Exam 2 GuideResearch Methods Walter Boot 1) Know the primary sources of research ideas: systematic vs. unsystematic observation, theory, and applied problems. - Unsystematic Observation: Observing everydaybehavior, animal behavior, and it's a good way to discover a general research idea - Systematic Observation: focused observation ofreal-world behavior, published research reports, your own previous or ongoing research, peruse Internet research. It can also be used to guide research ideas - Theory: 1.Test prediction of behavior under new combinations of variables, new conditions. 2. Test competing predictions about behavior and based on one ore more theories. o Your hypothesis can be a specific prediction that logically follows from a scientific theoryo Theory -> Hypothesis o a hypothesis is usually DEDUCED from a theory- Applied problems (issues): The need to solve practical problems o Example: Which cell phone results in the most error-free performance by older adults 2) What is an operational definition?- A way to measure - It helps with ANSWERABLE questions - If we can’t measure the thing we are interested in they it is not a good research question - They allow us to form testable hypotheses - They are necessary to go from theory -> hypothesis3) What is the difference between a refereed (peer-reviewed) and non-refereed journal?- Referred (Peer-reviewed)o Reviewers: Two or more people with expertise judge the article and comment on ito Editor: reads the paper, the review, and comes up with the decision to accept, reject, or send for revising - Non-refereed- there is an uncertainity about the quality of the work o Inaccurateo Misleading o Biased 4) In a journal article, what information is found in the abstract, introduction, methods, discussion, and reference sections? - Abstract: contains a short summary of the entire article, including a little background, a little about the approach the authors adopted, a little about the results, and discussion. It’s like a mini version of the larger article.- Introduction: Introduces the problem. Gives background on the topic and sets up the author’s hypothesis. Reviews previous literature.- Methods: gives a reader all the information they would need to know if they wanted to conduct the same experiment themselves. o Who were the participantso What equipment was usedo What test were used - Discussion: what the results mean, their implications for theory, and how they fit into the larger literature the research was based on. Strengths and limitations of the current study and future directions are found here- References: A complete list of all sources cited5) What is the difference between a primary and secondary source? - Primary source: includes a full report of a researchstudy, including methodological details (these are preferred) - Secondary source: summarizes information from a primary source. These should be used sparingly! 6) What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting research ideas from books, journal articles, and professional conferences? Where do you get the most up-to-date info? - Books: o Advantages: Books may be general textbooks or more specialized professional publications Anthologies assemble papers that an editor feels are important in a field Books are most useful in early stages of literature searcho Disadvantages: Books that provide summaries are secondary sources Books should be used with caution because they may not undergo rigorous review, and information may not be up to date- Journal Articles:o Advantages provide current research and theoreticalthinking papers summited to a refereed journal undergo peer review o Disadvantages Papers that are summited to a non referred journal do NOT under go peer review - Professional conferences:o Advantages: Provide the MOST UP-TO-DATE INFO Research may be presented in a paper session (oral session) or poster session advantages Information is a the frontiers of science You can meet others in your field and exchange ideso Disadvantages: Conventions are expensive to attend 7) In conducting research, we must think about where to conduct research, in the lab or in the field. Please knowthe advantages of each of these options and the disadvantages as well. - Lab: o Advantage: we try to control EVERYTHING, and we examine the impact of just one variable (the independent variableo Disadvantage: findings may not generalize outside of the laboratory. Very artificial - Fieldo Advantage: applies to the real world o Disadvantage: no way to control what is being manipulated 8) Know about simulations and different types of realism?- Mundane realism: how well does a simulation mimic the real world event from being simulated. We want this to look and feel like the real-world task- Experimental realism: how engaging is the simulation for participants. We want participants to treat it as real world task as well 9) You should be able to identify experimental and non-experimental designs, and the limitations of each.- Experimental: manipulate one or more variables,what effect does this manipulations have on behavior o the researcher MANIPULATES ONE VARIABLE, while holding everything else constant, to see if the manipulated variable has an impact on behavior. o- Non-experimental: Correlational, observe variables, is there a relationship?o WE ARE JUST MEASURING, not MANIPULATING variableso Answers the question is X related to Y? 10) You should be able to specify and identify why causal conclusions cannot be drawn from correlational research. What are the two specific issues that limit causal conclusions from correlational data? - Just because a relationship exist, this does not mean one thing caused the other- Issues: o No variables are manipulated o Correlationtional relationships can be used for predictive purposes 11) You should be able to define and identify: independent variables, dependent variables, predictor variables, and criterion variables.- Independent variable: What the experimenter changes or manipulates - Dependent variable: The behavior the experimenter measures - Predictor Variables: The information that we have- Criterion Variables: The behavior we would like to predict12) What types of dependent measures are available (self-report, behavioral, physiological, and implicit)? Know about each of these.- Self-report:o Participants report on their own behavior or state of mindo Self-report measures are
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