New Material Research Methods Final Exam Overview of Final Exam: The Final Exam will be 60-70 Multiple Choice Questions. It should take roughly 1 hour to complete, but you have the full 2 hours. It will we be roughly equally divided between Exam 1, Exam 2 and new material. Roughly 65% about research design concepts and scenarios (and ethics), 35% about statistics & interpreting SPSS output. The only calculations required will be for z-scores. I will again provide you with a table and the two formulas. Please bring a calculator. 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. If a topic or term is not on the outline below, it will NOT be on the exam. 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 Psychology OVERVIEW: 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 Method Items 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 Applications Items 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 Research Items 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 Ethics Items 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 1 The Science Game & The Cycle of Scientific Progress: Ch. 1, Ch. 2 & Ch. 3 (8/29 & 9/3 lecture) The Science Game & The Cycle of Scientific Progress 3 non-scientific modes of understanding & their limits Experience-What seems to have been true for me in the past? Intuition & Tradition-What feels like the true answer? Authority-What does my culture believe to be true? What do trusted and knowledgeable people claim to be true? Empirical evidence-an observation or measurement that contributes to either verifying or falsifying a claim about what’s true; Independent of the observer (i.e. objective). The evidence will be the same no matter who observes it; Empirical testing-Any situation or procedure that creates empirical evidence which allows a claim on truth to be verified or falsified Empirical tests must be replicable and verifiable.Golden Rule- Scientific claims (i.e. answers) must be subject to empirical tests that produce empirical evidence Golden Assumption- If an object of study exists in nature, it is Knowable. In other words, its possible to fully DESCRIBE and EXPLAIN even highly complex things, like brains, beliefs, time, and romantic relationships The Object of Study is Lawful-If we could perfectly control all of the input variables, we could perfectly PREDICT and CONTROL the outcome Golden Caveat-The findings of our science are conditional and probabilistic. In other words, we discover the conditions under which phenomena tend to occur for the majority of people. There will always be exceptions to our findings, because there are always “conditions” or “variables” we can’t control for. The Cycle of Scientific Progress The role of If/Then reasoning in: If/Then reasoning enables us to test and refine theories If/Then reasoning also enables us to take basic findings and apply them to more realistic scenarios Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) We are conditioned by social norms to behave in certain ways Parental Investment Theory (Trivers, 1971) The sex that bares the greater cost/risk of pregnancy and child-rearing will be biologically motivated to be choosier and more cautious Theory-Data cycles- If/Then reasoning enables us to test and refine theories Basic-Applied Cycle-If/Then reasoning also enables us to take basic findings and apply them to more realistic scenarios Theory Testing & Multiple levels of analysis-We need multiple Levels of Analysis to explain human behavior from the biological up to the socio-cultural. Its not “Nature vs. Nurture” – its both External Validity (generalizability)- W.E.I.R.D samples-W.E.I.R.D - Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich & Democratic. Individual’s from W.E.I.R.D cultures represent ahistorical anomaly and act like outliers in cross-cultural research more often than we might expect! Operationalizing Measures: Ch. 5 (9/5 lecture) Psychological construct- Definition of a Psychological Construct: Any explanatory variable that is not directly observable or tangible Ex. Intelligence, happiness, addiction Operationalized definitions- Turning abstract constructs into specific, measurable instances that are both reliable and valid. Multiple ways to Operationalize psychological constructs: It needs to be Valid: the operationalized measure is actually capturing
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