PSYC 300 Study Guide Exam 1 Chapter 1 Introduction to Research A Behavioral Research used to study important human problems and provide solutions to them goal is to discover how people perceive their world and how they think and feel how they change over time how they learn and make decisions and how they interact with others B Everyday science people are everyday scientists who conduct research projects to answer questions about behavior The results of these everyday projects teach many principles of human behavior C Relying on Intuition people believe behavioral research is based on common sense therefore a formal study isn t necessary However if we gathered information solely based off of observations then our data can be biased or have incorrect conclusions in addition people aren t thorough with their observations they accept explanations without testing them thoroughly making people think they know things that they don t really know Since it is infallible we have to use empirical data to support it D Hindsight Bias when using intuition to predict outcomes we often fall into the trap of hindsight bias the tendency to think that we could have predicted something that we probably could have not predicted E Basic research Conducted to evaluate theories or empirical positions the goal is acquire information about the phenomenon little emphasis on application to real world problems F Applied Research evaluates real world problem hypotheses may come from theory but goal is to apply results to real world problem substantial overlap between basic and applied research each type of research has implications for the other program evaluation research is a type of applied research G The Scientific Method the set of assumptions rules and procedures that scientists use to conduct research attempts to differentiate facts objective statements that can be tested empirically from values personal statements or beliefs must be objective prescribes how scientist collects and analyzes data draw conclusions from data and how data is shared with others results in a accumulation of scientific knowledge i Four steps observe a phenomenon identify variables that appear important to explaining behavior then formulate tentative hypothesis then further observe and experiment then refine and retest hypothesis ii a Introduction what phenomena is the author going to explore What research has previously been done What would psychological theories suggest about the topic State hypothesis and explain reasoning for it is usually subjective along with discussion because they involved such questions as what topics are of importance to study and how the data should be interpreted b Method participants detailed description of procedure materials used and how they were chosen should be able to be repeated c Results statistics descriptive statistical tests performed significance of statistical tests is it unlikely that results are due to chance Usually objective because it describes that actual statistics and procedures H Empirical based on data more than one person can observe repeatable reliable I Objective standardized procedures free from bias more than one person J Cumulative converging operations not one single study can prove something science disproves instead of proves d Discussion restate results results fit with hypothesis Limitations of study and future directions K Benefits of Conducting Research many careers involve research and therefore understanding the basics of research can benefit a student later on Also in order to fully understand how and why material in behavioral sciences it is important to understand the research we read about and what the data collected means L Induction social issue applied research everyday observation getting ideas about the relationships among variables by observing specific facts M Deduction theory making a test of it prior research modifying or adding to it process of using theory to generate specific ideas that can be tested through research N Research Design the specific method a researcher uses to collect analyze and interpret data 3 types descriptive experimental and correlational O Descriptive research question about current state of affairs provides a snapshot of thoughts feelings or behaviors at a given place or time surveys and interviews Census naturalistic observation based on the observation of everyday events a Strengths attempts to capture complexity of everyday behavior provides a relatively complete understanding of what is currently happening b Limitations is limited to providing static pictures does not show why these behaviors may be happening P Qualitative research descriptive research that is focused on observing and describing events as they occur with the goal of capturing all of the richness of everyday behavior and with the hope of discovering phenomena that might have been missed if only more examination had been used earlier field notes and audio or videotape advantage is that is vividly describes ongoing behavior in original form but it cannot be statistically analyzed since it is more subjective Q Quantitative research descriptive research that uses more formal measures of behavior including questionnaires and systematic observation of behavior which are designed to be subjected to statistical analysis R Correlational involves the measurement of two more relevant variables and an assessment of the relationship between or among those variables any attribute that can assume different values among different people or across different times or places detection of correlation through Pearson product moment correlation coefficient r can use it to predict future events uses hypothesis a Strengths used to assess behavior as it occurs in people s everyday lives b Limitation cannot be used to identify a causal relationship among variables S Experimental involves the active creation or manipulation of a given situation or experience for two or more groups of individuals followed by a measurement of the effect of those experiences on thoughts feelings or behaviors It is designed to create equivalence between the individuals in the different groups before the experiment begins so that any differences found between the groups can be confidently attributed to the effects of the experimental manipulation Uses hypothesis involves one or more manipulated independent variables and one or more dependent variable is measured a Strengths the ability to draw