KIN 373: Research Methods Exam

describe a true experimental research design

* Posttest only control group design * pretest-posttest control group design * Solomon Four-group design

Describe what subjects a post-positivist would focus on

All quantitative subjects (everything). They identify variables, relationships, between variables, make predictions

Types of data: what is mixed methods?

Both quantitative and qualitative methods are included within a research study. Strength of this method is greater than either approach alone

Ontology

Philosophy regarding the nature of reality. a researcher's ontology can be 1) Naiive realist (one truth) 2) critical realist (closest possible truth) 3) relativist (many truths- depends on context)

Define 4 response biases related to quantitative surveys

Social Desirability Aquiescence extremity leniency

Explain the research dimension of mode of inquiry

The mode of inquiry is either observational or experimental

define extraneous variable. e.g.?

a variable that might affect the DV that is not the IV

what is reliability

consistency in findings. (e.g., if you step on the scale multiple times and get the same number every time)

ecological validity?

how do results generalize across environments

What is the ontology, epistemology, methodology, and interest of an interpretivism paradigm?

ontology: multiple realities (relativist) epistemology: subjective/co-creation of findings methodology: idiographic, qualitative interest: understanding, interpreting

What is the ontology, epistemology, methodology, and interest of a a critical paradigm?

ontology: multiple realities constructed within social/historical context epistemology: subjective, interactive methodology: idiographic, participatory, transformative interests: understanding, social change

What paradigms use quantitative data?

post-positivists

Describe and provide examples of 3 types of quantitative data

quantitative data is in numbers and defines relationships among variables to see if they are generalizable using hypothesis testing. 1) quantitative surveys 2) performance measures 3) physical/physiological measures

Describe what subjects an interpretivist would focus on

sociology and person-level factors. understanding individuals experiences and subjective meanings

Describe what research is

* a process of gathering information * a process of analyzing information * a process that contributes to new knowledge

threat to internal validity: sampling bias?

* choosing comparison groups in a non-random manner (not randomly assigned) * pre-existing differences between groups- functions as confounding variables. (e.g., letting volunteers choose what group they want to be in- exercise or control group. this may mean that more active people choose the exercise group than not)

Quantitative data: performance measures

* speed, accuracy * reaction time * force * balance/stability * motion analysis/ range of motion * movement skills

identify topics of research in Kinesiology

* team cohesion * stress in sport * bio mechanics * Ethical issues

Physical/physiological measures

* weight/height/BMI * BP, HR, CV disease indicators, hormones, cardiac output, lung volume, resting metabolic rate *MRI

Provide examples of 5 types of qualitative data

1) Interviews 2) Observations 3) Diaries and documents 4) images, drawings, photos 5) open-ended questionnaires/surveys

what are 7 threats to internal validity?

1. History 2. Maturation 3. testing 4. instrumentation 5.sampling bias (not randomly assigning people to groups 6. mortality 7. experimenter bias/expectancy

describe 5 different types of sampling and provide examples of when they are used

1. Random sampling (random selection 2. Stratified random sampling 3. Systematic sampling 4. Purposeful sampling 5. Convenience sampling

Identify and describe 9 dimensions of research

1. Topic 2. Novelty 3. Technology 4. scope 5. Mode of Inquiry 6. Methodology 7. Ideology 8. Politics 9. Utility

use of theory in qualitative approaches?

1. broad explanation of behaviors and attitudes, may include variables and constructs and hypotheses 2. theoretical lens or perspective 3. theory becomes the end point 4. no explicit theory

name 3 ways extraneous variables may arise.

1. participant variables (age, gender, sex, physical fitness, health status) 2. Situational variables (temperature of testing room) 3. experimenter variables (appearance and conduct of researcher)

3 criteria for cause and effect

1. the cause (IV) must precede the effect (DV) in time 2. the cause (IV) and effect (DV) must be correlated with eachother 3. the change seen in the effect (DV) cannot be explained by another variable (no confounding variables)

what are directional and non directional research hypotheses

A directional hypothesis specifies the direction of the relationship (pos or neg, A causes B) while a non-directional hypothesis do not, and only states that a relationship exists (A related to B)

Describe the characteristics that make a research question scientific

Build on what you already know, and what you can find out. A scientific question is testable, and when answered leads to other good questions

What can a post-positivist gain from an interpretive study?

Interpretive or critical studies can be valuable on their own, or as a starting point for developing post-positivist studies you can also use interpretive studies to understand the meaning of experiences (or social processes)

Explain the research dimension: Politics

Many researchers say they are "neutral" or "objective"

Quantitative surveys

Measures of subjective experiences that are quantifiable. they are guided by theory. * thoughts * perceptions * attitudes * emotions * personality * behavior

distinguish between experimental and non-experimental/observational research

Observational/non-experimental research is when you gather data about the world as it is. Hope the act of studying does not substantially modify the thing you are investigating. experimental research is when you do something (intervention) and see what happens. gather info before and after, then look for changes

What is the ontology, epistemology, methodology, and interest of a post-positivism paradigm?

Ontology: one reality that we can come close to discovering (critical realist) epistomology: modified objectivist Methodology: nomothetic, experiemtal, correlational interests: explanation, prediction/control (can be qualitative or quantitative; more attention t context)

what is Qualitative data?

Qualitative data is gathered such that it can be analyzed through informed judgement (previous research). It focuses on smaller samples and the complexity of the phenomenon (ability to generalize is compromised)

identify characteristics of quantitative and qualitative research methodology

Quantitative: * data collection with instrument * test hypothesis or relationship among variables * address validity and reliability measurement issues Qualitative: * data collection with researcher-as- instrument * thematically analyze data * address credibility and trustworthiness issues

identify ways to control threats to internal validity

Randomization placebos, blind and double blind studies standardize experiments and instruments as much as possible.

identify 2 threats to external validity

Representative of other populations? representative of other settings?

Describe the research dimension of Novelty

Research must be new vs past knowledge. systematic and literature reviews are not research, they contribute no new knowledge to the world of science.

explain a between group design

Separate group for each condition (participants only provide data once)

5 steps to answering scientific questions

Step 1: observation/ finding a gap step 2: hypothesizing (not in qualitative research) step 3: design experiment study Step 4: collect data Step 5: Analysis & conclusions

Differentiate between 3 types of interviews

Structured Semi-structured unstructured

define criterion variable. e.g.?

The presumed effect in a correlational (non-experimental) study. measured by the researcher.

what are constructs

Things we cannot directly measure

What is theory?

a conceptual map which outlines the interrelationships between a set of variables within a specific domain which, when taken collectively, purports to explain a given phenomena. explains why something happens. cannot be proven, always in flux! theories make predictions about relationships between variables.

define variable.

a property or characteristic that can take on different values

Research hypothesis

a statement regarding an expected or predicted relationship between variables.

what is validity

accuracy of findings (e.g., is the scale zeroed properly)

explain the advantages and disadvantages of between-group design

advantages are : design simplicity, less chance of practice & fatigue effects, useful when participants cannot participate in all conditions. the disadvantages are resource expenses (time effort and participant #'s)

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of a repeated measure design

advantages: less resources as participants are used multiple times. can asses change in cases or individuals over time. the disadvantages are carry-over effects from one condition to another

Semi-structured Interview

all participants are asked about the same broad topics, but may focus more on some areas. More inductive (most popular), more open-ended

Structured interview

all participants get the same questions in the same order, reflects a deductive approach

What are social processes?and which paradigms are associated with them?

associated with critical and interpretive. social processes are inherently subjective. how you experience something will differ from how others do.

Explain the inductive approach (Bottom up)

associated with qualitative research. data is collected from the observed phenomena and a theory is developed to try to explain it.

Explain the deductive approach (top down)

associated with quantitative research. using past theories, then testing new theories to see if they are unsupported or supported

Random assignment

assumes personal factors that could influence participants scores on the dependent variable are distributed evenly across groups. helps control for: past history, maturation, testing. Does not control for measurement errors, experimental mortality or events during treatment.

understand the relationship between basic and applied research

basic research is to understand the cause or mechanism of a phenomenon, typically lab-based, careful control over research environment. Applied research is to understand the change/impact of findings on health, behaviour etc. Typically field-based, limited control over research environment.

