Science inquiry

• Research Terminology


  • Experimental
  • Non-experimental
  • Scientific
  • Non-scientific
• Experimental


  Investigates cause and effect between a dependent and independent variable through manipulation
• Non-experimental


  The type of research that lacks an independent variable. Instead, the researcher observes the context in which the phenomenon occurs and analyses it to obtain information.
• Scientific


  Follows the scientific method when investigating and uses empirical evidence
• Non-scientific


  Research conducted without any systematic methods and scientific basis. In non-scientific research, intuition, personal experience, and personal beliefs are used as techniques to reach a conclusion.
• Empirical evidence


  Knowledge obtained through systematic observation, measurement or experimentation.
• Sample


  Group of participants representative of the population
• Population


  Entire group of people belonging to a particular category → larger group of interest
• Role of the Experimenter


  • Must submit research plan to ethics committee for approval
  • Potential benefits of study should be weighed against risk or discomforts of participants → BENEFICENCE
  • Have a responsibility to protect physical and psychological welfare of participants
  • Ensure that their study shouldn't cause serious distress to participants and they must be prepared to stop the experiment should any distress be upon on the participant/s
  • If distress has occurred, counselling and debriefing should take place to aid participants wellbeing
  • Should aim to be OBJECTIVE in their studies and also be mindful of experimenter effects
• Participant's Rights


  • Privacy: protection of participants information; collection, storage and sharing of information should be done so in a way (by the investigator) that protects the participants information from third parties
  • Anonymity: protection of identity through non-disclosure of names throughout the experiment
  • Confidentiality: participant's involvement in, and results from, an experiment cannot be disclosed to anyone else unless written consent has been obtained.
  • Voluntary Participation: no pressure or form of compulsion should be placed on individual to participate.
  • Withdrawal Rights: refers to the right of the participant to cease their participation in a study at any time without negative consequences or pressure to continue.
• Informed Consent Procedures


  • Why the study is being carried out
  • Nature of the study
  • What they're going to be required to do
  • What could possibly cause stress or distress to them during/within the experiment
  • Assure participants of their withdrawal rights – NO PENALTY FOR WITHDRAWING
  • Inform participants that their participation is 100% voluntary – NO GUILT-TRIPPING
  • The signature of BOTH the participant (and guardian if under 18 years of age) will be required
• Deception in Research


  • Although vital in some experiments, should be avoided if it can be helped
  • Deception may sometimes be necessary in order to manipulate variables (IV) and also to avoid CONFOUNDING variables.
  • If deception is present, it should NOT cause serious distress to the participant
  • There MUST be a debriefing for ALL participants upon completion of the experiment (including withdrawn ones)
  • Debriefing to include: Reason for the deception, Misconceptions or misunderstandings as a result of the deception should be broken down and dissolved, Explanation of procedure and why deception had to be used for result collection
• Professional Conduct


  • Should adhere to principle of BENEFICENCE → principle states: MAXIMISE BENEFITS, MINIMISE HARM
  • Should receive approval from ethics committee
  • Should consider welfare of subjects
• Practical Issues Associated with Planning and Conducting Research


  • Identify research issue or problem to investigate
  • Develop exact research question or hypothesis
  • Choose research design and method
  • Collect data
  • Examine evidence
  • Interpret results
  • Communicate findings
• Sample


  The specific group that you will collect data from. The size of the sample is always less than the total size of the population.
• Population


  The entire group that you want to draw conclusions about.
• Sampling Methods


  • Convenience sampling
  • Random sampling
  • Stratified random sampling
• Convenience sampling


  Participants selected based on the researcher's accessibility to them, or their availability
• Random sampling


  Every member of a population as an equal chance of being selected for the sample being used in the study
• Stratified random sampling


  Involves breaking the population into "strata", or groups, based on characteristics they share. Participants the randomly selected in the same proportions that they appear in the
• Advantages of Sampling Methods


