Chapter 2: The Research Process

Characteristics of Good Hypotheses

High correspondence with reality: hypothesis should logically follow from what your literature search reveals on a given topic Parsimony (simplicity and directness) Must be falsifiable or refutable -- must be possible to show that the hypothesis may be incorrect Specificity

Four strategies of developing a hypothesis

Introspection: identify the factors that might influence your happiness and use those explanations to develop a testable hypothesis Find the exception to the rule: crafting hypotheses that look at the outcomes in the opposite direction of prior research has the potential to provide new insights into the phenomenon of interest a matter of degree: when crafting hypotheses, try to think about variables in terms of amounts, which can take many forms, such as quantity, intensity, strength, volume, number, force, persistence, and effort change the directionality: thinking about ideas from both directions will help you form creative hypotheses

Law vs. Theory

Law describes an aspect of the world Theory is an in-depth explanation of why a phenomenon occurs

between-subjects design

a data collection method in which each participant is only assessed on the dependent variable once

within-subjects design

a data collection method in which each participant or subject is assessed on the dependent variable more than once

correlational design (nonexperimental) (what)

a design in which there is no control or manipulation of the IV; cause and effect relationships between variables cannot be established

research protocol

a detailed series of steps that describe the order in which to administer the study and provides a script of what the researcher should say and do

constant

a factor that does not change and remains consistent

paper presentation

a formal oral research presentation explaining key features of the study and the results

research poster

a formal, visual research presentation that presents the research question and rational for asking it, the study procedure, the findings, and what the findings mean

APA style

a format for writing a research report, addressing both content and formatting, that was established by the American Psychological Association and that psychology and many other social sciences use

Research Journal

a periodical containing articles by experts in a particular field of study

Explanatory/Predictor Variable

a potential causal variable in nonexperimental designs

APA Publication manual

a publication of the APA that details how to write research reports in APA style

hypothesis

a specific, educated conjecture or prediction that provides a testable explanation of a phenomenon

scientific law

a statement based on repeated experimental observation that describes sterm-6ome aspect of the world, but makes no assumptions about why it occurs.

programmatic research

a systematic and planned sequence of related studies where subsequent studies build directly on a previous study's findings to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a phenomenon

Scientific Theory

a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world confirmed through repeated observation and experimentation

script

a written set of instructions that the researcher reads to the participant while collecting data

an "empirical" approach

an approach in which the experimenter uses direct and indirect observations or experiences to test the research question

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

levels

different variations of the independent variable determined by the researcher

data

distinct pieces of information that determine the analytic strategies you should use to test your hypothesis

Variables

factors or elements that you expect to change, vary, or have several different values

Which characteristic is important for minimizing natural flaws in thinking?

falsifiability

criterion/response variable

outcome variable in a nonexperimental design

debriefing

part of standard ethical procedures at the end of a research study; contains an explanation of the purpose of the study and disclosure of deception, and gives participants a chance to ask questions

Results Section

provides information about how the hypotheses were tested, explaining through statistical language, narrative, and reference to tables and graphs

Occam's Razor

refers to the idea that you should "cut away" unnecessary parts also referred to as the principle of parsimony (simplicity); which suggests that if there are multiple ways of saying something, the most simple and direct ways are best

operational definition for the variable

represents how we will use (or put into operation) the variables in our study

Weber's Law of Just Noticeable Difference

states the amount by which a stimulus must change in intensity for us to perceive the change

longitudinal design

the collection of data on participants over a set period of time

Title Page

the first page of an APA-style report that identifies the title of the work as well as the authors and their institutional affiliations

Method Section

the portion of an APA-style research report in which the researcher provides details about the sample, materials, and procedure of collecting data.

introduction

the portion of an APA-style research report that provides background literature on the topic under investigation, as well as a justification of importance for the work and the hypotheses

open science

the practice of freely sharing our scientific work along all stages of the research process

peer review

the process by which scientific experts in a field serve as reviewers who evaluate the quality of research reported in an article; identities of reviewers are kept secret to reduce potential bias; could be seen as a method of fact-checking information

the key distinction between scientific and nonscientific questions is whether or not

the question can be empirically tested

The Barnum Effect

the tendency of people to believe that general descriptions of personality, supposedly tailored specifically for them, are highly accurate This shows the importance of specific hypotheses: if your hypothesis is too vague/broad, it is unclear what exactly you are testing

independent variable

the variable manipulated in an experimental design; responsible for influencing another variable in the study

dependent variable

the variable that represents the effect or outcome in the study; influenced by another variable in the study

conceptual definition for the variable

what the variable represents in the context of the researcher's study

Discussion Section

where the researcher interprets, explains, and applies the results of the study

Abstract

A brief but informative summary of an entire research report that addresses the research topic, methodology used, findings, and conclusions (120-250 words) important because it is sometimes the only piece of information that others see about the research when conducting literature searches; its your chance to convince a potential reader that your report is worth their time

experimental design (why)

A design in which researchers manipulate an independent variable and measure a dependent variable to determine a cause-and-effect relationship

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Argus that moral development occurs throughout the lifespan in six different stages