PSYC300 FINAL STUDY GUIDEChapter 1: Introduction to Research- Applied research- investigates issues that have implications for everyday life and provide solutions to everyday problemso Gives ideas for the kinds of topics that basic research can study - Basic research- answers fundamental questions about behavior; there is no particular reason to study these topics except to acquire better knowledge of how processes occur o Provides underlying principles that can be used to solve specific problems- Behavioral research- to discover how people perceive their world, how they think and feel, how they change over time, how they learn and make decisions, and howthey interact with others o Want to understand behavior as well as create solutions for everyday problems- Converging operations- using more than one technique to study the same thing with the hope that all of the approaches will produce similar findings- Correlational research- involves the measurement of two or more relevant variables and an assessment of the relationship between or among those variables o Advantage: can be used to assess behavior as it occurs in people’s daily lives o Disadvantage: cannot be used to identify casual relationships among variables and some outside variable can account for observed relationship- Data- information collected through formal observation or measurement - Descriptive research- type of research designed to answer questions about the current state of affairso Provides a “snapshot” of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors at a given place and time o Types: surveys/interviews, naturalistic observation (based on the observation of everyday events)o Is research qualitative or quantitative? o Advantage: attempts to capture the complexity of everyday behavioro Disadvantage: limited to providing a statist pictures - Empirical- statements made are based on systematic collection and the analysis ofdata- Experimental research- involves the active creation or manipulation of a given situation or experience for two or more groups of individuals followed by a measure of the effect of those experiences on thoughts, feelings, or behaviorso Create equivalence before an experiment to ensure that differences found can be confidently attributed to the effects of the experimental manipulation o Allows drawing of conclusions about the casual relationships among variableso Cannot be used to study the most important social questions because the conditions of interest cannot be manipulated by the experimenter- Facts- objective statements determined to be accurate through empirical study- Hindsight bias- the tendency to think that one could have predicted something thatthey probably could not have predicted - Objective- free from personal bias or emotions of the scientist -Pearson r - ranges from -1.00-1.00; positive values indicate positive correlations (people who are farther about average on variable will also be farther above average on another) and negative values indicate negative correlations (above average on one variable but are below average on another); values that are further from zero either positive or negative indicate strong relationships- Program evaluation research- conducted to study the effectiveness of methods designed to make positive social change - Quantitative research- descriptive research that is focused on observing and describing events as they occur (more subjective) - Qualitative research- descriptive research that uses more formal measures of behavior (including questionnaires and systematic observation of behavior) whichare designed to be subjected to statistical analysis- Research design- the specific method a researcher uses to collect, analyze, and interpret datao Three types: descriptive, correlational, and experimental - Research report- a document that presents scientific findings using a standardized written format o Behavioral scientists frequently use the format prepared by the American Psychology Association (APA) o Made up of Introduction and Discussion (subjective- refer to what topics are important to study and how to interpret data), Results, and Discussion (objective- describing actual procedures and the statistical analyses) - Scientific method- method used for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data within a common framework - Values- personal statements - Variable- any attribute that can assume different values among different people oracross different times or places Chapter 2: Developing the Research Hypothesis- Abstract- summaries - Deductive method- the process of using a theory to generate specific ideas that can be tested through research - Dependent variable- the variable that is caused by the independent variableo Known as outcome variable in correlational studies - Falsifiable- the variables of interest can be adequately measured and the relationships between the variables that are predicted by the theory can be show through to research to be incorrect - General- summarizes many different outcomes - Independent variable- the experimental manipulation o Known as predictor variable in correlational studies- Inductive method- getting ideas about the relationships among variables by observing specific facts o Own curiosity because the source of ideas - Law- principles that are so general as to apply to all situations - Parsimonious- provides the simplest possible account for outcomes - Research hypothesis- a specific and falsifiable prediction regarding the relationship between or among two or more variables o States the existence of a relationship between the variables of interest and the specific direction of that relationship- Tautological- theories in which the variables cannot be measured or in which the variables are vague enough that they cannot provide information to falsify the theory - Theory- an integrated set of principles that explains and predicts, many, but not all, observed relationships within a given domain of inquiry o Good theories must be general, parsimonious, provide ideas for future research, and falsifiable Chapter 3: Ethics in Research- Debriefing- occurs immediately after the research has ended and is designed to explain the purposes and procedures of the research and remove any harmful aftereffects of participation- Deception- occurs whenever research participants are not completely and fully informed about the nature of the research project before participating in it - Informed consent:o A statement that the study