Research Methods for Final Exam: Case Study and Data Analysis, Exams of Psychology

Download Research Methods for Final Exam: Case Study and Data Analysis and more Exams Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! b b PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM Case study In case-study investigations, the researcher: investigates a real-life problem within its real-life context c) investigates a real-life problem within its real-life context As part of a research project on factors promoting group leadership, a psychology graduate student joins a campus social club. This is an example of participant-observer research. ) participant-observer In comparison to those that use experimental techniques, observational researchers often use a process of testing hypotheses that is more flexible ) Flexible A researcher decides to go through police records to find out whether there is any evidence of racial profiling. What research technique is being used? Archival The principle characteristic of case studies is that they examine Individual instances of some phenomenon If a researcher runs an ad in a paper to recruit subjects, and places the first 10 people who call in one group and the next 10 people who call in another group, what sort of threat to internal validity has been introduced? c) Selection bias The text suggests that animals be considered as in research c) draftees The methods section of a research paper has a) the research design, procedures, and description of subjects and measures The research proposal d b d ) PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM these are true The assumption of discoverability refers to the notion that d) it is impossible to find solutions to complex problems The APA ethics code gives guidance to psychologists on d) All the above Questio n 7 0 / 6.25 points Broca's discovery of the speech area of the brain may have involved asking all the following questions except a) Did the loss of speech cause the stroke? The problem with using an academic-targeted search engine like Google Scholar as the sole source of your information search is that b) it is not clear which journals, books, or websites that Google Scholar uses to find its information Which one of the following is not a working assumption of science? a) infallibility An oral presentation at a scientific meeting a) has all the same parts as a research paper An author note appears on the title page The assumption that poverty causes level of performance in school suffers from ) Ambiguous temporal precedence APA guidelines for being listed as an author on a paper include ) only those who contributed to the work Field research has b d d PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM ) The psychologist can perform the experiment if it is conducted under the supervision of another psych experience with humans Which of the following is the best means of randomly assigning subjects to conditions? c) Give each student a number and compare them to a random number table. When documenting a research paper, the researcher should do all the following except ) document statements that are common knowledge The fraud case against Cyril Burt shows ) That he is unlikely to be innocent "Blinding" the researcher is a strategy for overcoming which threat to validity? c) experimenter bias The idea that scientific progress does not go ahead in a straightforward manner, but consists of normal science, followed by shifts to other ways of thinking, is Kuhn's concept of a _paradigm Question 1 If we were to measure a dependent variable's frequency, we would Correct! count the number of times it occurred Question 2 1 / 1 pts Which <u>one</u> of the following statements does <u>not</u> contain both an independent and dependent variable?<br> Which one of the following statements does not contain both an independent and dependent variable? Correct! Children's defensive and aggressive behaviors in a school setting Question 3 Consider the following research title: "Cooperation among nursery school children under two types of instruction." In this study the independent variable is Correct! types of instruction Question 4 A confounded variable is one that varies with the dependent variable PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM Correct! varies with the independent variable Question 5 Which one of the following independent variables represents a categorical variable? Correct! rote versus conceptual method of teaching Question 6 Which one of the following represents a discrete variable? Correct! number of children per family Question 7 Which one of the following represents a continuous variable? Correct! noon temperature measured in Fahrenheit Question 8 A researcher measures the temperature of his laboratory room to the nearest degree, over a ten day period. He finds that the average is 68° Fahrenheit. In this example, temperature is a continuous variable and 68° represents the apparent limits of the measure. Question 9 Which one of the following is an example of a nominal level of measurement? Correct! classification of psychiatric patients as either "neurotic" or "psychotic" Question 10 A researcher records the amount of light it takes to detect a small visual stimulus in a dark room. Luminance is the variable being measured and may be thought of here as physical energy. What level of measurement is most likely involved in making this observation? ratio Question 11 The extent to which the items on a test are representative of the domain they are supposed to represent relates to content validity Question 12 Face validity is lacking in the Rorschach test PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM more of a public relations question than a scientific one unrelated to a test's actual validity All of the these are true Question 13 When choosing the levels of the independent variable, it is important to space the stimuli close enough such that overlooking any interesting relationship between the stimuli is unlikely Question 14 Test-retest reliability concerns whether the same measure would yield the same results on another occasion Question 15 Random error refers to change in the measurement of a variable that can be attributed to chance confounding. The statement, "It seems to me that frustration causes aggression," illustrates which one of the following ways of knowing? intuition APA style now needs the use of participants instead of subjects when describing humans, except in describing statistics The thesis of an argument is a proposition that is supported by the argument The decision to conduct research often is a conflict between Commitment to research and the cost to subjects The