Applied Research Methods

Results vs. Discussion Section

Results: Just the facts and data. vs. Discussion Section: Where you take the results and elaborate in words about the meaning, interpretation of data from the study.

Interpretation of Data:

Practical vs. Statistical Significance - Small effect size: need a large N to achieve statistical significance - Is a statistically significant findings always meaningful in outside research

True Experimental

Randomly assigned participants

Correlation:

Relationship between 2 variables

Alternative Hypothesis

"there is a difference" not testable, limey or supported stated in introduction

Non- Experimental Designs

1. Descriptive 2. Correlation 3. Comparative

Types of sampling techniques not based on probability (non probability)

1. Haphazard (a.k.a. convenience) sampling 2. Purposive sampling (some characteristic) 3. Quota sampling (

Active IV

A variable that is manipulated by the experimenter or another entity

Attribute IV

A variable that is measured but cannot be manipulated

Which of the following variables could be considered an attribute independent variable? a. Gender b. Clinical diagnosis c. History of child abuse d. Level of education e. All of the above

All of the above

Basic vs. Applied Research

Basic: - science used to understand a basic phenomenon Applied: - science used to

ANOVA

Comparing more than 2 groups

Extraneous Variables:

Confounds or controls variables outside, could have an impact on the IV and DV

Dependent Variables:

Depends on the IV

Experimental vs. Non- Experimental

Experimental: The researcher manipulates the study. Non- Experimental: Observation

True or false: when performing a correlation, the variables of interest need to be measured in the same units (e.g., seconds, grams)

False

Most visual way of describing the outcome?

Figures

Comparative:

Group differences Attribute IV (ANOVA)

Results Section

How we assess the hypotheses of the study. Include descriptive statistics

It is predicted that lack of sleep will be related to higher levels of anxiety before a major exam. This is a_____________ relationship?

Negative correlation

Descriptive:

No statistical comparison/relationship (political polls)

Quasi Experimental

Not randomly assigned participants

Richard defines popularity among college students as the number of friends the participants report. This is an example of a/an __________________

Operational

Quota Sampling

Separating different groups into freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.

Null Hypothesis:

Statement framed to indicate that "there is no difference" TESTABLE

Tables vs. Figures

Tables: Presents large lists of data. ex: means and standard deviations vs. Figures: Visual display of the results. ex: pie charts, bar graphs, lie graphs

Goals of a Literature Review

Talks about why the study is important, how it relates to previous studies, differed and builds on previous work.

Scales of Measurement

This determines the types of statistics we are going to use. 1. Nominal Scales: Discrete 2. Ordinal Scales: Discrete 3. Interval Scales: Continuous 4. Ratio Continuous

Why pilot your research plan?

To test feasibility of a design study.

Which of the following is NOT an assumption of parametric statistical procedures? a. The data are continuous b. The means of the sample are equal c. Data samples are normally distributed d. The variances of the samples are equal

b. The means of the sample are equal

A researcher performs some descriptive statistics on his data and finds that the mean, median and mode values are nearly identical. What can the researcher infer about his data? a. Positively skewed b. Negatively skewed c. Normally distributed with respect to skewness d. There is not enough information to infer about the data

c. Normally distributed with respect to skewness

Types of sampling techniques based on probability:

1. Simple random sampling 2. Stratified random sampling 3. Cluster sampling

Introduction

1. Stating the Problem 2. Review previous literature 3. Purpose 4. Research question 5. Hypothesis

Anoatomy of a Research Article

1. Title 2. Abstract 3. Introduction 4. Method 5 Result 6. Figure and Tables 7. Discussion 8. References

!!!!! Which of the following is not a major section labelled in the Methods section of a research article? ** a. Participants b. Materials c. Procedures d. Statistical Design

d. Statistical Design

Methods Sections

1. Participants 2. Apparatus or Materials 3. Procedure 4. Statistical Design and analysis

Interval Scale - Continuous

- Number of years of education. - Number of children in a house hold Mean Median and Mode

Ordinal Scale - Discrete

- Order the level from lowest to highest (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) Mode Median

Methods

- Participants - Materials/ Measures - Procedures - Plans for statistical analysis

Results section

- Straightforward description of the authors ANALYSIS of the data - Figures and Tables

Research Design

1. Qualitative vs. Quantitative 2. Experimental vs. Non- experimental 3. True experimental vs. Quasi experimental 4. Types of

Process of a design study

1. Identify problem 2. Conduct literature review 3. Write objective, hypotheses and questions 4. Create research plan (reliability, validity, procedure) 5. Obtain subjects approval

3 Major types of Variables:

1. Independent variables (active or attribute) 2. Dependent variables 3. Extraneous variables (control or confounding)

3 different measures of central tendency...

