Lesson #2: Conducting Research in Scientific Thinking

Psychology
; Scientific thinking is a type of knowledge
seeking involving intentional information
seeking, including asking questions, testing
 Physical Sciences hypotheses, making observations,
; Physical Science is the study of inanimate recognizing patterns, and making inferences
natural objects, including chemistry, (Kuhn, 2002; Morris et al., 2012)
geology, physics and astronomy. ; For example, scientific thinkers are clear
What is the main focus of physical as to the purpose at hand and the question
science? at issue. They question information,
conclusions, and points of view. They strive
Physical sciences are those academic to be accurate, precise, and relevant. They
disciplines that aim to uncover the seek to think beneath the surface, to be
underlying laws of nature - often written in logical, and objective.
the language of mathematics. It is a
collective term for areas of study including Scientific Method
astronomy, chemistry, materials science ; In a typical application of the scientific
and physics. method, a researcher develops a
 Biological Sciences hypothesis, tests it through various means,
and then modifies the hypothesis on the
; Biological sciences is the study of life and basis of the outcome of the tests and
living organisms, their life cycles, experiments
adaptations and environment. There are
many different areas of study under the  Observation
umbrella of biological sciences including ; Observation is essential in
biochemistry, microbiology and evolutionary science. Scientists use observation to
biology. collect and record data, which enables
 Social Sciences them to construct and then test
hypotheses and theories. Scientists
; Social science is, in its broadest observe in many ways – with their own
sense, the study of society and the manner senses or with tools such as
in which people behave and influence the microscopes, scanners or transmitters to
world around us. extend their vision or hearing.
Some examples of social sciences Theory: a set of related assumpttions from
include the following: which testable predictions can be made.
 Anthropology.  Prediction
 Economics.
;A scientific prediction suggests the data
 Geography.
that are consistent with the hypothesis
 Political science.
and thus can pertain to future and past
 Psychology.
experimental outcomes. Therefore, even
 Sociology. though these experiments were
conducted over 200 years ago, we can
formulate predictions concerning the
expected outcomes of the experiments.
Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an idea or of science-related topics, and increasing
proposition that can be tested by the sense of wonder about scientific
observations or experiments, about the discoveries and arguments. Science
natural world. In order to be considered communicators and audiences are
scientific, hypotheses are subject to ambiguously defined and the expertise and
scientific evaluation and must be falsifiable, level of science knowledge varies with each
which means that they are worded in such a group.
way that they can be proven to be incorrect.
Research Design in Psychology
 Testing
; The scientific method is the process of
Research design in psychology is the
objectively establishing facts through testing
specific approach used to scientifically
and experimentation. The basic process
collect, analyze and then interpret data. In
involves making an observation, forming a
psychology and the behavioral sciences, the
hypothesis, making a prediction, conducting
data is typically observations of the behavior
an experiment and finally analyzing the
of people, but animal behavior is also widely
results.
studied.
Reliabilty: Reliability refers to how
 Variable
consistently a method measures something.
If the same result can be consistently ; a condition in an experiment or a
achieved by using the same methods under characteristic of an entity, person, or object
the same circumstances, the measurement that can take on different categories, levels,
is considered reliable. You measure the or values and that can be quantified
temperature of a liquid sample several times (measured). For example, test scores and
under identical conditions. ratings assigned by judges are variables.
Validity: Validity refers to how accurately a  Population
method measures what it is intended to
measure. If research has high validity, that ; The target population is the total group of
means it produces results that correspond individuals from which the sample might be
to real properties, characteristics, and drawn. A sample is the group of people who
variations in the physical or social world. take part in the investigation. The people
who take part are referred to as
 Interpretation “participants”.
; Interpretation involves constructing a  Samples
logical scientific argument that explains the
data. Scientific interpretations are neither A sample is the group of people who take
absolute truth nor personal opinion: They part in the investigation. The people who
are inferences, suggestions, or hypotheses take part are referred to as “participants”.
about what the data mean, based on a Generalisability refers to the extent to which
foundation of scientific knowledge and we can apply the findings of our research to
individual expertise. the target population we are interested in.

 Communicate
Science communication is the practice of
informing, educating, raising awareness
Descriptive Design Example: a psychologist wants to study
what factors can cause employee's
Descriptive designs include case studies,
depression problems. He then conducts a
surveys, and naturalistic observation.
depression survey for the employees with
The goal of these designs is to get a picture
questions helping them understand what
of the current thoughts, feelings, or
causes behavior elevation in employees,
behaviors in a given group of people.
their traits, lifestyle, work-life balance, and
Descriptive research is summarized using
other factors.
descriptive statistics.
Correlational Studies
 Case study
; Correlational research is a type of non
; A case study is a research approach that experimental research in which the
is used to generate an in-depth, multi- researcher measures two variables and
faceted understanding of a complex issue in assesses the statistical relationship (i.e., the
its real-life context. It is an established correlation) between them with little or no
research design that is used extensively in a effort to control extraneous variables.
wide variety of disciplines, particularly in the
social sciences. For example, researchers might perform a
correlational study that suggests there is a
 Naturalistic Observation relationship between academic success
; Naturalistic observation is a qualitative and a person's self-esteem. However, the
research method where you record the study cannot show that academic success
behaviors of your research subjects in real changes a person's self-esteem.
world settings. You avoid interfering with or Experimental studies
influencing any variables in a naturalistic
observation. You can think of naturalistic ; Experimental research is a scientific
observation as “people watching” with a method of gathering data whereby the one
purpose. conducting the research is able to
manipulate the independent variable.
 Qualitative Research/ Interviewer Experimental research psychology is the act
Qualitative research is an important of applying experimental research methods
alternative to quantitative research in to the study of human behaviour.
psychology. It generally involves asking  Random Assignment
broader research questions, collecting more
detailed data (e.g., interviews), and using ; Random assignment is a procedure used
nonstatistical analyses. in experiments to create multiple study
groups that include participants with similar
 Survey Research characteristics so that the groups are
; Survey research is defined as "the equivalent at the beginning of the study.
collection of information from a sample of  Experimental Group
individuals through their responses to
questions" (Check & Schutt, 2012, p. 160). ; a group of participants in a research study
This type of research allows for a variety of who are exposed to a particular
methods to recruit participants, collect data, manipulation of the independent
and utilize various methods of variable (i.e., a particular treatment or
instrumentation. treatment level). The responses of the
experimental group are compared to the
responses of a control group, other school to record their cognitive development
experimental groups, or both. in depth.