need for an ethics code became clear after the war trials associated with WW2 When documenting a research report, it is important to document information about the theory, method, and data that the writer discusses Case Studies A case study can be used to learn very detailed information about an individual. For example, a case study might be used to investigate how a mental health problem affects a person's thoughts and feelings. In a case study, the researcher and subject meet for many hours over the course of days or weeks. During these sessions, the researcher records detailed observations about the subject. The researcher can ask very probing questions and let the subject answer at great length. The researcher can also follow up with questions about any issues that are raised by the subject's answers. The researcher is not limited to a set list of questions or to observations of a single type of behavior, as in most other research designs. No other research design can reveal such in-depth understanding of individuals as case studies. Results from case studies may also be useful for developing hypotheses that can be PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM can result in major birth defects. During the remaining weeks before birth, the organs grow larger and become more complex. Overall body size also increases. critical period hypothesis hypothesis that children must be exposed to language by 4 or 5 years of age or they will never learn to use language normally cross-sectional study involves subjects of different ages Cultural psychology focuses on the ways that culture influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Cultural psychologists think that how the mind works depends partly on culture. The primary goal of cultural psychology is to revise psychological theories so they apply to people of all cultures. Examples of specific research questions in cultural psychology include: 1. How do different parenting practices influence child development? 2. How do people with diverse cultures feel about aging? (North Americans consider aging more as a disease than a normal life process) Culture can be defined as all the learned knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors that people share with other members of their society. Data Analysis Data gathered in a study must be analyzed, or processed. The first goal of data analysis is to make the data easier to interpret. In some studies, the data are qualitative, or expressed in words instead of numbers. For example, data from a case study might consist of many pages of detailed notes. Methods of analyzing qualitative data include reducing long descriptions to brief summaries and grouping behaviors into categories. These methods help reveal important variables and patterns in the data. Data gathered in most studies are quantitative, or expressed in numbers. If there are many subjects in a study, there will be many values for each variable. Consider the political candidate survey described above. Assume that two samples of 1,000 people each were interviewed. Table 3 shows data gathered from just 10 people in each of the two samples. double-blind experiment neither the researcher nor the subjects are aware of which subjects are in the experimental and control groups. The researcher finds out only at the end of the study. Ethical guidelines need researchers to weigh the potential benefits of research against possible risks to study subjects Ethical Issues in Psychological Research Research in psychology involves human or nonhuman animals. Therefore, the research must follow ethical, or moral, guidelines. Psychologists created ethical guidelines for research in reaction to earlier, unethical studies. An example of an unethical psychological study is the Milgram experiment. Experimental psychology Using experimental methods to investigate psychological issues EX: 1. Learning how human behavior differs from another animal behavior 2. Investigating how people remember and learn Experimental Studies PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM An experimental study is a controlled study. The researcher controls the setting of the study and most variables that might affect the study's outcome. A variable is a factor that can vary among people taking part in a study. A person taking part in a study is called a subject. A factor that can vary among people taking part in an experimental study is known as a variable forensic psychology apply psychology to legal issues. They give expert advice on questions such as whether defendants can understand court proceedings ("competent to stand trial"). Forensic psychologists must have knowledge about law as well as psychology. . For example, French psychologist Alfred Banet created the first intelligence test to find students that needed extra help in school. Like the structuralists, the functionalists focused on consciousness. However, the functionalists thought psychological research should involve observation, not introspection. They used controlled experiments, and some studied laboratory animals. Generalizing from Samples to Populations Most survey researchers want to use results from a sample to make predictions about a population. For example, in the political candidate survey, researchers might want to predict how all voters feel about the candidate based on results from a sample of voters. Predictions from a sample are likely to be valid only when the sample is representative of the population (in this case, all voters). A representative sample has the same makeup as the population in terms of age or other factors that are likely to influence answers to survey questions. One way to choose a representative sample is by selecting people at random from the population. If a random sample is large, it is likely to be representative of the population. Gestalt Psychology Approach to psychology that assumed that consciousness is more than just "the sum of its parts" Gestalt psychology Gestalt is a German word that refers to anything in which "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." Gestalt psychologists thought that consciousness could not be broken down into individual elements, as the structuralists tried to do. They argued that consciousness was more than just "the sum of its parts." The early Gestalt psychologists were especially interested in feeling. Humanism was an approach to psychology that began in the 1950s. Humanism was a reaction against Freud's negative view of human nature. One of the founders of humanism was Abraham Maslow. He assumed that humans are good and try to achieve positive goals. Maslow developed a theory of human needs, in which human needs were placed in a hierarchy, or ranking. (look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs) Humanistic psychology focuses on the uniqueness of human beings. Humanistic psychology developed from the humanist approach that began in the mid-20th century. Humanistic psychologists assume that human beings: 1. have unique needs, such as the need to be creative. 