change or vary in some way Independent variable The variable that is manipulated by the experiment Dependent variable The variable that is measured and is expected to change as a result of changes caused by the experimenter’s manipulation of the independent variable Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson ▪ Does stress affect student grades? ▪ Which is the best method of treatment for depression: cognitive-behavioural therapy, drug treatment, or no- treatment control? ▪ Which is better: to “cram” for a test or to “space-out” our studying when trying to remember information for an exam? In an experiment the researcher typically compares two groups of subjects or participants  Experimental group ◦ Receives the ‘treatment”  Control group ◦ No treatment, OR ◦ Placebo control group  Both groups tested using same DV  Example hypothesis: Listening to music could improve students’ test taking abilities… Copyright © 2016 by Nelson 1- Education Ltd. 52 Extraneous variables Biased expectations Participant bias Experimenter bias Extraneous variables ◦ Conditions a researcher wants to prevent from affecting outcomes of the experiment  Age, intelligence education  Time of day, noise, participant or researcher expectations Participant bias  A tendency for participants to change their behaviours because they know they are being observed; to behave in ways they thin the researcher wants them to behave Placebo effect  Changes in behaviour caused by belief that one has taken a drug  Placebos alter our expectations about our own emotional and physical reactions Random assignment  Participants are assigned to different experimental groups or “conditions” on the basis of chance and chance alone  Each individual has the same probability of being assigned to either group. Researcher bias  Researcher may subtly communicate expectations to participants  May selectively notice evidence that supports their behaviours  Self-fulfilling prophecy ◦ A prediction that leads people to act in ways to make that prediction come true  E.g., teacher’s (or researcher’s) expectation can effect student’s behavior  Single-blind experiment ◦ The subjects have no idea whether they are in the experimental vs. the control group  E.g., whether they get real treatment or placebo  Double-blind experiment ◦ The subjects AND the experimenters have no idea whether the subjects get real treatment or placebo  Double Blind: neither the Single Blind: the experimenter experimenter nor knows (but participants do not ) participants know which which treatment the ppts are treatment the ppts are receiving receiving  Advantage: ◦ can make statements about cause-and-effect relationships (HUGE advantage)  Limitations: ◦ artificial: creating control may cause the situation to be too contrived ◦ can’t always use random assignment for ethical or practical reasons Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson