Adult Development & Aging - Research methods/Research designs (Chapter 1)

Explain what correlational research is. If a correlation is high, what does that do to the number? What is the difference between a positive and a negative correlation?

Correlation research is one that shows a relationship and does not prove causality. If a correlation is high, what it does to the number is show how the variables are positively related. The difference between a positive and a negative correlation is that a positive correlation shows high scores on the two dimensions occur together while a negative correlation indicates high scores on one dimension go with low scores on the other.

Explain how cross-sectional design works. What are the advantages and disadvantages of cross-sectional design?

Cross-section design works by including different groups of subjects at different ages, such as giving different age groups the same test in the same year (ex: give 20 year olds, 30 year olds, 40 year olds, and 50 year olds the same type of treatment. The advantages of cross-sectional design are that it is relatively quick and it highlights possible age differences. The disadvantages of cross-sectional design are that the age and cohort are confounded and you cannot draw conclusions about individual consistency and change over time.

What is descriptive research?

Descriptive research is when you just look and no experiments are involved. It informs the current state of the participants on a measure of interest (What did they just do...).

What is experimental research? Explain how it works.

Experimental research is when you test if the independent variable caused change in the dependent variable. It works by having randomly assigned groups where you do not treat everyone the same as you manipulate the independent variable for one group and not the other and then see the outcome through the dependent variable and from there, blame the result on the independent variable that was different.

Explain how longitudinal design works. What are the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal design?

Longitudinal design works by following the same subjects over time, such as giving the same age group the same test every set time period (ex: every 10 years). The advantages of longitudinal design are that the age and cohort are not confounded, changes seen can be inferred to be real changes, non-change reflects real stability, and it enables the researcher to look at change or stability within the individual. The disadvantages of longitudinal design are that selective attrition can weaken findings, it is weakened by time-of-measurement effects, and it often has smaller samples.

What are meta-analyses?

Meta-analyses are when you find studies that meet the criteria, look at the methods and results, and come up with an overview of the findings across the studies.

What is qualitative research? How is it different from the other types of research?

Qualitative research is when you research without numbers, or in other words, when you gather a few people and acquire a lot of data from them through long interviews, case studies, participant observations, etc. It is different from the other types of research by having the researcher sit down with someone and get lots of information by reading the interviews afterwards and looking for themes.

What is quasi-experimental research? Why is it quite common in developmental research?

Quasi-experimental research is like a wanna-be experimental study as it is conducted as if it was a true experiment, but there are no random assignment of groups. It is quite common in developmental research because it is able to look for age differences.

Explain how sequential design works. What are the advantages and disadvantages of sequential design?

Sequential design works by being a family of research designs involving either multiple cross-sectional comparisons or multiple longitudinal comparisons, or both. The advantages of sequential design are that it can analyze age changes and their variations and it separates the impact of unique cohort experiences from that of more enduring developmental patterns. The disadvantages of sequential design are that it is complex, expensive and time-consuming.

What characteristics do you have to consider when selecting participants for your study? Why? What four methods of data collection were mentioned in class? Be able to recognize these types of data collection when given examples.

The characteristics that you have to consider when selecting participants for your study are the age(s), generalizability, and amount of information (depth of data). This is so because you have to see which age groups you want to use, along with seeing if the sample you choose can apply to minorities such as women, African Americans, etc., and you want to be able to gather enough information where it can be inversely related to the number of people willing to take part in that research, hence more depth in data. Four methods of data collection that were mentioned in class were observations, interviews, questionnaires, and standardized tests. Examples of observations include naturalistic (watching, camera, looking, etc.) and structured (sometimes w/ specific tasks - making situation where behavior will occur).

What are the three types of designs that catch differences among age groups?

The three types of designs that catch differences among age groups are cross-sectional designs, longitudinal designs, and sequential designs.