Developing the Research Hypothesis Chapter 2

Dr. Mara Aruguete

Objectives
1. Describe how researchers get ideas about what to study. Describe how to find good sources in scientific literature. 2. Describe theories and hypotheses. What makes a good theory/hypothesis? 3. Describe how theories and hypotheses lead to scientific progress. 4. Describe the parts of a research article. 5. Explain ethical research practices for human and animal research.

Objective 1
Describe how researchers get ideas about what to study. Describe how to find good sources in scientific literature.

Getting Ideas: Practical problems

What are some of the problems you encounter at school or work?
What are some potential solutions? Can you test if the solutions work? E.g., employees dont recycle

What existing programs are not currently being tested for efficacy?
E.g., LUs new orientation system, Moodle How can you turn these into research projects?

Getting Ideas: Using Intuition/Observation

What things have struck you as interesting? What do you believe to be true? E.g.,
LU student morale is tightly tied to food quality Class performance can be predicted by class attendance and tardiness Prayer calms anxiety before tests Working in interracial groups makes racism go down

How can these topics be turned into research projects?

Try it Yourself
You notice that whenever you drive up to your house after having been away for a while, your dog is in the window awaiting your arrival. You mention this observation to a friend and he says, "Your dog is clearly psychic."
1. Provide an alternative to your friend's explanation for your observation. 2. Describe a method that might be used to test your alternative explanation.

Getting Ideas: Building on Existing Research

Knowledge gives way to research ideas
The best way to find a research topic is to read about something that interests you Replication repeating some or all of a study
well respected in science

PsychInfo, PsychArticles & other databases

Abstracts Primary sources (vs. secondary) Peer-reviewed research articles Interlibrary loan can get full articles Look for websites ending in .edu, .gov, and .org (NOT .com or .net) Google Scholar for primary sources http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1M3APR/www.wonktools.com/ http://www.webpages.ttu.edu/areifman/qic.htm

Internet Tools

How can you develop a study from this existing descriptive research?

Objective 2
Describe theories and hypotheses. What makes a good theory/hypothesis?

What is a Theory?
What do you think? In pairs: Define it.
Use theory in a sentence.

What is a Theory?
A set of related constructs that predicts and/or explains a variety of events Parts of a theory
(1) Measurable constructs of interest (2) Relations among constructs
Can be causal or predictive

Example of a Theory
E.g., Childrens misbehavior is caused reinforcement for inappropriate behaviors. constructs are: misbehavior, reinforcement, and inappropriate behavior
Can these constructs be measured ?(e.g. Childrens misbehavior = speaking while the teacher is addressing the class)

a causal relationship is proposed to occur under certain conditions

Experiment used to test causality Independent (manipulated) and dependent (measured)variables

Another Example
Theory: Repeated failure is likely to result in feelings of helplessness that lead to inaction. Constructs?
Measures?

Relations?
Can you think of multiple ways to test this theory?

Hypotheses
An "if-then" statement for a particular experiment More specific and testable than the theory The results of research will either support or not support the hypothesis

Example of a Theory + Hypothesis

E.g, theory of Diffusion of Responsibility says that as the number of people increases in a setting, the less each person feels responsible for their own behavior

E.g., a hypothesis might be that crowded classrooms in inner city schools negatively impacts child achievement
Name another hypothesis

What makes a Good Theory?

A good theory is:
1) General explains many events 2) Simple explains in the easiest way possible 3) Productive results in many research studies 4) Falsifiable possible for research to show that it is wrong
Santa brings presents on Christmasonly if you are good

Example: Testing and falsifiability

1793 - epidemic of Yellow Fever hit Philadelphia
Spread by mosquitoes, leads to liver failure Treated with bloodletting

How could they believe in BLOODLETTING?

The rationale: if the patient got better, then the bloodletting was working; and if the patient died, then the disease was too advanced for the patient to have been helped

The trap: the method of testing made it impossible to conclude that the treatment did not work

Glore Psychiatric Museum St. Joseph, MO

Pitfall of the bloodletting theory:

The theory was unfalsifiable
No matter what happened, the theory was supported

Diagram of places where blood could be let

Another Example: Our Copy Machine

1) Some people in our Department believe that the copy machine jams because it is too hot. 2) When it jams, people say it was too hot (too many copies have been made). 3) When it doesnt jam, people say it is about to jam or it is not hot enough

Pseudoscience
Freudian Theory
An unconscious mind motivates some behavior How can it be tested?

Intelligent Design
Life on earth is so complicated, it must have been designed by an intelligent agent How can it be tested?

Mini Theories
They contradict one another!

Unfalsifiable mini-theories
"absence makes the heart grow fonder"
"out of sight, out of mind "it's better to be safe than sorry" "nothing ventured, nothing gained"; "opposites attract" "birds of a feather flock together "two heads are better than one "too many cooks spoil the broth "never put off until tomorrow what you can do today "cross that bridge when you come to it"

Objective 3
Describe how theories and hypotheses lead to scientific progress.