2. are influenced by unique factors, such as values. 3. try to find meaning in life. PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM Most humanistic psychologists are practicing psychologists that help people deal with problems. However, rather than focusing primarily on the problems, they focus on the positive aspects of people's lives. Their goal is to help people reach their full potential. Hypothesis a specific statement that predicts the answer to a research question. One hypothesis for the goal theory question is: The desire to master a subject gives students more motivation to learn than does the desire to earn high grades. Hypothesis Testing Data from a study may be used to evaluate the study's hypothesis. Hypothesis testing may decide whether a hypothesis is supported or disproved by the data. Data that differ from the result predicted by the hypothesis disprove the hypothesis. They show that a different result than the predicted result can occur. Therefore, the hypothesis must be false. Data that agree with the result predicted by the hypothesis support the hypothesis. However, they do not prove the hypothesis because hypothesis can never be proved to be true. Supporting data only show that the hypothesis could be true. This is because the result of another study in the future might differ from the predicted result and show that the hypothesis is false. In a double-blind experiment, the researcher does not know which subjects are in the control group. independent variable dependent variable is a factor of interest to the researcher. is a factor that the hypothesis predicts is affected by the independent variable. Consider the first hypothesis in Table 1: Drinking a high-protein shake helps people solve math problems faster. In an experiment to test this hypothesis, the independent variable is drinking or not drinking a high-protein shake. The dependent variable is the time it takes people to solve math problems. Informed Consent means that subjects must be fully informed about a study before they agree to take part in it. Informed Consent Because of studies such as the Milgram experiment, psychologists developed guidelines about informed consent. Potential subjects must be told about the nature of the study and any potential dangers of participating. In the case of children or other people unable to understand what the research entails, informed consent must be obtained from a parent or guardian. Interview In some surveys, researchers conduct a question-and-answer session, with each person in the sample. Interviews may be done by telephone or in person. A drawback of naturalistic studies is lack of control over the setting and other variables that might influence the study's outcome. Assume that people in elevators usually avoid eye contact with strangers. The researcher might happen to see people that are unusually outgoing and making eye contact with strangers. The observations would not reflect how most people typically behave. The researcher could make many observations on different days and in different elevators to avoid this problem. Many natural behaviors are also open to interpretation. For example, a person in an elevator might glance at a stranger's eyes and then quickly look away. One researcher might record the behavior as making eye contact. Another PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM A survey is a study in which people in a sample are all asked the same questions. Surveys Sometimes psychologists are more interested in how people think or feel than in how they act. For example, a researcher might want to learn how voters feel about a political candidate in an election. Surveys are often used for research questions such as this. In other surveys, people are asked to respond to a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a set of written questions on paper or online. For example, on a questionnaire about a political candidate, people might be asked to rate their feelings about the candidate on a scale from 1 ("strongly disapprove") to 5 ("strongly approve"). Table 1 General Question: 1. How does nutrient intake affect people's ability to concentrate on mental tasks? 2. How do people behave toward one another settings? 3. What opinions do people have about political candidates that are running for office? 4. How do mental health problems affect people's thoughts and emotions? Specific ?: How does protein intake affect the speed at which people solve math problems? Hypothesis: Drinking a high-protein shake helps people solve math problems faster. Specific ?: How do strangers behave toward one another in elevators? Hypothesis: Strangers avoid eye contact with one another in elevators. Specific ?: How do people feel about a particular political candidate running for office? Hypothesis: People strongly approve of a particular political candidate. Specific ?: How does depression affect people's thoughts and feelings? Hypothesis: Depression makes people feel helpless and hopeless. How can the researcher make sense of all 1,000 values in each sample? One way is to calculate the mean, the mean is the average of all the values. It is calculated by adding all the values and dividing the sum by the number of values. The mean is 3 for the ten values in each sample in Table 3. The mean is useful, but it does not show how much variation there is in the data. As shown in Table 3, the amount of variation in the two samples is very different In sample A, there is no variation. Everyone responded the same way. In the sample B, responses varied from the lowest (1) to highest (5) rating. PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM A value that expresses variation is the range. It is the difference between the lowest and highest values. In sample A, the range is 0 (3 minus 3). In sample B, the range is 4 (5 minus 1). The greater the range, the more variation there is in the data. /F: A correlation is a scientific principle that explains many observations. F A naturalistic study reveals a more in-depth understanding of a single individual than does any other research design. Case study T/ A placebo is a substance that is unlikely to affect the dependent variable. F: Informed consent means that subjects answer "yes" to all the questions in a survey. T: Subjects in experimental and control