Chapter 2 – Psychological Research (pgs.
37-74)
• What is the hallmark of scientific research?
• According to the text, what is the difference between fact and opinion? Why is
this important for empirical research?
• Facts are observable realities. Opinions refer to judgements, conclusions,
interpretations, and/or attitudesEmpirical evidence is information that is: Objective
(impartial, not influenced by opinions, feelings, etc.),Tangible (real, substantial, directly
observable), Can be observed repeatedly, and Can be observed by anyone
• What is deductive reasoning? What is inductive reasoning? How do these two
processes contribute to scientific/psychological research?
• Deductive reasoning: the process of making predictions/drawing conclusions from
existing facts. Inductive reasoning: the process of formulating ideas/concepts/principles
from observations.
• What is a theory? What is a hypothesis? How do each of these contribute to the
scientific method?
• Theory – well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed
phenomena.
• •Hypothesis – tentative and testable statement (prediction) about the
relationship between two or more variables.
• –Predicts how the world will behave if the theory is correct.
• –Usually an “if-then” statement.
• –Is falsifiable (capable of being shown to be incorrect)
• What does it mean when a scientific hypothesis is falsifiable? Why is this
important for testing a hypothesis?
• If a hypothesis is not falsifiable, (evidence that could disprove it) then its most
likely not a hypothesis.
• In your own words, describe these methods of research. What are the
advantages/disadvantages of each?
If you are aware that your being watched, then a person might stray from the norm and
act differently, where as when you focus on one individual you not get the results from
as mass population.
Surveys cannot always be treusted to be truthful, and not everyone will take them. Data
can be skewed or outdated.
o Clinical / Case Study- Focus on one individual, usually someone with an extreme or unique
circumstance different from the “general public
o Naturalistic Observation- Observing behavior in its natural setting.
–May provide the most “accurate” or “genuine” behavior, but it is difficult to achieve.
–Many times people/animals change their behavior when being watched.
–Hidden Observers/Technology/Deception sometimes help.
–Observer bias can be a problem – people can interpret what they are seeing in different
ways.
o Surveys- –A list of questions that can be delivered via paper-and-pencil, electronically, or
verbally.–Surveys gather a large amount of data from a sample (subset of individuals) from a larger
population.
o Archival Research- Using records or data sets to answer research questions or to search for
interesting patterns/ relationships.
o Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Research- The same group of individuals is tested
repeatedly over an extended period of time.Cross-Sectional Research – Compares multiple portions of a
population at a single timepoint (e.g. different age groups all on the same measurement).
• What is a sample? What is a population? Why are these concepts important for
generalizing the results of a research study?
• subset of individuals selected from the larger population
• overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in
• No experiment can speak for an entire population but taking a sample gets a close
enough answer.
• What is observer/experimental bias? How are these factors controlled or
minimized in a research study?
• when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations
• What is a correlation? Create your own example of both a positive correlation
and a negative correlation.
• Correlation – a relationship between two (or more) variables.
• An example of positive would be, the more students that study, the higher the
test scores were.
• Negative would be if less students went to class, then more failed the test.
• The phrase “Correlation Does Not Indicate Causation” is a mantra of modern
science. What does this mean? Why is this so important?
• Define the following research terms:
o Experimental Group- The participants that experience the manipulated variable (group
designed to answer the research question).
o Control Group-Participants that do not experience the manipulated variable.
o Operational Definition- description of what actions and operations will be used to measure
the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables
o Placebo Effect- people's expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience
in a given situation
o Independent Variable- variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter; in a
sound experimental study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the
experimental and control group
o Dependent Variable- variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the
independent variable had
o Confounding Variable- unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest,
often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other
variable, when, in actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables
• Why is random sampling thought to be important for research?
• What is replication? Why is this process important for understanding the
broader impact of research?
• repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research’s reliability
• Without repeating the experiment, one cannot determine if research is reliable or not
• What is Reliability? What is Validity? Why are these concepts important for data
collection?
• accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure
• consistency and reproducibility of a given result
• Reliability does not mean the answer is correct, it suggests a pattern is all.
• What is an Institutional Review Board? What role do they play in the research
process?
• committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals
for research involving human participants. They make sure everything is accounted for
and ethical.