1. Mean 2. Median 3. Mode

Purpose of a Piloting Procedure:

-

Ratio Scale - Continuous

- Absolute zero, height, weight, age Mean Median and Mode

Independent Variables:

- Active - Attribute

Parts of a Discussion Section:

- Answer the research question - Relating the findings to previous research - Limitations of the study - Summary or conclusion paragraph - Explanations and interpretations of the statistical findings - Limitations, future directions

Reliability...

- Can be repeated - A measure can be highly reliable but not be valid

Inferential statistics

- Differences

Sample Size depends on:

- Field of Study - Feasibility - Study Design: Group comparisons should have equal N's when possible - Effect Size

Variables:

- Independent: variables that talk about the design of your study - Dependent: variables that can be compared - Extraneous, control, or confounding

Nominal Scale - Discrete

- Labels: Female, hair color, eye colors Mode

Descriptive Statistics:

- Measure of Central Tendency - Measure of Dispersion

When choosing a research design one must think about...

- The study's purpose/ objectives - Measurement concepts - Sampling - Methods to gathering data - Data analysis

Experimental Designs:

- True Experimental - Quasi Experimental

The description of participants should include:

- age, sex, ethnic/racial group, level of education - measure of central tendency, measure of dispersion - Any agreements or payments of participants - States agreement with review board - Described procedures for soliciting and selection participants.

A researcher is conducting a study examining young adults. He decides to obtain a sample by standing out on the plaza in front of the student center at CSU and asking everyone who walks by to participate in the study. What type of sampling technique did this researcher engage in? a. Purposive sampling b. Convenience sampling c. Stratified sampling d. Purposive, stratified sampling

Convenience sampling

Which of the following component is NOT included in the Introduction section of a research article? a. Purpose of the study b. Research questions c. Testable hypothesis d. Description of the study procedures

Description of the study procedures

Experimental vs. non-experimental

Descriptive - Correlational - Comparative -

A researcher is writing a research article reporting on her findings on a recent study. In the discussion section, she describes how her findings agree with previous studies. What kind of validity has the researcher established by confirming her study's connection with other studies? a. External validity b. Test- test validity c. Internal validity d. Confirmatory validity e. Peer validity

External Validity

Mr. Munch is interested in the effect of sleep on student test scores. The students self-report how much sleep they had the previous evening. Mr. Munch then collects the test scores for each student and proceeds to conducts a correlation analysis to see if sleep is associated with test scores. Sleep, in this example, can be classified as what kind of variable?

IV- sleep and DV - scores

A researcher is investigating differences in anxiety levels between students of different class rankings. The possible class labels were "freshman", "sophomore", "junior", and "senior". What level of measurement is represented by the variable "class ranking"? a. Nominal b. Ordinal c. Interval d. Ratio numeric

Ordinal

A group of researchers piloted the procedures of their new study obtaining data on 10 participants. When they ran a t test on their data, the finding was not statistically significant, p = .12. The research group decided to examine the effect size and obtained a value of 1.78. What would you tell the researchers about their study?

P value is not significant. But effect size is significant. Increase sample size and it would increase the p value to significant

Qualitative Study vs. Quantitative Study

Qualitative Study: names, categories, shapes, experiences vs. Quantitative Study: numbers

__________________________ research involves the use of statistical analyses and numbers to explain or describe a phenomenon, whereas ________________________research is based on an in-depth description of themes, expressed in non-numerical terms (such as pictures or words).

Quantitative, qualitative

When it comes to hypothesis testing, as researchers we are always trying to ___________.

Reject the null and accept the hypothesis

What does the methods section do?

Summarizes how the study was conducted.

If you are interested in assessing the mean differences of anxiety between children with intellectual disabilities and children of normative development, what type of analyses would be most appropriate?

T test

Compare two groups

T-Test

A group of researchers would like to know if there is any relationship between parental closeness and underage drinking among adolescents. They proposed to collected data from 1,000 teens that live in both rural and urban communities. Which type of statistical analyses would they most likely use to address their primary research question?

a. Correlation between two variables, associational

A researcher conducts a study where she is examining the difference in self-esteem ratings between people with and without a chronic illness. When she runs the descriptive statistics, she finds that her data are not normally distributed. What category of statistical procedures should the researcher use to test her hypothesis? a. Non parametric b. Parametric c. Ordinal deceptive d. Interval

a. Non Parametric

Measure of Central Tendency

mean, median, mode

Measure of Dispersion

standard deviation, range, frequency distributions