groups should be as different as possible. F: The last step of a scientific study is to choose a research design. T: The first several weeks after birth are a critical period because most major organs are forming. theory what most research questions are based on. it is a scientific principle that explains many observations. An example of a psychological theory is goal theory. It says that the learning goals of students influence their motivation to learn. Examples of learning goals include the desire to become an expert in a subject and the desire to earn high grades. An example of a research question based on goal theory is: Which learning goal gives students more motivation to learn? Two variables are correlated whenever both change together in a consistent way. What can you conclude if data from a study agree with the result predicted by the hypothesis? The data show that the hypothesis could be true. 2 basic strategies of scientific research Describe the relationship (descriptive designs & Correlational design), Explain the relationship 2 problems with variable relationships directionality problem -does the first variable cause the second or does the second variable cause the first? Third variable problem (alternative explanation)- sometimes we see relationships between variables that do not rule out alternative explanations where a third variable causes both "A simple description of a relationship does not mean there is a cause and effect relationship" - prof. 2 problems with variable relationships PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM directionality problem -does the first variable cause the second or does the second variable cause the first? Third variable problem (alternative explanation)- sometimes we see relationships between variables that do not rule out alternative explanations where a third variable causes both "A simple description of a relationship does not mean there is a cause and effect relationship" - prof. 3+ = ANOVA and the f-testif you had 3 or more groups, then the and the would be needed. The 3 dispositions affirmed, reversed & made, reversed & remanded The 3 dispositionsaffirmed, reversed & made, reversed & remanded 3 types of archival research data statistical records, survey archives, written and mass communications, documents 3 types of archival research data statistical records, survey archives, written and mass communications, documents 3 ways to collect data on behavior ask for self-report, make direct observations, Record physiological and neurological responses 3 ways to collect data on behavior ask for self-report, make direct observations, Record physiological and neurological responses 49% To prove the variance of one factor accounted for by another you merely square the correlation. This principle is referred to as the coefficient of determination. The same test is given to the same group of people using the test-retest reliability method. The correlation between the first and second administration is .70. The true variance is... 70% of the score is correct while 30% is inaccurate. (70% is true variance, 30% error variance). A reliability coefficient of .70 shows that... A-B-A-B Design A-B-A design with addition of second intervention phase to see if initial treatment effects are replicated, A-B-A Design 3-phase design consisting of first baseline phase (A) until steady state (B) implemented until behavior has changed and steady state, return to baseline (A) by withdrawing IV (B) A-B-A Design 3-phase design consisting of initial baseline phase (A) until steady state (B) implemented until behavior has changed and steady state, return to baseline (A) by withdrawing IV (B)", A-B-A Design 3-phase design consisting of first baseline phase (A) until steady state (B) implemented until behavior has changed and steady state, return to baseline (A) by withdrawing IV (B) A-B-A Design 3-phase design consisting of initial baseline phase (A) until steady state (B) implemented until behavior has changed and steady state, return to baseline (A) by withdrawing IV (B)", Abbreviation for American Law Reports ALR Abbreviation for American Law Reports ALR Abbreviations for the 3 Legal Encyclopedias Am Jur, Tex Jur & CJS Abbreviations for the 3 Legal Encyclopedias PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM this is a mixture of a whole bunch of things, it is more complex American Law Reports this is a mixture of a whole bunch of things, it is more complex Analogue this situation is an experimental simulation of some aspect of the counseling process. analysis for policy analysis of policy illuminating the causes and effects of policies without affecting the policy's outcomes. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) parametric test used to compare 2 or more treatment groups or conditions while also controlling for the effects of intervening variables i.e. subjects in one group taller than subjects in the second group-hot is covariate. Analysis of Variance, ANOVA If there are more than 2 groups, then the is used Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) parametric test too compares 3+ independent TX groups or conditions at a selected probability level. Analytical research An analysis of documents to investigate historical concepts and events. Analytical research An analysis of documents to investigate historical concepts and events. Analytical research An analysis of documents to investigate historical concepts and events. ANCOA often used in casual-comparative studies, tests two/more groups while controlling for extraneous variables that are often called 'co-variates' ANCOVA, analysis of covariance To test 2 or more groups while controlling for extraneous variable (co-variates) you use the Annotation description of a research source Annotation description of a research source annotation description of a research source annotation description of a research source another term for r Is the correlation coefficient another term for r Is the correlation coefficient ANOVA a test for three or more means, is used to test for differences among two or more groups, yields an F ratio. ANOVA statistical method for making simultaneous comparisons between two or more means ANOVA PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM - Analysis of Variance is a Macro Level Analysis of difference among or between 2 or more groups. ANOVA statistical method for making simultaneous comparisons between two or more means ANOVA analysis of variance- a test for the significance of differences among three of more means; parametric ANOVA analysis of variance- a test for the significance of differences among three of more means; parametric any