Research AnalysisChapter 1: Overview of Behavioral Research**Facts and Beliefs**Purpose:EvaluateConductAppreciateUnderstand how to do researchEthical considerationsDevelopment of research questionsIdentification of critical variablesObservations & measurements of variablesAny characteristic that takes 2 or more variables that are different, (gender)Sampling participants for researchWhere do we test our variablesHow do we test themPotential pitfalls and how to deal with themExperimental designs and statistical analysisStatistics match the research designNon-experimental designsDissemination of research findingsHow you get it out to the publicBe a critical consumer of informationUbiquitous nature of research-related information in the mediaBooksJournalsNewspapersMagazinesRadioTelevisionInternetThe Nature of ScienceWhat makes a particular discipline a science?Answer is important to conduct quality researchAnswer is important to be a critical consumer of informationDoing ResearchTypes of questionsEmpirical (what you mostly want – info you know through your senses) (taste, feel, hear, smell, touch) – imperially driveAnswered by making observationsSuggest cause and effects – something we can testDoes sleep deprivation cause memory loss? (guy didn’t sleep for 72 hours – died, Don’t know why you need sleep but you do)Does wall color impact worker productivity?Suggest simple relationshipsDoes study time relate to GPA?Ways of answering questionsExperimental methodsCause/effect conclusionsEg. Sleep deprivation and memory lossCarefully controlled, designed to control all of the variables in the study so you can say one thing caused another – Strict control over everything else that could cause memory lossNon-experimental methodsRelationship conclusionsEg. Personality and cardiovascular diseaseCan’t control personality – you can control sleep deprivationWays of reporting answersData analysis – have to analyze the dateImportant of statistics to describe & interpret dataSharing findings with their scientific communityOral presentation at a conferencePoster presentation at a conferencePublication in a journal or bookNormally send back and make you add more, another analysis, another observations, peers look at it and say yeah it makes sinceSteps in the Research Process1. Consider what area of psychology fascinates youYou can’t do research on something that doesn’t interest, or you will hate it, and possibly not make it through2. Read the literature in this arealast thing you want to do is to come up with a good idea, then realize a million other people have done the exact same research3. Develop a specific and testable research questionHave to be very specific4. Decide who will be the participants5. Decide on the most appropriate method to answer the questionWhat kind of data?? Interview, survey?6. Consider ways to reduce the influence of extraneous variables7. Consider the ethical issues involved.8. Obtain ethics approval from a review boardSigning form9. Finalize the specific procedures that will be used10. Obtain informed consent from participants11. Collect data by making observationsanything you can measure12. Use descriptive statistics to describe the data13. Use inferential statistics to arrive at a conclusion14. Consider the implications of your findings15. Share your findings with othersChapter 2: Ethical Principles of ResearchHistorical Samples of Research with Ethical ConcernsTuskegee syphilis study1932 – Wanted to look at the long term affects of untreated syphilis “silent killer” – Gave 399 Black men syphilis and telling them it was something different, then they passed it on in their families and died – there was no recognizable cure for it at the time – 1972 is when we found out it was still going on and took 4 months to terminate the experiment after being in the NY TimesMilgram obedience studyTold to kept turning the shock up to the point of what would be death and kept doing itZimbardo prison studyDressed people up off the street as prisoners and some people acted like guards and hitting people and traumatized prisonersChapter 2: Ethical Principles of Research cont.Research with Human Participants Ethical GuidelinesEthical principles and code of conduct (guidelines)Informed consent – the right to knowOn the use of deceptionField research and ethicsRegulation of human resourcesInstitutional Review Boards (IRBs)General PrinciplesA. Benefit people (take care of them) and not harm themB. Represent themselves at professionals, standards of conduct, and relationships of trustC. Integrity (Fraud, don’t lie, be honest & truthful)D. Fairness & Justice (don’t discriminate against people, bias)E. Respect for people’s rights and dignity (Privacy and confidentiality)Standard 8: Research and Publication8.01: Institutional Approval (everything we do in this class)When institutional approval is required, psychologists provide accurate information about their research proposals and obtain approval prior to conducting the research.8.02: Informed Consent to Research8.03: Informed Consent for Recording Voices and Images in ResearchIf you were in market square it’s public and anyone can film and study you without your consent8.04 Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate Research Participants8.07 Deception in Research8.08 DebriefingChapter 3: Fundamentals of the Scientific ApproachApproaches to KnowingAuthorityAuthority figures (e.g., religious leaders, parents, teachers, judges) (someone in a position who would know more than you)Authoritarian works (e.g., Bible, encyclopedia)Personal experience (rely on personal observations)Rationalism (rely on reason -and logic)Empiricism (rely on systematic observations) (scientific measure lies on empiricism, hear, see, taste, it’s measureable)Defining ScienceGoals of ScienceUnderstanding (why something is happening)Control (what to understand so you can control it)Prediction (want to predict outcomes)Assumptions of scienceEvents in the universe are lawful (orderly)The lawfulness is discoverable(things follow a pattern, and we can discover what that pattern is)The scientific methodRequires empirical referentPhenomenon capable of being observed/measuredComparison (model of what were comparing too)Observations are repeatableHave to be able to repeat it and measure it over and over againSelf-correctingMore you measure something, the more you truly get what’s going on)Distinguishing observation from inferenceThe