PSY 312 Research Methods: Chapters 1-2

Choose a method: Scotty has no patience with social media debates about what is or is not happening in politics. He trusts one particular network, and if he hears it on that network, he knows it is true. Otherwise, it cannot be true.

Authority (in authority, a person relies on info or answers from an expert in the subject area)

In a recent debate about a sometimes controversial scientific theory, Debater A was able to list observations that would cause her to modify the theory Debater B supported, while Debater B said nothing would cause him to change his views. This suggests that Debater B is:

Engaging in pseudoscience (The primary distinction between science and pseudoscience is based on the notion of testable and refutable hypothesis)

Is this a primary or secondary source? A book describing an anthropologist's field research in a remote region of a Pacific Island, written by the anthropologist

Primary

Is this a primary or secondary source? A journal article reporting on research conducted by the authors of the article

Primary

When considering the sources in your literature review, you should remember that:

Primary sources may include sections that are secondary sources

Indicate which major online database related to the social sciences each type of information can be found. Jimmy has just started a literature review on cross-cultural differences in child-rearing practices. He simply wants to be able to identify articles of interest via the title and abstract

PsycINFO (definitive source of abstracts)

Choose a method: Jina likes to weigh things out before making decisions. She is prone to creating lists of pros and cons and making choices on the basis of reasoning things out.

Rationalism (in rationalism, we seek answers by the use of logical reasoning. in logical reasoning, premise statements describe facts or assumptions that are presumed to be true. an argument is set of premise statements that are logically combined to yield a conclusion)

In the context of science, a statement that describes or explains a relationship between or among variables is called:

A hypothesis

Russell is shopping for a new car, and when he walks into the showroom, he notices huge monitors playing endorsements by famous athletes. He recognizes that reliance on the method of _____ is a common advertising play

Authority (Advertisers often rely on famous individuals to endorse products, thus using the method of authority)

Sara relies on news from a network known to have an extremely liberal slant, and Constance relies on news from a network known to have an extremely conservative slant. No matter what has occurred, it seems as though their takes are diametrically opposed and completely irreconcilable. Both Sara and Constance are relying on the method of:

Authority (Relying on perceived expert for information is characteristic of the method of authority)

Deeply religious individuals may defer to their religious leaders for all types of decisions, including those that seem unrelated to religion. This method of acquiring knowledge, called the method of faith, is a variant of which method?

Authority (The method of faith is a variant of the method of authority)

Indicate where this researcher found their idea: Karey is stuck waiting in an airport after his flight has been delayed because the crew has not yet arrived. He notices that some of his fellow travelers are angry, while others seem to just settle in peacefully for the wait. He wonders what causes these different reactions.

Casual observation

Finding an unanswered research question is often the result of:

Critical reading

Nina is about to start chemotherapy for cancer. She is aware that chemotherapy can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and therefore reasons that she, too, will experience vomiting and diarrhea. Which of the following best describes Nina's reasoning?

Deduction (Reasoning from the general to the specific is deduction)

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Applications

Discussion

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Justified conclusions

Discussion

In what section of a journal article would you find alternative explanations for the research findings?

Discussion

A drawback of the method of tenacity is that it:

Does not allow for the correction of erroneous ideas

Indicate which major online database related to the social sciences each type of information can be found Marta is looking for info about early childhood education programs

ERIC

Jules is conducting a literature review on academic achievement among children who are homeless. Her best choice for a literature review would be:

ERIC (provides access to educational resources and literature)

Which method of acquiring knowledge can be time consuming and sometimes even dangerous?

Empiricism

Jared relies on looking out the window to decide what the day's weather will be like. Jared is relying on which method?

Empiricism (Relying on one's own sensory input involves relying on the method of empiricism)

Identify an activity by its step in the scientific method: Select a topic and review the literature

Find an idea

Identify an activity by its step in the scientific method: Come up with a tentative answer

Form a hypothesis

Tim watches a well-known "reality" competition for fashion designers and, based on his observations of the contestants, concludes that fashion designers are prone to artificially coloring their hair and wearing long, flowing tops. Tim is engaging in:

Induction (Induction involves reasoning from a small set of observations to a larger set of possible observations)

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Hypothesis

Introduction

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Literature review

Introduction

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Specific predictions

Introduction

What section of a journal article should contain an up-to-date research review?

Introduction

Jan decides to play the lottery because she just feels like it is her day to win. She picks the numbers based on those that feel right. Jan is relying on which of the following for her decisions?

Intuition (Basing decisions on what feels right or wrong is relying on intuition)

Choose a method: Caitlyn is faced with the choice of which of two apartments she should rent. Both have similar costs, locations, size, and amenities, so she finally decides to rent the one that just feels right to her.