A simple model of scientific progress:

1) Theories are put forth and hypotheses are derived from them 2) Hypotheses are tested using a number of techniques which we will get to later in this class 3) If the hypotheses are supported, then the theory receives some confirmation 4) If the hypotheses are not supported then the theory must be altered or discarded

Objective 4
Describe the parts of a research article.

Anatomy of a research article

Abstract- short summary of entire paper (heavy on results) Introduction Introduces problem, reviews past research, states hypotheses Method describes participants and procedures (enough detail to replicate) Results answers each hypothesis in a narrative and statistical form (dont worry if you dont completely understand the stats) Discussion Were the hypotheses supported? If not, why not? How does past research compare? What are the limitations? Future research considerations?

Objective 5
Explain ethical research practices for human and animal research.

Ethics Codes
Scientific societies (e.g., APA) and government agencies have formed their own ethics codes Every University has its own code
Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Ethics Codes
Three principles of ethics codes:
1. Beneficence
Cost/benefit analysis: Maximize benefits, minimize costs Minimize pain Informed consent Ps must know enough to make decisions about whether they want to participate No coersion Selection of Ps must be scientifically justifiable

2. Respect for persons

3. Justice

Informed Consent Form

Used when there are costs associated with research. Includes:
Purpose and duration of study Risks/benefits Confidentiality Anonymity (if applicable) Right to refuse/stop participation Contact information for researcher/IRB

HIRING STUDY PARTICIPATION CONSENT FORM The purpose of this study is to investigate how variations in job interviews affect hiring decisions and attitudes about applicants. If you choose to participate in the study, you will be shown a seven minute videotaped job interview. After viewing the videotape, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire packet which asks about your background information (e.g. age, gender), information about what you saw in the videotape, your social attitudes, your attitudes toward the candidate, and how likely you would be to hire the candidate. Viewing the videotape and completing the questionnaires will take about 25-30 minutes. Approximately 200 students will participate in this study. If you participate in this study, the benefits you may receive are limited to increasing your understanding of the research process. You may experience an inconvenience associated with the time taken to watch the videotape and fill out questionnaires. We will attempt to compensate for this inconvenience by awarding you extra credit points in one of your classes. If you do not wish to participate in this study, ask your instructor about earning the extra credit points in an alternative way. You are NOT REQUIRED to participate in this study. If you elect to participate, you do so of your own free will. You are free to quit at any time and there are no negative consequences associated with your quitting the study. If you participate in this study, your responses to all questions will be kept completely private and confidential. You may ask any questions you have about this research before, during, or after your participation. For questions concerning the research, please contact Dr. Mara Aruguete, Stephens College, (573) 876-7129. You may ask any questions you have about your rights as a research participant before, during, or after your participation. For questions concerning your rights as a research participant please contact Dr. Lois Bichler, Stephens College, (573) 876-7227. ____________________________________________________________________________ I have read the above information and am consenting, with my signature, to participate in this study. Signature ____________________________________ Name (Please print)_____________________________ If under 18 years old: Parent/Guardian Signature:________________________

Deception
Many studies withhold information about the true purpose of the study
Giving away information sometimes changes behavior

Deception When researchers lie about the purpose (Milgrams study)

Unethical to deceive about pain

Debriefing - If deception, Ps must be provided with an explanation ASAP

Animal Research
Most animals in psychological research are not harmed or killed IRBs and ethics codes regulate treatment which includes minimizing pain and suffering

Communicating with the public

Fraud faking data
Data must be available to other scientists

Plagiarism using someone elses work without credit

Extremely bad

In this class you will receive an F for either of these

Questionable practices regarding research participants

Your group is the IRB

A General Psychology teacher asks his students to participate in a study of the effects of traumatic pictures on memory.
The study takes 3 hours, participation is voluntary But, students are offered 150 points (almost 2 letter grades) if they participate

Is there an ethical problem? Explain.

Your group is the IRB

A researcher wants to study the effects of saturated fat on heart disease. He recruits subjects in homeless shelters. One group is fed a diet high in saturated fat. The other is fed a normal diet. Is there an ethical problem? Explain.

Your group is the IRB

To investigate how White and Black Americans behave while in a group dominated by the other race, researchers made groups of four with differing racial compositions and had them work on tasks together.
Ps were told a lie (that they were helping researchers to develop and evaluate testing methods).
Ethical Problem? Explain.

Your group is the IRB

One study tested drivers' reactions to hazardous situations. People were driving along and as their car passed a construction site, a realistic dummy fell into the path of a car too late for the driver to avoid hitting it.
Ethical Problem? Explain.

Your group is the IRB

In the early 1960's a Head Start was begun to provide compensatory education for children from economically and educationally disadvantaged homes.
Control group of children did not receive treatment for 5 years despite obvious performance differences.

Ethical Problem? Explain.