Explain how the scientific method in used in psychology and how research is conducted ethically

• Explain the steps of the scientific method

• Explain theories and hypotheses as they relate to the scientific method

• Explain how research involving humans and animals is regulated

Describe the advantages and limitations of research strategies

• Differentiate between descriptive, experimental, and correlational research

• Explain the strengths and weaknesses of case studies, naturalistic observation, and surveys

• Describe the strength and weaknesses of archival, longitudinal, and cross-sectional research

Describe the basic elements of correlational and experimental research

• Explain and give examples of correlation

• Discuss the experimental process (including ways to operationalize and generalize results from a sample to a larger population)

• Discuss how experimenter or participant bias could affect the results of an experiment

• Identify and differentiate between independent and dependent variables

• Demonstrate the value of using statistical analyses to examine data

• Describe significance and the role of p-values in statistical inference

• Explain reliability and validity

• Describe the basic structure of a psychological research article

Examine the research process in order to learn about the replication crisis

• Examine the research process in order to learn about the replication crisis

• Explain the replication crisis

Essential Concepts

The Scientific Method

• Scientists are engaged in explaining and understanding how the world around them works, and they are able to do so by coming up with theories that generate hypotheses that are testable and falsifiable. Theories that stand up to their tests are retained and refined, while those that do not are discarded or modified.

• Ethics in research is an evolving field, and some practices that were accepted or tolerated in the past would be considered unethical today.

• Researchers are expected to adhere to basic ethical guidelines when conducting experiments that involve human participants.

  • Any experiment involving human participants must be approved by an IRB.

  • Participation in experiments is voluntary and requires informed consent of the participants.

  • If any deception is involved in the experiment, each participant must be fully debriefed upon the conclusion of the study.

• Animal research is held to ethical standards, minimizing pain and distress for the animals and requiring IACUC approval and regular inspections to ensure that animals are being treated humanely.

Types of Research

Descriptive Research

• Descriptive research involves any of the following: clinical or case studies, naturalistic observation, surveys, archival research, longitudinal research, and cross-sectional research.

  • Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, which must be considered when designing a study to collect the data required.

Correlational and Experimental Research

• A correlation is described with a correlation coefficient, r, which ranges from -1 to 1.

  • The correlation coefficient tells us about the nature (positive or negative) and the strength of the relationship between two or more variables.

• Correlations do not tell us anything about causation—regardless of how strong the relationship is between variables. In fact, the only way to demonstrate causation is by conducting an experiment. People often make the mistake of claiming that correlations exist when they really do not.

• Researchers can test cause-and-effect hypotheses by conducting experiments. Ideally, experimental participants are randomly selected from the population of interest. Then, the participants are randomly assigned to their respective groups. Sometimes, the researcher and the participants are blind to group membership to prevent their expectations from influencing the results.

• In an ideal experimental design, the only difference between the experimental and control groups is whether participants are exposed to the experimental manipulation. Each group goes through all phases of the experiment, but each group will experience a different level of the independent variable. Once data is collected from both groups, it is analyzed statistically to determine if there are meaningful differences between the groups.

Statistical Thinking

• Statistical analyses play a crucial role in psychology research, as they allow researchers to analyze and interpret complex data and draw meaningful conclusions. Statistical analyses can help to:

  • test hypotheses and determine whether observed results are statistically significant.

  • identify relationships between variables, such as the relationship between parental involvement and child academic achievement or the correlation between depression and suicidal ideation.

  • generalize findings from a sample to a population. By calculating measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, mode) and variability (e.g., standard deviation), researchers can estimate how well their sample represents the larger population.

  • evaluate the validity and reliability of psychological measures.

• Psychologists report their research findings in peer-reviewed journal articles. Research published in this format is checked by several other psychologists who serve as a filter separating ideas that are supported by evidence from ideas that are not. Replication has an important role in ensuring the legitimacy of published research. In the long run, only those findings that are capable of being replicated consistently will achieve consensus in the scientific community.

The Replication Crisis

• The replication crisis in psychology refers to concerns about the credibility of findings in psychological science. The term arose after findings of some key psychological research studies were difficult to replicate, meaning that other researchers were unable to reproduce the same results. The crisis has led to a re-evaluation of the methods used in psychological research and a push for more transparency and openness in the field.

Research in Psychology Cheat Sheet from Lumen One Introduction to Psychology, Lumen Learning, https://lumenlearning.com/, CC BY.

David Wiley