psychotherapeutic model that focuses on the here-and-now rather than the past. What is "historic therapy"? APA American Psychology Association apathy absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement Appellate Level has Justices Appellate Level has Justices Appellate level, who hears case Justice Appellate level, who hears case Justice appeal to authority argued that a statement is correct because the statement is made by a source that is regarded as authoritative appease to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe Applied Research Research that is technologically useful??, Applied Research Research focused on real problems in society. Applied Research Research that is technologically useful??, applied research scientific research that focuses on solutions to problems that have immediate application Applied survey research consumer research, job choice, law enforcement ABAB design an ABA design with treatment repeated after the withdrawal phase. Also called a replication design. ABA design research design that includes a baseline period, a treatment period, and a later withdrawal of treatment AB design PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM also called a comparison design. Single- participant research design that consists of a baseline followed by a treatment. According to the text, the founder of experimental psychology was: Gustav Fechner. acquiescence the tendency to agree with a statement on a questionnaire, regardless of its content. All the following are true of nonexperimental research except: The researcher is unable to specify the probability of a subject being included in the sample. All the following may be considered essential limitations of science except: a. science is necessarily an esoteric discipline. b. all science is tentative. c. science must still be agnostic about some questions concerning religious values. d. science is incomplete. a. science is necessarily an esoteric discipline. alternating treatments design a type of single- participant design that allows the comparison of two different independent variables archival data information in existing records archival research study method that examines existing records to obtain data and test hypotheses Assignment in an experiment, pairing a subject with a condition or variable, according to the experimenter's plan baseline the measure of behavior before treatment that sets up a reference point for evaluating the effect of treatment Because researchers using Naturalistic observation try not to intrude upon the behavior that they are studying, this method is sometimes called Unobtrusive A behavioral therapist is trying to decrease an autistic child's disruptive behavior. He first sees the baseline level of the behavior, then sees the behavior again after his intervention. Since his therapy seems to be effective, he continues to treat the child in the same way. This type of design is called a(n): A-B Design case study exploratory study of an existing situation as a means of creating and testing a hypothesis The categories of "apples" and "oranges" are: mutually exclusive. changing- criterion design research design that introduces successively more stringent criteria for reinforcement to see if behavior change coincides with the changing criteria clinical significance the practical importance of a result closed-ended question PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM manifest content the content of a text or photograph as showed by measuring the frequency of some objective word, phrase, or action The manifest content of a text is found by objective measure Manipulation in an experiment, conditions or variables assigned or presented to a participant Marla conducts a study to gradually teach a poodle to jump through a flaming hoop. At each session, Marla introduces a more stringent set of guidelines before reinforcing the poodle. Which one of the following designs would be most proper for this study? changing-criterion design The Mental Measurement Yearbook series Reviews many standardized tests, including questionnaires meta-analysis a set of methods for combining the results of many studies The most common quasi experimental design is the design. nonequivalent control group The most important control strategy in single-subject research is obtaining a stable baseline Much of the research in the United States is funded by: government grants. multiple-baseline design research design that introduces experimental manipulation at various times for different behaviors to see if behavior change coincides with manipulation Multiple-baseline designs may be conducted across all the following variables except: settings. multistage sampling a form of cluster sampling in which clusters are further broken down by taking samples from each cluster mutually exclusive categories defined so that membership in one rules out membership in another narrative a viewpoint expressed by telling and listening to stories that communicate meaning naturalistic observation observational research of subjects in their natural environment carried out to disturb the subjects as little as possible nonequivalent control-group design research design having both an experimental and a control group wherein subjects are not randomly assigned to groups Nonexperimental research sometimes must give up in return for obtaining the data Control nonreactive research another term for naturalistic observation in the social sciences, emphasizing that the subjects are unaware that they are being studied Observation the record of a behavior PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM observational research study method in which the researcher sees and records ongoing behavior but does not try to change it One way to detect dishonest responses on a questionnaire is to use a verification keys open-ended question one that the respondents answer in their own words Open-ended questions are more proper for: preliminary studies. Oversampling happens when a subpopulation is intentionally over represented in a sample participant- observer research observational research in which the observer takes part in a group to record behavior physical trace unobtrusive measure of behavior that uses physical evidence pilot study tentative, small- scale study done to pretest and change study design and procedures A pilot studies helps find the bugs in a design power the probability that a statistical test will find a significant difference when a difference exists in the population The principle characteristic of case studies is that they examine: individual instances of some phenomenon. The problem with an ABA design is that You may want to leave the participant in their new state, rather than return them to the old one program evaluation a set of techniques for deciding the effectiveness of a social service program protocol list of all the steps that a subject goes through in a study purposive sample a nonrandom sample that is chosen for some characteristic that it possesses qualitative research nonexperimental research that asks questions regarding about how people make meaning out of the world quasi experiment research procedure in which the scientist must select subjects for different conditions from preexisting groups A quasi experiment has lower validity but may have higher validity internal, external randomized response method a survey technique that encourages honesty by introducing a random variable that makes it impossible to find whether an answer is true of an individual The randomized response technique lets the investigator to estimate the rate of a behavior in the population without knowing an individual's true response random sample PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM a sample in which every member of the population has an equal and independent chance of being selected Recording methods in nonexperimental research can present many problems because You may not know how to define instances of what you are looking for The reliability of the data from survey studies depends on the response rates repeated- treatment design design in which a treatment is withdrawn and then presented a second time A researcher conducts a study to bring about permanent changes in three different behaviors in a single subject. Which one of the following designs would be most proper for this study? multiple-baseline design A researcher conducts a study to gradually bring about the desired behavior change for a subject. At each session, the researcher introduces a more stringent set of guidelines to see if behavior changes coincide with the new reinforcement. Which one of the following designs would be most proper for this study? changing-criterion design A researcher decides to go through police records to find out whether there is any evidence of racial profiling. What research technique is being used? Archival A researcher is interested in how individuals in a certain city feel about the chance of their becoming victims of a crime. To investigate this question, she randomly selects 12 city blocks and then randomly selects a certain number of people from each block. This method of sampling is known as cluster sampling response rate in survey research, the percentage of individuals in the sample who return the completed survey sampling frame a population as it is defined for the purposes of selecting subjects for a study The sampling frame is the: population as defined for the purposes of the survey. Science must still be unbiased about: a. masculinity and femininity. b. God. c. These d. questions of values. These secular trend a change that is taking place in the general population over time (the term has nothing to do with religion) A secular trend is a: trend in the general population. simple random sample group chosen from an entire population such that every member of the population has an equal and independent chance of being selected in a single sample Single-subject research focuses on individuals because PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM receive each of three different treatments for that disorder. It is essential in a between-subjects experiment that the researcher assign participants to conditions so that the diverse groups are, on average, highly like each other. Those in a trauma condition and a neutral condition, for example, should include a similar proportion of men and women, and they should have similar average intelligence quotients (IQs), similar average levels of motivation, similar average numbers of health problems, and so on. This matching is a matter of controlling these extraneous participant variables across conditions so that they do not become confounding variables. he primary way that researchers carry out this kind of control of extraneous variables across conditions is called random assignment, which means using a random process to decide which participants are tested in which conditions. . Random assignment is a method for assigning participants in a sample to the different conditions, and it is an essential element of all experimental research in psychology and other fields too. Do not confuse random assignment with random sampling. Random sampling is a method for selecting a sample from a population, and it is rarely used in psychological research In its strictest sense, random assignment should meet two criteria. One is that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to each condition (e.g., a 50% chance of being assigned to each of two conditions). The second is that each participant is assigned to a condition independently of other participants. Thus, one way to assign participants to two conditions would be to flip a coin for each one. If the coin lands heads, the participant is assigned to Condition A, and if it lands tails, the participant is assigned to Condition B. For three conditions, one could use a computer to generate a random integer from 1 to 3 for each participant. If the integer is 1, the participant is assigned to Condition A; if it is 2, the participant is assigned to Condition B; and if it is 3, the participant is assigned to Condition C. In practice, a full sequence of conditions—one for each participant expected to be in the experiment—is usually created ahead of time, and each new participant is assigned to the next condition in the sequence as he or she is tested. When the procedure is computerized, the computer program often handles the random assignment. One problem with coin flipping and other strict procedures for random assignment is that they are likely to result in unequal sample sizes in the different conditions. Unequal sample sizes are not a fundamental problem, and you should never throw away data you have already collected to achieve equal sample sizes. However, for a fixed number of participants, it is most efficient to divide them into equal-sized groups. It is standard practice, therefore, to use a modified random assignment that keeps the number of participants in each group as similar as possible. One PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM approach is block randomization. In block randomization, all the conditions occur once in the sequence before any of them is repeated. Then they all occur again before any of them is repeated. Within each of these “blocks,” the conditions occur in a random order. Again, the