1. Scientific Method2. Statistical Applications3. Measurement Principles5. Research EthicsOverview of Final Exam:A. The Final Exam will be 60-70 Multiple Choice Questions. B. It should take roughly 1 hour to complete, but you have the full 2 hours. C. It will we be roughly equally divided between Exam 1, Exam 2 and new material.D. Roughly 65% about research design concepts and scenarios, 35% about statistics & interpreting SPSS output. The only calculations required will be for z-scores.E. Questions will be based primarily on information in the lecture slides & in-class lecture. For studying purposes, the readings are probably best used as a reference when something from your notes or the slides is unclear.F. If a topic or term is not on the outline below, it will NOT be on the exam.G. Items with an asterisk may be helpful to review for the State Mandated Quiz as well.Content of State Mandated Quiz for Research Methods in PsychologyOVERVIEW: The State Mandated Quiz is given to all students at Florida public universities who take Psychology Research Methods. Professors are NOT allowed to specifically review for this assessment, because it is meant to be a straightforward reflection of students understanding of the key ideas from the course. All we are allowed to tell our students is that the Quiz will be 39 questions that are derived from the 5 content areas below. In our classes we have covered everything you will need to know, and we have covered it in more detail and specificity than the quiz will. I also curve this assessment since I don’t have any control over the questions that are asked. Just do your best.1. Scientific MethodItems will assess knowledge of the scientific method as it is applied in psychological research. This includes knowing how to formulate testable research hypotheses, how to evaluate plausible alternative hypotheses for one's findings, the importance of replication, identifying the differences between science and pseudo-science, and the differences between experimental and correlational studies.2. Statistical ApplicationsItems will assess knowledge of how statistical tests are commonly used in psychological research. This includes choosing the appropriate statistical test for a particular research design, and interpreting the results of statistical tests, such as a correlation, t-test, and ANOVA.3. Measurement PrinciplesItems will assess knowledge of measurement principles, including the different types of scales (ratio, interval, etc.) that can be used in research, and the concepts of reliability and validity.4. Consumers of ResearchItems will assess knowledge of what is involved in being a good consumer of research. This includes knowing how to locate within the scientific literature existing research on a psychological topic and knowing what is included in the important elements (Introduction, Methods, etc.) of scientific articles.5. Research EthicsItems will assess knowledge of what constitutes ethical treatment of human and animal research subjects, as well as procedures for insuring that researchers comply with these principles.Topic Outline for Exam 1The Science Game & The Cycle of Scientific Progress: Ch. 1, Ch. 2 & Ch. 3 (1/10 & 1/15 lectures)• The Cycle of Scientific Progress*: 3 non-scientific modes of understanding are experience, intuition, and tradition/authorityo Theory-Data cycles: If/then reasoning enables us to test and refine theorieso Basic-Applied Cycle: If/then reasoning also enables us to take basic findings and apply them to more realistic scenarioso Modifying theories to accommodate new resultso Empirical testing: Any situation or procedure that creates empirical evidence which allows a claim on truth to be verified or falsified o Empirical evidence: An observation or measurement that contributes to either verifying or falsifying a claim about what’s true; is independent of the observero “Golden Assumption”: If an object of study exists in nature it is knowable; the object of study is lawful (if we could perfectly control all input variables we could perfectly predict and control the outcome)o The importance of replication: Must be able to replicate to verify results• 3 types of claimso Frequency: Claims about what things tend be like and how frequently certain values or scores on a variable occur o Association: Claims about a possible relationship between two measured variableso Causal: Claims stating that changes in one variable induce changes in another variableOperationalizing Measures: Ch. 5 (1/22 lecture)• Psychological construct vs. operationalized definitions: Any explanatory variable that is not directly observable or tangible (EX: intelligence) is a psychological construct; to make claims about constructs we must operationalize them (turn abstract constructs into specific, measurable instances that are reliable and valid)• Multiple ways to Operationalize psychological constructs:o Self-Report: Record people’ answers to questions about themselves Pros: Easy and low cost, large anonymous samples, may be most appropriate Cons: Open to fabrication and social desirability biases, memory distortions, laziness, may not be useful for non-conscious constructso Observational: Record observable behaviors or traces of behavior Pros: More shielded for respondent bias, can be recorded with less interference, sometimes most appropriate operationalization of a construct Cons: Can be more complicated to collect, subject to experimenters bias, discrepancies arise over behaviors, ethicso Physiological: Recording biological data believed to be associate with construct Pros: Hard to consciously control or fake, precise, perceived as credible Cons: Can be expensive and time consuming, may require technical expertise/machinery/procedures, sensitive to uncontrollable sources of error, ethics• Scales of Measurement*o Nominal: variables in which the values are categories or labels (Ex: colors)o Ordinal: variables in which the values indicate some kind of ranking, numeric but can’t do mathematical equations (EX: where one finishes in a race)o Interval: variables in which equal differences in value represent equal differences in magnitude, can do mathematical equations (EX: temperature)o Ratio: same as interval, but zero means “none” (EX: number of seconds)• Validity *o Face: Operationalized measure seems to plausibly and reasonably capture the construct of interest (subjective)o Content:
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