Intuition (in intuition, info is accepted on the basis of a hunch or "gut feeling")

Which ideas are good ones to keep in mind when trying to come up with a research idea? Check all that apply:

Keep an open mind Pick a topic in which you are interested Gradually refine your focus ALL APPLY

A good hypothesis should follow as the conclusion of a _____ argument. It should be possible to observe and measure all of the variables involved; that is, a good hypothesis should be _____. It must also be _____ in that it must be possible to obtain results that run contrary to the hypothesis. A good hypothesis must also make a statement about the existence of something, often a relationship, a difference, or an effect. That is, a good hypothesis must be _____.

Logical, testable, refutable, positive

Frank wants to learn more about the biology of Alzheimer's disease. His best choice for a literature review would be:

MEDLINE (MEDLINE provides the authoritative medical info on medicine)

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Participants

Method

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Procedure

Method

What section of a journal article describes the research participants?

Method

Indicate where this researcher found their idea: Annabel reads an article in a magazine about how a physical makeover can change the psychological outlook of those receiving the makeover. She wonders how often this happens and whether the psychological effects persist.

Others' observations

Indicate where this researcher found their idea: After losing her own father when she was 11, Bess has always wondered about how children and adolescents adjust to the knowledge that a parent is terminally ill and to the parent's death

Personal interest

Irwin works as an employment assistant at a sheltered workshop for adults with developmental disabilities. He notices that when his clients come back from vacation, they often have difficulty readjusting to the workplace. He wonders how he can ease the transition.

Practical problems

In logical reasoning, _____ statements describe facts or assumptions that are presumed to be true

Premise

A first-hand report in which the authors describe their own observations is a _____ source.

Primary

the primary distinction between quantitative and qualitative research is that quantitative research typically:

Produces numerical scores (The results of quantitative research are usually numerical scores that can be summarized, analyzed, and interpreted using standard statistical procedures)

Is it science or pseudoscience? Royce has seen advertisements about brain-building games that are "based on" neuroscience. While the website does, indeed, use a lot of neuroscience jargon, he cannot find any evidence of the games themselves having been submitted to any scientific evaluation

Pseudoscience

Is it science or pseudoscience? Several parents in the support group to which Melynda belongs tell her that if she removes wheat, dairy, sugar, and artificial flavors and colors from her three-year-old son's diet, his symptoms of autism will be markedly reduced. They tell her the reason mainstream medicine claims these approaches do not work is that neither physicians nor drug companies can make money from them.

Pseudoscience

Karla is conducting a literature review on children's moral development. She has progressed to the point where she wants to read the journal articles, not simply the abstracts. Her best choice would be:

PsycARTICLES

Indicate which major online database related to the social sciences each type of information can be found. Roland has already identified articles about adolescent marijuana use and is now interested in reading them

PsycARTICLES (definitive source of full text journals/articles)

In psychology, what is the definitive source for abstracts?

PsycINFO

Angela likes to try to reason things out and often creates lists of pros and cons to aid her in making decisions. Angela is using the method of:

Rationalism (Reasoning things through logically is characteristic of the method of rationalism)

Peggy is fascinated by the patterns between diet and behavior in children. She is surprised to learn that, when several researchers tried to repeat a small study of the impact of a gluten- and casein-free diet on the behavior of children with autism, they found the diet failed to produce statistically significant behavioral changes. This process of repeating experiments is known as:

Replication

Identify where you will find info in a journal article: Statistical analyses

Results

Is it science or pseudoscience? Ami has been diagnosed with early skin cancer. She goes to the website of the National Cancer Institute to see what kinds of treatment have been shown to be effective by randomized clinical trials

Science

Is this a primary or secondary source? A chapter in a book that provides a literature review

Secondary

Is this a primary or secondary source? A meta-analysis published in a journal

Secondary

While reading her abnormal psychology text, Nancy reads about research on the diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia. The textbook is best described as a _____ source

Secondary

Identify an activity by its step in the scientific method: Identify methods and procedures

Select a design

Identify an activity by its step in the scientific method: Decide on the general approach

Select a strategy

Upon hearing that one of her favorite actors has died, Natasha worries out loud about who the other two deaths will involve, as she is certain that deaths come in threes. Natasha's assertion that deaths come in threes is based on what?

Tenacity (Natasha's assertion is based on a superstition and thus represents the method of tenacity)

Choose a method: Marta assures her friend Sara, who is 41 weeks pregnant and enduring a miserably hot, humid summer, with no sign of the baby being ready to be born, that everyone knows eating a salad made with spinach, blackberries, and walnuts will stimulate labor.

Tenacity (in the method of tenacity, info is accepted as true because it has always been believed or because superstition supports it)

When the scientific method is being used, which of the following describes the characteristics or conditions that change or have different values for different individuals

Variables

After watching several social media debates quickly devolve into name calling, Hayden develops ______ using ______, or reasoning from his small number of observations to a larger generalization. On the other hand, Lindsay, who has observed the same debates, reasons from a general proposition about methods of persuasion to try to understand the interactions, using _______

a hypothesis, induction, deduction

Indicate which major online database related to the social sciences each type of information can be found. Janelle wants to learn about the use of whole brain irradiation for the treatment of childhood brain cancers

MEDLINE with Full Text