  • Convenience sampling: Quick and easy, Convenient, Doesn't require forward planning
  • Random sampling: Very quick, Inexpensive, Not based
  • Stratified random sampling: More likely to be representative of the population, Should be representative of the population, and there should be equal quantities of particular characteristics
• Disadvantages of Sampling Methods


  • Convenience sampling: Highly biassed, May not be representative of the population to be predisposed to act in a particular way
  • Random sampling: There is however, a chance that the sample may not be representative of the population
  • Stratified random sampling: May be randomly biassed in one direction, Time-consuming
• Features of Experimental Research


  • Independent Variable: the variable that is manipulated by the experimenter; it is what differentiates the control and experimental group.
  • Dependent Variable: the variable that is measured; imposition of the IV is claimed to affect DV measurement. Scientists look for a CAUSAL relationship between the IV and DV.
  • Operational Hypothesis: Predicted answers to a proposed research question; based on theory that provides basis for predicted answer
  • Controlled Variable: one that is NOT changed throughout the experiment to ensure that. Changes observed are purely the result of the IV.
  • Uncontrolled Variable: one that is allowed to stay random as it would have no predicted effects on outcome (e.g. eye colour.)
  • Extraneous Variables: any variable that you're not investigating that can potentially affect the outcomes of your research study.
  • Confounding Variable: a third variable in a study examining a potential cause-and-effect relationship. It is related to both the supposed cause and the supposed effect of the study.
• Experimental Group and Control Group


  • Experimental Group: the group of participants to which the independent variable is imposed onto.
  • Control Group: group of participants to which the IV is NOT imposed.
  • Relationship between the EG and CG: The control group works to provide a standard of behaviour to which the experimental group can be compared to in order to assess the effect of the IV on the DV
• Placebo Effect


  The participants' behaviour being influenced by their expectations of how they should behave, caused by the belief that they have received some treatment.
• Experimenter Effect


  The outcome of an experiment being unintentionally (or even intentionally) influenced by the experimenter. It occurs, for example, when the experimenter treats the members of the EG and the CG differently.
• Forms of Reliability


  • Inter-rater reliability
  • Parallel form reliability
  • Test-retest reliability
  • Internal reliability
• Inter-rater reliability


  Same result by anyone administering the test. (relief)
• Parallel form reliability


  Same property we are testing, different forms/tools to measure.
• Test-retest reliability


  Same test. Consistency.
• Internal reliability


  Every tool/question we use contributes to the result.
• Forms of Validity


  • Content Validity
  • Construct Validity
  • External Validity
• Content Validity


  Does the instrument we are using measure what we want to measure? Accuracy
• Construct Validity


  Does the test I am doing support the theory I am testing? Correlation
• External Validity


  Can my test be compared to other tests done in the same area/with the same theory? Generalised/peer review.
• Longitudinal Design


  Studying the same group of people at different points in time.
• Cross Sectional Design


  A form of independent groups design, where data is collected at one time from participants of all ages and different age-groups and compared.
• Features of Non-Experimental (Descriptive) Research Methods


  • Case Studies
  • Surveys
• Case Studies


  Gives detailed knowledge about single 'case' or small number of related 'cases' (e.g. Phineas Gage case study). Not really involving an experimental design or hypothesis; more focus on single particular situation that has occurred to an individual/group of interest/concern. A hypothesis can be suggested upon study of the case. However, findings from the case CANNOT be generalised for a whole population because of the tiny sample size (an individual or small group only) and because no actual experimental design was performed.
• Surveys


  It is both a research method and a type of measure [USUALLY A QUALITATIVE METHOD]. Can be conducted face-to-face, over telephone, or via internet. Provide quick answers from a big sample – their attitudes and/or preferences to goods, services, opinions, etc. (subjective data). Are often used to provide feedback so that providers can plan and further improve their marketing strategy. Surveys can either be quick surveys of large-scale surveys.