Overview of Final Exam A The Final Exam will be 60 70 Multiple Choice Questions B C D Roughly 65 about research design concepts and scenarios 35 about statistics 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 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 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 F G 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 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 1 Scientific Method 2 Statistical Applications 3 Measurement Principles 4 Consumers of Research 5 Research Ethics 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 Items 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 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 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 1 10 1 15 lectures The Cycle of Scientific Progress 3 non scientific modes of understanding are experience intuition and tradition authority o Theory Data cycles If then reasoning enables us to test and refine theories o Basic Applied Cycle If then reasoning also enables us to take basic findings and apply them to more realistic scenarios o Modifying theories to accommodate new results o 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 observer o 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 claims o 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 o Causal Claims stating that changes in one variable induce changes in another variables variable Operationalizing 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 constructs o 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 ethics o 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 Operationalized measure must capture all parts of a defined construct subjective o Predictive Concurrent also called criterion validity Same new operationalization should predict future outcomes empirical o Divergent aka Discriminant Measure should be unrelated to measures of other
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