Explain the research dimension: Utility

basic versus applied research

What about bias and subjectivity?

bias and subjectivity can be a good thing. helps us ask better questions! they are both inherent in personal experience and social processes (impossible to avoid)

Solomon Four-group design

combines posttest only and pretest-posttest control group designs. Determination if there is a testing threat to internal validity and if the pretest interacts with the treatment. replication of treatment effect.

Paradigm

constellation of values, beliefs and techniques shared by members of a scientific community. worldview or lens through which you view research and science

What type of research design uses non-directional hypotheses?

correlational so we can say A is related to B

Define systematic sampling

e.g., pick every 100th person (in phone book)

Single-subject design

effect of the intervention on the single subject. A repeated measure design. often used to examine unique/outlier cases. E.g simone biles

threat to internal validity: history?

events occurring the course of the experiment not due to the treatment (unplanned event that coincides with the IV could be responsible for the behavior change (true cause))

What type of research design uses directional hypotheses

experiemental so we can say A causes B

What type of research design are IV and DV part of?

experiemntal. because we are trying to establish cause and effect by manipulation

Threat to internal validity: experimenter bias/ expectency?

experimenters or testers anticipating certain participants will perform better. Researcher's behavior influences the results of the research (usually unintentional)

Ex post facto design

groups (IV) are already formed based on characteristic of the participants & are compared on the DV e.g. olympic hopefuls selected vs not selected

Population validity?

how do the results generalize across people

idiographic? vs nomothetic

idiographic is related to small groups (qualitative) while nomotheic methodology is related to quantitative and the ability to generalize to populations

Time series design

infer cause and effect by establishing the rate of change between observations is different between observation 4 and 5. Not feasible or practical to have a control group. Participants act as their own controls

Unstructured interview

informal conversational interview. Maximum flexibility, spontaneous questioning

describe a quasi-experimental research design

interested in maximizing external validity - want to approximate real world settings - participants are not randomly assigned, not possible, participants either self-select themselves to one of the groups or an administrator decides who will receive treatment. Non

What paradigms use qualitative data?

interpretive and critical and post-positivist

explain why correlation does not equal causation

just because two things correlate doesn't mean one causes the other

Internal threat to validity: Mortality

loss of participants from comparison groups for non-random reasons (participants drop out, and those who stay tend to be more motivated)

define confounding variable. e.g.?

not measured in the study but might influence the DV

if a design is repeated-measure, is it longitudinal?

not necessarily

what are this issues with positivism paradigm?

not realistic, doesnt really apply, utopian view

explain a repeated-measure design

observations are taken from the same participants more than once (same as within subject design)

What is the ontology, epistemology, methodology, and interest of a positivism paradigm?

ontology: one reality that we can discover (naiive realist) epistemology: objective (takes themselves out of the research) methodology: nomothetic, experimental (generalizable to population) interest: prediction/control (they try to control, so they can find the results they predicted)

What is random sampling. ex?

participants are randomly selected from a population. related to external validity in order to generalize findings. not the same as random assignment (assigning variables within the study to participants randomly)

describe a pre-experimental research design

participants receive the intervention/treatment of interest. limited control over threats to internal validity. participants not randomly assigned to groups. changes in the independent variables cannot be attributed to the manipulation of the independent variable

What subjects does qualitative research encompass

person-level factors, sociology

What subjects does quantitative research encompass

physics, chemistry, biology/anatomy, person-level factors, sociology

Define stratified random sampling

population is divided on a characteristic and then randomly sampled. E.g. How attitudes towards physical activity change throughout university. * group size must be equal.

threat to internal validity: maturation

processes within the participant that operate as a result of time passing (natural development i,e puberty)

threat to internal validity: instrumentation?

quantitative research depends on measurement. data must be accurate or else interpretation will be inaccurate. results are only as good as how you measure it.

how do you interpret correlation coefficients?

range from -1 to +1; 0 = no relationship (negative coefficient just means that there is negative relationship)

what is longitudunal research

repeated measurement of variables over time

what is a non-experimental design?

research designs where there is a theoretically presumed cause and effect. no control group and random assignment (observational and correlational)

response bias: Social desirability

responses that make the responder look better

Define Convenience sampling

selection is based on easy access to participants. non-probability sampling.

