Study Guide for Exam #3What are the four main goals of scientific research?1. Description – events and their relationships are defined, classified, organized, etc.2. Prediction – based on observed correlations among 2+ variables we are able to predict behavior and mental processes3. Explanation – we can understand and explain a phenomenon when we can identify its causes (make a causal inference)4. Application – applied research often designed to solve a problemWhich of these goals are case studies and single subject experiments good at addressing?ApplicationWhat are the main differences between idiographic and nomothetic research?Nomothetic – attempting to establish general laws & generalizations; focus is to obtain objective knowledge through scientific methodsIdiographic – focuses on the individual; no general laws are possible due to the suggestion that everyone is unique and therefore everyone should be studied in an individual wayWhat are the main characteristics of case studies? What is one limitation of this approach?Intensive description and analysis of a single individual; clinical observations, self-report, archival data (e.g., medical records) (can include assessment alone; can report results of a treatment); major problem: lack of scientific control (simultaneous treatments, extraneous variables, placebo effects)What are some of the advantages of the case study method? What are the disadvantages? Advantages – Rich source of ideas for hypotheses; method for studying rare events/individuals; opportunity for clinical innovations and interventions; possible challenge to theoretical assumptions; tentative support for psychological theory; pilot study leading to nomothetic research (with groups)Disadvantages – difficult to draw cause-and-effect conclusions (i.e., limited internal validity); possible biaseswhen interpreting outcomes (observer bias; biases in data collection (e.g., poor memory)); problem of generalizing findings from a single individual (e.g., limited external validity)How does a single-subject experiment improve on the case-study method?Greater scientific controlHow are pre-experimental and ABAB designs different, and why is one called a reversal design?Pre-experimental – follow basic experimental steps but fail to include a control group; a single group is often studied but no comparison between an equivalent non-treatment group is madeABAB – give treatment, take treatment away, give treatment, take treatment away; to see if treatment has anyeffect on subject compared to no treatmentABAB called reversal because give treatment, then take treatment away regardless of if treatment working ornotWhat are some of the plausible alternatives when the reversal does not occur as expected?Powerful treatment? Placebo effect?What are some of the methodological issues with the reversal design? If behavior does not reverse to baseline levels when treatment is withdrawn, researcher cannot conclude treatment caused the initial behavior changeHow does the multiple baselines design solve the ethical dilemma of the ABAB design?Treatment not removed (B part of ABAB)What are the three possible conditions for establishing multiple baselines?Situations, behaviors, individualsBe prepared to describe a multiple baselines design for a small group of children with ADHD.Treatment is to administer a positive reinforcer, such as a token that can be exchanged for candy or small toys, to reward desirable behavior in a multiple-baseline across behaviors designWhat outcomes are needed for you to be confident that your treatment was effective?Behavior changes when treatment is implemented; behavior does not change in remaining baselines; behavior changes only when treatment is implemented; behavior changes directly after the introduction of treatmentWhat are some problems associated with single subject experimental designs?Baseline records – unstable: extreme variability in behavior (difficult to detect clear discontinuity in behaviorfollowing treatment; try to control variability or wait for baseline behavior to stabilize); increasing or decreasingtrends (effects of treatment will be hard to interpret; trends: interpretation depends on desired direction of treatment effects)External validity – will treatment effects observed for one individual generalize to others? Reasons why external validity may not be limited (treatments are often powerful; multiple-baseline designs demonstrate generality of treatment effects; group treatments can be used to demonstrate effectiveness of treatment across individuals)Which of the four main goals of scientific research are surveys particularly good at addressing?Prediction ?Be prepared to identify and describe the three types of overarching research designs we discussed.1) Cross-sectional design (select samples from one or more populations at one time; collect wide range of data quickly, look at differences in samples)2) Longitudinal design (same sample of individuals tested at different points in time; able to track changes within individuals, slow and challenging)3) Successive independent samples design (a series of cross-sectional samples over time; able to track differences in population, changes across time)What are the advantages and disadvantages of the three types of research designs we discussed?See aboveWhat are the four main uses of surveys?Describe people’s thoughts, opinions, feelings (within and between groups of subjects (demographics)); measure naturally occurring variables (no attempt to manipulate variables); make predictions based on correlations (multiple variables measured simultaneously)What are the three primary characteristics of surveys?Questionnaires (predetermined set of questions); sample representations a population; include demographic questions to identify subgroups; examine survey procedures and analyses for biasesWhy is survey sampling so important and what is the primary goal of sampling?Use sample to represent the larger population (representative or similar to, on specific characteristics); requires careful selection of a sample to match characteristics of interest (cannot do all characteristics); goal: generalize survey findings from representative sample to the population of interest; the external validity of your research rests largely on your ability to draw an unbiased, representative sampleBe prepared to identify and describe the four levels of sampling in survey research.Simple –