 Control Group Twin Adaption Studies

; a comparison group in a study whose ; The twin studies was a series of studies
members receive either no intervention at done on sets of twins either identical or
all or some established intervention. The fraternal who were separated as infants and
responses of those in the control group are raised in different households. The goal of
compared with the responses of participants this study was to find out how much of a
in one or more experimental groups that are child's personality is based on their genetics
given the new treatment being evaluated. compared to the environment they were
raised in.
Example of a Control Group
; Twin and adoption studies can be used to
Assume you want to test a new separate the effects of genetics from the
medication for ADHD. One group would social environment of rearing, and twin
receive the new medication and the other studies can often give clues to the
group would receive a pill that looks exactly importance of biological environmental
the same as the one that the others factors.
received, but it would be a placebo. The
Meta Analysis
group who takes the placebo would be the
control group.

 Quasi-experimental Design ; a quantitative technique for synthesizing

the results of multiple studies of a
; an experimental design in which
phenomenon into a single result by
assignment of participants to an
combining the effect size estimates from
experimental group or to a control group
each study into a single estimate of the
cannot be made at random for either
combined effect size or into a distribution of
practical or ethical reasons; this is usually
effect sizes.
the case in field research.
Example: There are many meta-analyses in
Example: In a quasi-experiment, the
psychology and medicine, areas where
independent variable can not be randomly
studies find often conflicting results. For
assigned because it is an innate difference
example, some experiments might find
of the participants themselves. A memory
that a particular drug decreases the risk
task with a group of clinically depressed
of heart attack, while other experiments
participants compared to a control group
might find the drug doesn't have any
of non-depressed participants is a
particular effect.
common example in psychology.
Overview of Statistics In Psychology
Longitudinal Studies
Research
; the study of a variable or group of
 Statistics
variables in the same cases or participants
over a period of time, sometimes several ; a branch of mathematics dealing with the
years. An example of a longitudinal design collection, analysis, interpretation, and
is a multiyear comparative study of the presentation of masses of numerical data. :
same children in an urban and a suburban a collection of quantitative data.
  Descriptive statistics without their consent, by incorporating it
into your work without full
; Descriptive statistics describe, show, and acknowledgement. All published and
summarize the basic features of a dataset unpublished material, whether in
found in a given study, presented in a manuscript, printed or electronic form, is
summary that describes the data sample covered under this definition.
and its measurements. It helps analysts to
understand the data better.  Falsification

 Inferential Statistics ; Manipulating research materials,

equipment, or processes, or changing or
; Inferential statistics are ways of analyzing omitting data or results such that the
data using statistical tests that allow the research is not accurately represented in
researcher to make conclusions about the research record.
whether a hypothesis was supported by the
results.  Fabrication
Ex: Inferential statistics have two main Fabrication is “making up data or results.”
uses: making estimates about Falsification is “manipulating research
populations (for example, the mean SAT materials, equipment, or processes, or
score of all 11th graders in the US). testing changing or omitting data or results such
hypotheses to draw conclusions about that the research is not accurately
populations (for example, the relationship represented in the research record.”
between SAT scores and family income)
Ethical Treatment of Human Participants
Research Ethics
 Informed consent
 Ethics
; Informed consent is one of the founding
; Ethics examines the rational principles of research ethics. Its intent is
justification for our moral judgments; it that human participants can enter research
studies what is morally right or wrong, freely (voluntarily) with full information about
just or unjust. In a broader sense, ethics what it means for them to take part, and that
reflects on human beings and their they give consent before they enter the
interaction with nature and with other research.
humans, on freedom, on responsibility and
on justice.  Respect for persons

Scientific Misconduct ; Respect for persons requires that subjects,

to the degree that they are capable, be
; Research misconduct occurs when a given the opportunity to choose what shall
researcher fabricates or falsifies data, or or shall not happen to them. This
plagiarizes information or ideas within a opportunity is provided when adequate
research report. The misconduct must be standards for informed consent are
committed intentionally, and the allegation satisfied.
must be proven by sufficient evidence.
 Beneficence
 Plagiarism
; Persons are treated in an ethical manner
Plagiarism is presenting someone else's not only by respecting their decisions and
work or ideas as your own, with or protecting them from harm, but also by
making efforts to secure their well-being.
Such treatment falls under the principle of
beneficence.

 Privacy and Confidentiality

; The principle of confidentiality in ethical
research states that the identity of the
participants must remain anonymous and
the information they supply must be
respected. This means that researchers
must take steps to ensure their research
data remains confidential.

 Justice
; justice is the fair selection of research
participants. Justice is the ideal distribution
of risks and benefits when scientists
conducting clinical research are recruiting
volunteer research participants to
participate in clinical trials.