sequence of conditions is usually generated before any participants are tested, and each new participant is assigned to the next condition in the sequence. Table 6.2 shows such a sequence for assigning nine participants to three conditions. The Research Randomizer website (http://www.randomizer.org) will generate block randomization sequences for any number of participants and conditions. Again, when the procedure is computerized, the computer program often handles the block randomization. Table 6.2 Block Randomization Sequence for Assigning Nine Participants to Three Conditions Participant Condition 1 A 2 C 3 B 4 B 5 C Random assignment is not guaranteed to control all extraneous variables across conditions. It is always possible that just by chance, the participants in one condition might turn out to be older, less tired, more motivated, or less depressed on average than the participants in another condition. However, there are some reasons that this possibility is not a major concern. One is that random assignment works better than one might expect, especially for large samples. Another is that the inferential statistics that researchers use to decide whether a difference between groups reflects a difference in the population takes the “fallibility” of random assignment into account. Yet another reason is that even if random assignment does result in a confounding variable and therefore produces misleading results, this confound is likely to be detected when the experiment is replicated. The upshot is that random assignment to conditions —although fallible in terms of controlling extraneous variables—is always considered a strength of a research design. Treatment and Control Conditions 5 C 6 A 7 C PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM 8 B 9 A are often used to decide whether a treatment works. In psychological research, a treatment is any intervention meant to change people’s Behaviour for the better. This intervention includes psychotherapies and medical treatments for psychological disorders but also interventions designed to improve learning, promote conservation, reduce prejudice, and so on. To decide whether a treatment works, participants are randomly assigned to either a treatment condition, in which they receive the treatment, or a control condition, in which they do not receive the treatment. If participants in the treatment condition end up better off than participants in the control condition—for example, they are less depressed, learn faster, conserve more, express less prejudice—then the researcher can conclude that the treatment works. In research on the effectiveness of psychotherapies and medical treatments, this type of experiment is often called a randomized clinical trial. There are diverse types of control conditions. In a no-treatment control condition, participants receive no treatment whatsoever. One problem with this approach, however, is the existence of placebo effects. A placebo is a simulated treatment that lacks any active ingredient or element that should make it effective, and a placebo effect is a positive effect of such a treatment. Many folk remedies that seem to work—such as eating chicken soup for a cold or placing soap under the bedsheets to stop nighttime leg cramps—are nothing more than placebos. Although placebo effects are not well understood, they are driven primarily by people’s expectations that they will improve. Having the expectation to improve can result in reduced stress, anxiety, and depression, which can alter feelings and even improve immune system functioning (Price, Finnish, & Benedetti, 2008) [1]. Placebo effects are interesting (see Note “The Powerful Placebo”), but they also pose a fundamental problem for researchers who want to decide whether a treatment works. Figure 6.2 shows some hypothetical results in which participants in a treatment condition improved more on average than participants in a no-treatment control condition. If these conditions (the two leftmost bars in Figure 6.2) were the only conditions in this experiment, however, one could not conclude that the treatment worked. It could be instead that participants in the treatment group improved more because they expected to improve, while those in the no-treatment control condition did not. Figure 6.2 Hypothetical Results from a Study Including Treatment, No-Treatment, and Placebo Conditions Figure 6.2 Hypothetical Results from a Study Including Treatment, No-Treatment, and Placebo Conditions PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM attractiveness affects judgments of guilt. This knowledge could lead the participant to judge the unattractive defendant more harshly because he thinks this is what he is expected to do. Or it could make participants judge the two defendants similarly to be “fair.” Carryover effects can be interesting. (Does the attractiveness of one person depend on the attractiveness of other people that we have seen recently?) But when they are not the focus of the research, carryover effects can be problematic. Imagine, for example, that participants judge the guilt of an attractive defendant and then judge the guilt of an unattractive defendant. If they judge the unattractive defendant more harshly, this might be because of his unattractiveness. But it could be instead that they judge him more harshly because they are becoming bored or tired. In other words, the order of the conditions is a confounding variable. The attractive condition is always the first condition and the unattractive condition the second. Thus, any difference between the conditions in terms of the dependent variable could be caused by the order of the conditions and not the independent variable itself. There is a solution to the problem of order effects, however, that can be used in many situations. It is counterbalancing, which means testing different participants in different orders. For example, some participants would be tested in the attractive defendant condition followed by the unattractive defendant condition, and others would be tested in the unattractive condition followed by the attractive condition. With three conditions, there would be six different orders (ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, and CBA), so some participants would be tested in each of the six orders. With counterbalancing, participants are assigned to orders randomly, using the techniques we have already discussed. Thus, random assignment plays a key role in within- subjects designs just as in between-subjects designs. Here, instead of randomly assigning to conditions, they are randomly assigned to different orders of conditions. In fact, it can safely be said that