Jared Edelstein Unit One Study Guide This guide is intended to help guide you to the information that is likely to appear on the exam While all information on the exam will be covered here not all information covered here will make it to the exam If you can comprehensively answer these questions you will find yourself well prepared for the exam Chapter One Psychology is a Way of Thinking In addition to the vocabulary presented in Chapter One bold terms students should be able to comprehensively answer the following 1 Why is it important to be a good consumer of research Give four reasons Pgs 5 8 1 Academic Understanding 2 Test Everyday Claims 3 Career Goals 4 Asking Questions Give four reasons Pgs 4 5 1 Benefit to future coursework 2 Future Research 3 Career Goals 4 Answering Questions 2 Why could it be important to be a good producer of research 3 Give the detailed process of the Theory Data cycle Pgs 8 11 Most important cycle in science scientists collect data to test change or update their theories Process by which empirical research is conducted Theory leads researchers to propose particular research questions which lead to an appropriate research design In the context of the design researchers formulate hypotheses Researchers then collect and analyze data which feed back into the cycle 4 What should a researcher do if the data does not support his or her theory What if it does Pg 11 Data that match the theory s predictions strengthen our confidence in the theory When the data do not match the theory s predictions those results indicate that the theory needs to be revised Supporting data strengthens the theory while non supporting data leads to revised theories or improved research designs Jared Edelstein 5 What is basic research What is applied research How are they related to one another Give some examples of basic research questions and applied research questions Pgs 13 15 Applied research is done with a practical problem in mind the researchers hope that their findings will be directly applied to solution of that problem in a particular real world context Ex how can we treat certain mental disorders Basic research is not intended to address a specific practical problem The goal of basic research is simply to enhance the general body of knowledge Ex what is the capacity of human memory Applied and basic research questions not only overlap but often influence each other as well basic research inspires applied research and vice versa When researchers conduct studies in which they are intentionally using lessons from basic research to develop and test applications to health care psychotherapy or other interventions they are doing translational research which represents a dynamic bridge from basic to applied research Applied research can also inform and inspire basic research Binet s IQ test sets up a precedent for testing levels of intellectualism The Basic Applied Research Cycle brings the laboratory to the real world 6 What is the peer review process and how is it used to ensure scientific validity in published research articles Pg 15 The Peer Review Cycle is a series of checks and balances for researchers who want to publish their data When an editor of a scientific journal receives a manuscript the editor sends it to three or four experts on the subject The experts tell the editor about the manuscript s virtues and flaws and the editor decides whether the paper deserves to be published in the journal Reviewers are kept anonymous to eliminate any bias and comment on how interesting the work is how novel it is how well the research was done and how clear the results are Peer reviewers are the gatekeepers for quality science They ensure the articles that are published contain novel well d0ne studies and also ensure that research with major flaws don t get published Even if the work is acceptable reviewers will point out minor flaws so that the author can correct them before publication 7 Are there shortcomings of the peer review approach If so what are they Lecture 8 What is the Journal to Journalism Cycle Pgs 16 19 The Journal to Journalism Cycle is how researchers communicate their findings to the public Jared Edelstein Part of the cycle occurs when scientists find inspiration or ideas for a new topic of study in current events that they read about in the media Another part of the cycle focuses on the journalist who might become interested in a scientific study by reading an issue of a scientific journal or hearing scientists talk about their work at a conference The journalist turns the research into a news story by summarizing it for a popular audience giving it an interesting headline and writing about it using non technical terms 9 Give two benefits of research appearing in popular media outlets Give two potential problems Pgs 16 19 Benefits By reading about psychological research in the newspaper the general public can learn what psychologists really do Those who read or hear the story might also pick up important tips for living understand their children or themselves better may set different goals Problems a journalist might choose the sensational story over the important one journalists might dumb down the research to the point where the data becomes inaccurate or distorted 10 What are three components of a good theory What are the details of these components Give two examples of a good theory and two examples of a bad theory Pgs 12 13 3 Components of a Good Theory 1 Supported by data a theory that is supported by a large quantity and variety of evidence is a good theory 2 Falsifiable a theory needs to lead to predictions that when tested could prove to be wrong and thus challenge the theory itself remember that data is only useful when it can convince us that the theory is either correct or incorrect 3 Parsimonious all other things being equal the simplest solution is the best parsimony sets a standard for the Theory Data Cycle as long as a simple theory predicts the data well there is no need to make it more complex 2 Examples of a good theory 2 Examples of a bad theory KEY TERMS Theory a statement or set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another Hypothesis a prediction a way of stating the specific outcome that the researcher expects to observe if the theory is accurate Data a set of observations data may support or challenge a theory data that match the theory s predictions strengthen our confidence in the
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