PSYC 1315 1st Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I Hypothesis vs Theory II Types of research Outline of Current Lecture I Cautions of experimental research II Research sample III Research settings IV Analyzing and interpreting data V Research ethics VI Animal research VII Conducting ethical research Current Lecture I Cautions About Experimental Research a Validity refers to the soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment There are two types of validity internal and external i External validity refers to the degree to which an experimental design actually reflects the real world issues it is supposed to address It determines how generalizable your results are to the general public ii Internal validity refers to the degree to which changes in the DV are genuinely due to the manipulation of the IV We want to know whether the experimental methods are free from biases and logical errors that may render the results invalid b Experimenter bias occurs when the experimenter s expectations influence the outcome of the research Sometimes experiments can subtly communicate to participants what they want the participants to do called demand characteristics unconscious These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II III IV c Demand characteristics refers to any aspect of a study that communicates to participants how the experimenter wants them to behave Maze bright vs maze dull rat training study d Research participant bias occurs when the behavior of research participants during the experiment is influenced by how they think they are supposed to behave or by their expectations about what is happening to them e A participants expectations can lead to the placebo effect which occurs when participants expectations rather than the experimental treatment produce a particular outcome i A placebo is a harmless substance that has no physiological effect Not entirely true there are sham surgery conditions that cause temporary harm to the tissue f One way to ensure that neither the experiments nor the participants expectations affect the outcome is to design a double blind experiment in which neither the experimenter administering the treatment nor the participants are aware of which participant belongs to the treatment group and which participants belong to the control group i Rids of any expectations associated with the experiment Research Sample a Population entire group about whom conclusion drawn b Sample portion of population actually observed c Representative Sample characteristics similar to population i opposite of biased sample d Random Sample equal chance of being selected Research Setting a Artificial world laboratory setting i controlled setting b Real world natural setting i naturalistic observation Analyzing and Interpreting Data a Statistics mathematical methods used to report data i Descriptive Statistics 1 describe and summarize data ii Inferential Statistics 1 draw conclusions about data b Descriptive Statistics i Measures of Central Tendency 1 Mean average 2 Median middle 3 Mode occurs most often ii Measures of Dispersion 1 Range high to low V VI VII VIII 2 Standard Deviation SD how much the scores differ from the mean on average c Inferential Statistics i Does data confirm the hypothesis ii Statistical Significance iii 0 05 confidence level 5 chance of happening or less the lower number the better iv Bridge between sample and population Research Ethics a Research participants have rights b Institutional Review Board IRB c APA Guidelines i informed consent ii confidentiality iii debriefing iv deception Animal Research a Animal research has benefited humans b Used by 5 of researchers c Rats and mice used 90 of time d Standards of care in animal research i housing ii feeding iii psychological and physical well being Conducting Ethical Research a Informed consent what type of participation is expected and any potential risks b Confidentiality differs from anonymous data c Debriefing researcher should inform participant of the purpose of the experiment after the study has been completed d Deception only allowed if it does not harm the participants i EX The Stanford Prison Experiment before APA guidelines 1 Zimbardo Prison Experiment 1970s Think Critically About Research a Avoid i Avoid overgeneralizing results ii Distinguish between group results and individual needs iii Look for answers beyond a single study iv Avoid attributing causes where none have been found v Consider the source of the information