CHAPTER 2 Choosing Topics and Methods for Research

CHAPTER 2 Choosing Topics and Methods for Research

Sources of Research Ideas • Your own experience and knowledge. • Brainstorming • Pros? And Cons? • Prior research findings. • Pros and Cons? • Using existing theories. • Pros and Cons?

Reviewing the Literature • Why? – Be informed! • Don’t want to duplicate pre-existing research. • Where the topic currently is. – Help choose and construct a research design. • E. g. , operational definitions of variables.

Types of Literature • Scholarly versus General Sources – Scholarly: For professionals and students. • Written by expects or researchers • Cite references • Little or no general advertising in the source. – General: For general public. • Written by professional writers in well-known sources (e. g. , magazine). • Little referencing of sources • Lots of general advertising (e. g. , cars)

Scholarly Sources • Scholarly Sources are Peer Reviewed! – Other experts or researchers check over the papers of their colleagues before the are published. • Primary Source – Original, firsthand account of an idea or research finding. – E. g. , Journal article of a research report. • Secondary Source – Secondhand information, usually based on the primary source. – E. g. , Text book, newspaper article.

Scholarly Research Reports • Most research reports (primary sources) will contain the following sections: – Abstract – Introduction – Method • Participants • Apparatus and Materials • Procedure – Results – Discussion

Where Do I Find Scholarly Research? • Abstracts – Psychological Abstracts • Older research. Not a lot of fun – tedious, but builds character. • Electronic Databases – Psyc. INFO (web-based) – Psych. LIT (CD-ROM version of Psyc. INFO) – MEDLINE – EBSCOhost

References In Hand, Now What? • Even before you start reading (or have only read the abstracts) – organize them in some fashion (e. g. , methods employed, results found) • Read the “Introduction” sections of each paper noting theories, other references, definitions of variables. • Read the “Discussion” sections of each paper looking for strengths and weaknesses of the methods employed. • Now read the “Method” sections. Which methods do you think are best? Do the different methods explain conflicting results? What needs to be done? Maybe even come up with a hypothesis.

Hypotheses • Good Hypotheses – Make Explicit Predictions – Are Testable and Falsifiable – Provide clear “operational definitions” of variables.

Match Hypothesis to a Research Strategies • Once a hypothesis is in place – which research strategy should you employ? – This will depend on factors like: • The topic and participants you choose • The variables you use • How much control you can have over the situation and variables – There 4 Research Strategies available to you. • • Experimental Quasi-experimental Correlational Descriptive

Experimental Strategy • If you want to draw a cause-effect conclusion then you must run an experimental design or strategy. • Key features include: – Manipulation of a independent variable – Control Condition – Random assignment of participants to groups

Quasi-Experimental • Very similar to experimental except a required element to make a cause-effect conclusion is absent. – e. g. , no random assignment to groups, or no manipulation of the independent variable. • Cannot draw cause-effect conclusions with quasi-experimental designs.

Correlational • Usually participants are measured on two variables and the relationship between the two variables is measured. – Usually no assignment to groups – No manipulation of the independent variable (sometimes called predictor variable). • Hypotheses state a relationship will exist between the variables. • Cannot draw cause-effect conclusions. Can state relationship exists between variables but little more.

Descriptive Strategy • Often used to detail or categorize events. • A hypothesis may be absent. – Descriptive strategies often help to generate hypothesis for correlational, quasiexperimental, or experimental studies. • Cannot draw cause-effect conclusions. Conclusions are descriptive (for lack of a better word) in nature.

Who Will I Study: Participants • Population: entire set of people or animals (the participants) of interest. • Sample: a representative subset of the population that is being studied. – What does representative mean? – How might you go about this? • We’ll have much more to say about this in future chapters.

Materials and Procedures • The materials and procedures you use will depend on a number of factors: – What you want to accomplish? • Cause-and-effect relationship or a relationship? – What materials and procedures been done before and how effective was it. • Do you have access to similar materials? • How expensive is it? • Can I control the variables better?

Applied Vs. Basic Research • Applied Research: – Trying to solve a practical problem. • E. g. , Does a certain nutrient increase immune function? • Basic Research – Tries to answer fundamental or theoretical questions. No focus on practical application. • E. g. , What is the impact of stress on memory?

Laboratory Vs. Field Research • Laboratory Research – A research setting with a high degree of control over: • Who and what is present • How data are collected • What the participants experience • Field Research – Research that occurs in real life situations thus there is less control. • Speculate on the pros and cons of each. – Mundane realism vs. experimental realism.

Generalizability • Will you results stand up if: – You use a different group of participants? – Change the circumstances slightly? – You run the study at a different time (e. g. , winter vs. summer)? • If they do, then your results have “External Validity” or are considered generalizable. • How far should you generalize? – Most psychologists begin with the “continuity assumption” – results are likely to be similar across different individuals, situations, and time periods unless there are substantive reasons to believe otherwise.