Research Methods Chapter One:

How effective is lighttherapy at treating depressionin college students?

Applied Research

Is there physiologicalevidence that circadianrhythm is linked to mood

Basic Research

Junto wonders if a different-sized elevator would change the level of awkwardness people feel in an elevator.

Research Question

Junto creates a plan to test participants' levels of awkwardness in different-sized elevators to understand what effect elevator size may have on awkwardness.

Research design

Identify the true and false statements about the research process.

TRUE:Researchers rarely stop at one study; they usually follow up on findings with additional studies. Researchers rarely stop at one study; they usually follow up on findings with additional studies. FALSE:If a research study's findings are consistent with the theory, that is proof that the theory is valid. Only one study is needed for researchers to be confident about a research finding. A single study can debunk a theory if the data are inconsistent with the theory.

Using the findings of previous research oncircadian rhythms, can adjustinglight exposure in a laboratorystudy show an improvement in mood?

Transitional Research

After reading about Harlow's contact comfort theory, Dr. Borden wonders if Harlow's findings would apply to premature babies in a neonatal intensive care unit. He designs a study to test whether touch and cuddling could speed up weight gain in premature babies. What type of research does Dr. Borden's study fall under?

Translational research

Identify the true and false statements about what researchers should do when the data do not support the theory behind their study's hypothesis.

True: They should consider revising the theory. They should improve the research design. False: They should consider discarding the theory. They should disprove the theory.

Identify the true and false statements about scientific research.

True:Every theory should be falsifiable. Multiple replications of the same study provide strong support for a theory. False: If a result does not support a theory, that theory should be discarded. If a researcher tests their hypothesis and the results are as predicted, this proves their theory.

reporting current trends in biology research in a news article

consuming research

Which of the following practices are common ways in which journalists misrepresent research studies in their media articles?

Ways to Misrepresent: exaggerating the importance of the findings selecting only certain parts of the results to write about Not ways to Misrepresent: recalculating the published statistics using terms that can only be understood by those with specialized knowledge

using research findings to update patients' treatment plans

consuming research

keep up to date on current product trendsconsuming research

consuming research

look at analyses conducted by other firms, and inform clients of the findings

consuming research

Junto records the participants' awkwardness ratings and analyzes them to see if there is a difference among the different-sized elevators.data

data

Psychological scientists base their conclusions on evidence. They collect and use data to develop, support, or challenge a theory. What is this approach called?

empiricism

Junto believes that participants will feel less awkward in a larger elevator than in a smaller elevator.

hypothesis

Harlow's _______ was that baby monkeys would spend most of their time with the fuzzy, cloth-covered mother. Harlow's __________ was that babies are attached to their mothers for the comfort mothers provide, not for the food. The amount of time baby monkeys spent on the wire mother and the cloth-covered mother was Harlow's _______.

hypothesis theory data

collect and analyze data, and present the results to clients

producing research

creating and testing a hypothesis on sexuality in teenagersproducing research

producing research

test different marketing strategies to identify the best oneproducing research

producing research

using previous studies to create a new study that analyzes all of those previous findings

producing research

Research producer

someone who facilitates the research process in order to increase knowledge

Research consumer

someone who takes research and applies it to their career or daily life

Zanna is a high school teacher. After reading a headline in the newspaper that states, "Scared Straight program sets teens on straight path," she considers implementing this program in her classroom. But when Zanna digs deeper to look at published studies with randomized, controlled groups, she sees that teens who were in a Scared Straight program actually committed more crimes that teens who were not. What key point does Zanna's experience best illustrate?

the importance of being a smart consumer

Based on previous data, Junto believes that most people do not interact in an elevator because it is a confined space and they feel awkward.

theory

A statement, or a set of statements, that describes general principles about how variables are related to one another is a(n) ________ A specific outcome that the researcher expects to find is a(n)__________.

theory hypothesis.