if a study does not involve random assignment in one form or another, it is not an experiment. An efficient way of counterbalancing is through a Latin square design which randomizes through having equal rows and columns. For example, if you have four treatments, you must have four versions. Like a Sudoku puzzle, no treatment can repeat in a row or column. For four versions of four treatments, the Latin square design would look like: A B C D B C D A C D a B There are two ways to think about what counterbalancing carries out. One is that it controls the order of conditions so that it is no longer a confounding variable. Instead of the attractive PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM condition always being first and the unattractive condition always being second, the attractive condition comes first for some participants and second for others. Likewise, the unattractive condition comes first for some participants and second for others. Thus, any overall difference in the dependent variable between the two conditions cannot have been caused by the order of conditions. A second way to think about what counterbalancing carries out is that if there are carryover effects, it makes it possible to detect them. One can analyze the data separately for each order to see whether it had an effect. When 9 Is “Larger” Than 221 Researcher Michael Birnbaum has argued that the lack of context provided by between-subjects designs is often a bigger problem than the context effects created by within-subject’s designs. To prove this problem, he asked participants to rate two numbers on how large they were on a scale of 1-to-10 where 1 was “very very small” and 10 was “very very large”. One group of participants were asked to rate the number 9 and another group was asked to rate the number 221 (Birnbaum, 1999) [4]. Participants in this between-subjects design gave the number 9 a mean rating of 5.13 and the number 221 a mean rating of 3.10. In other words, they rated 9 as larger than 221! According to Birnbaum, this difference is because participants spontaneously compared 9 with other one-digit numbers (in which case it is large) and compared 221 with other three-digit numbers (in which case it is small). Simultaneous Within-Subjects Designs So far, we have discussed an approach to within-subjects designs in which participants are tested in one condition at a time. There is another approach, however, that is often used when participants make multiple responses in each condition. Imagine, for example, that participants judge the guilt of 10 attractive defendants and 10 unattractive defendants. Instead of having people make judgments about all 10 defendants of one type followed by all 10 defendants of the other type, the researcher could present all 20 defendants in a sequence that mixed the two types. The researcher could then compute each participant’s mean rating for each type of defendant. Or imagine an experiment designed to see whether people with social anxiety disorder remember negative adjectives (e.g., “stupid,” “incompetent”) better than positive ones (e.g., “happy,” “productive”). The researcher could have participants study a single list that includes both kinds of words and then have them try to recall as many words as possible. The researcher could then count the number of each type of word that was recalled. There are many ways to decide the order in which the stimuli are presented, but one common way is to generate a different random order for each participant. Between-Subjects or Within-Subjects?Every experiment can be conducted using either a between-subjects design or a within-subjects design. This possibility means that researchers must choose between the two approaches based on their relative merits for the situation. PSY 492-RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINAL (CASE STUDY) EXAM Between-subject’s experiments have the advantage of being conceptually simpler and needing less testing time per participant. They also avoid carryover effects without the need for counterbalancing. Within-subject’s experiments have the advantage of controlling extraneous participant variables, which reduces noise in the data and makes it easier to detect a relationship between the independent and dependent variables. A good rule of thumb, then, is that if it is possible to conduct a within-subjects experiment (with proper counterbalancing) in the time that is available per participant—and you have no serious concerns about carryover effects—this design is the best choice. If a within-subjects design would be difficult or impossible to carry out, then you should consider a between-subjects design instead. For example, if you were testing participants in a doctor’s waiting room or shoppers in line at a grocery store, you might not have enough time to test each participant in all conditions and therefore would opt for a between-subjects design. Or imagine you were trying to reduce people’s level of prejudice by having them interact with someone of another race. A within- subjects design with counterbalancing would need testing some participants in the treatment condition first and then in a control condition. But if the treatment works and reduces people’s level of prejudice, then they would no longer be suitable for testing in the control condition. This difficulty is true for many designs that involve a treatment meant to produce long-term change in participants’ Behaviour (e.g., studies testing the effectiveness of psychotherapy). A between- subjects design would be necessary here. Remember also that using one type of design does not prevent using the other type in a different study. There is no reason that a researcher could not use both a between-subjects design and a within-subjects design to answer the same research question. In fact, professional researchers often take exactly this type of mixed methods approach. Key Takeaways Experiments can be conducted using either between-subjects or within-subject’s designs. Deciding which to use in a situation needs careful consideration of the pros and cons of each approach. Random assignment to conditions in between-subject’s experiments or to orders of conditions in within-subjects experiments is a fundamental element of experimental research. Its purpose is to control extraneous variables so that they do not become confounding variables. Experimental research on the effectiveness of a treatment needs both a treatment condition and a control condition, which can be a no-treatment control condition, a placebo control condition, or a waitlist control condition. Experimental treatments can also be compared with the best available alternative.