Define purposeful sampling

selection is based on specific criteria. Information rich cases. Qualitative research (non probability sampling)

Describe what subject a critical researcher would focus on

sociology: understand individual experiences in the context of history or culture

explicit vs implicitly stated theory? which paradigms use which?

some studies explicitly state the use of theory (i.e self-determination theory). this type appears more in interpretive and critical paradigms (qualitative). theory use is less explicitly stated in post-positivsm.

what is a correlation?

tells us the strength of the association between variables, direction of the relationship (does not mean that A causes B)

Response bias: aquiescence

tendency for survey respondents to agree with statements regardless of their content particularly when they are unsure of the answer

Response bias: Extremity

tendency to endorse the most extreme response categories regardless of the questions

Epistomology

the conscious and unconscious questions, assumptions and beliefs that the researcher brings to the research endeavor. a researcher's epistomology can be: 1) objective (no personal influence) 2) modified objectivist (acknowledge researcher influence) 3) Subjective (influenced by historical, personal, emotional, social and cultural factors)

Placebo

the effect due to the treatment or is it a psychological effect.

Define dependent variable. e.g.?

the effect of the IV, measured by researcher

threat to internal validity: testing?

the effects of one test on subsequent administrations of another test (reactivity- exposure to pretest changes behavior e.g. individuals become aware, and start self-monitoring their behavior. also the participants get better at the test the second time because they are more familiar with it. (loss of naiivety- people start catching on to what you are testing and modify their behavior)

what is internal validity

the extent to which the results of a study can be attributed to the treatments used in the study. (how much we can attribute the change in the dependent variable to the independent variable, did we control extraneous variable well enough?) to increase internal validity researchers want to control as many variables as possible and thus want to control the research environment

what is external validity

the generalizability of the results of a study beyond the research parameters generalizability to other situations/contexts, material, populations

Explain the internal vs external validity tradeoff

the more tightly you control the experiment (internal validity) the less generalizable (external validity)

Describe the relationship between a population and a sample

the population is the total number of possible units or elements that could be included in a study. While a sample is just a subset of the population used to represent the population

define predictor variable. e.g?

the presumed cause in a correlational (non-experimental) study. measured by the researcher.

Understand the purpose of small and large sample sizes

the purpose of a small sample is for intrinsic understanding of a particular instance the purpose of a large sample is to understandwhat generally happens in a population

What is an experimental design?

the researcher manipulates the independent variables to determine if it has an effect on the dependent variables.

define independent variable. e.g?

the variable you are manipulating

methodology

the way we go about discovering knowledge in a systematic way (research design). a researcher's methodology can be: 1) quantitative 2) qualitative 3) mixed methods

Explain the research dimension: Ideology

the way you "see" the world, the "lens" through which you view research * dictates what counts as facts or reality

Response bias: Leniency

unrealistically favorable rating to a known person

Describe how technology is used in research

used as a method of investigation. * a measuring device * a diagnostic tool * a method of analysis

define moderator variable. e.g.?

variables that affect the strength of the relationship between IV & DV (could be stronger or weaker). E.g., age, affects the relationship between exercise and desire to eat. (as you get older, there is still a positive relationship but just not as strong of a relationship as when you are younger)

define mediator variable. e.g?

variables that explain the relationship between IV and DV. accounts for the relationship between the IV/predictor and the DV/criterion. e.g., metabolism explains the relationship between exercise and desire to eat. (metabolism is the reason)

define control variable. e.g.?

variables that might influence the DV, but can be controlled through the design of the study.

What does WEIRD stand for?

westernized, educated peopl from Industrialized, Rich, Democracies. the population most research is done on because most samples are done on university students (convenient)

What is methodological coherence

when every step of the research processes matches up accordingly (research question, paradigm, ontology, epistemology, methodology, theory, methods/data)

what is cross-sectional research

when you collect data at only one time point