Research Methodology

• Scientific Methodology:

  • Science is a systematic, critical, controlled, reproducible path to knowledge
  • Involves theory and empiricism
  • Scientific method: set of assumptions, rules, and procedures used by scientists to conduct research
  • Results in an accumulation of scientific knowledge through reporting and modification of findings
  • Research must be objective and based on previous work to replicate
  • Research reports represent scientific findings in a standardized written format (APA)
• Values vs. Facts:

  • Values are personal statements
  • Facts are objective statements determined to be accurate through empirical study
• Types of Research:

  1. Basic research: answers fundamental questions about behavior

  2. Applied research: investigates issues with implications for everyday life and provides solutions (e.g., program evaluation research)
• Research Design:

  • Specific method used to collect, analyze, and interpret data
  • Three basic types: Descriptive, Correlational, Experimental
• Empiricism:

  • Relies on empirical evidence based on facts, evidence, and research
  • Origin of knowledge is sense experience, emphasizing sensory perception
• Scientific Reasoning:

  • Involves inductive and deductive reasoning
  • Systematic hypothesis-testing is crucial
• Deductive and Inductive Reasoning:

  • Deduction: deriving conclusions from general premises
  • Induction: forming generalizations based on observations
  • In research, inductive approach is used when there is little existing literature, while deductive approach tests existing theories
• Data:

  • Raw numbers with many variables
  • Primary vs. secondary data
  • Used for analysis and statistics
• Facts:

  • True statements verified through experience
  • Scientific facts result from repeatable observations or measurements
  • Central to building scientific theories
• Nomothetic Paradigms:

  • Involves making generalizations and understanding large-scale patterns
  • Uses scientific methods to obtain quantitative data
  • Examples include classifying people into groups or establishing dimensions
• Nomothetic paradigms involve developing laws and theories that can be empirically tested
• Limitations of nomothetic paradigms:

  • Predictions can be made about groups but may not apply to individuals
  • Accused of losing sight of the 'whole person'
• Idiographic paradigms focus on uncovering detailed information about a narrower subject of study
• The term "idiographic" comes from the Greek word "idios" meaning "own" or "private"
• Psychologists interested in idiographic approaches aim to discover what makes each individual unique
• Idiographic approaches do not allow for general laws due to chance, free will, and the uniqueness of individuals
• Idiographic approaches tend to include qualitative data and investigate individuals in a personal and detailed way
• Methods used in idiographic research include case studies, unstructured interviews, self-reports, autobiographies, and personal documents
• Strengths of the idiographic approach:

  • Focuses on the individual
  • Findings can serve as a source of ideas or hypotheses for later study
• Limitations of the idiographic approach:

  • Time-consuming and costly to study individuals in depth
  • Not many people are willing to participate due to invasion of privacy and data access concerns
• Ethical considerations in psychological research are guided by principles to protect participants' rights, enhance research validity, and maintain scientific integrity
• Types of ethical issues in research:

  1. Voluntary participation

  2. Informed consent

  3. Anonymity

  4. Confidentiality

  5. Potential for harm

  6. Results communication

  7. Right to withdraw

  8. Debriefing

  9. Deception
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) ensures that research aims and design are ethically acceptable and follow institutional codes of conduct
• Verification of theories involves testing the truth-value of statements through evidence, often of an empirical nature
• Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating ideas using statistics, often used by scientists to test predictions arising from theories
• Steps in hypothesis testing:

  1. State research hypothesis as null and alternate hypotheses

  2. Collect data designed to test the hypothesis

  3. Perform a statistical test

  4. Decide whether to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis

  5. Present findings in the results and discussion section
• Operational definitions describe something in terms of the operations by which it could be observed and measured
• Operational definitions help researchers decide how to measure variables in a study
• Example: Happiness can be operationalized by counting the number of smiles a person emits during an observation period
• Operational definitions are concrete and measurable, allowing others to see if the research has validity
• In a research study, age can be defined as a participant's age measured in years, while addiction can be defined as meeting the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for any substance use disorder
• Operational definitions are crucial for the validity, replicability, generalizability, and dissemination of research findings
• Types of variables:

  • Categorical variables: Nominal (describes a name or category without order) and Ordinal (values defined by an order relation)
  • Binary variables: Yes/no outcomes
  • Numeric variables: Continuous (infinite real values within an interval) and Discrete (finite real values within an interval)
• Variables in the context of establishing causation:

  • Independent variables: Manipulated to affect the outcome
  • Dependent variables: Represent the outcome
  • Control variables: Held constant throughout the experiment
• Other types of variables:

  • Confounding variables: Hide the true effect of another variable
  • Latent variables: Represented via a proxy
  • Composite variables: Made by combining multiple variables
• Reliability and validity are essential in research design and analysis:

  • Reliability: Consistency of a measure
  • Validity: Accuracy of a measure
• Types of reliability:

  • Test-retest: Consistency across time
  • Interrater: Consistency across raters
  • Internal consistency: Consistency within the measurement itself
• Types of validity:

  • Construct: Adherence to existing theory
  • Discriminant: Divergence from unrelated measures
  • Content: Coverage of all aspects of the concept being measured
  • Criterion: Extent to which the result of a measure corresponds to other valid measures of the same concept
  • Face: measurement method appears “on its face” to measure the construct of interest
• Improving reliability:

  1. Use enough questions to assess competence

  2. Maintain a consistent environment for participants

  3. Ensure participants are familiar with the assessment user interface

  4. Train human raters effectively

  5. Measure reliability

  6. Regular item analysis (Cronbach's, McDonald's)
• Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences