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Chapter 3Planning Research
How Do Research Ideas Develop?
• Continuum of informal to formal ideas– Reacting to everyday events– Applying research to solve applied problems– Following up on previous research– Testing well-developed theories
How Do Research Ideas Develop?
Informal Formal
“This is interesting. I’d like to know moreabout it!”
“We have a problemto solve. Let’s figureout the best way todo it.”
“Our earlier projectanswered some ofour questions, butthere are still someunansweredquestions.”
“The theory sayspeople should act thisway. Let’s test thetheory.”
Informal Formal
“This is interesting. I’d like to know moreabout it!”
“We have a problemto solve. Let’s figureout the best way todo it.”
“Our earlier projectanswered some ofour questions, butthere are still someunansweredquestions.”
“The theory sayspeople should act thisway. Let’s test thetheory.”
about it!”do it.”
questions.”
theory.”
How Do Research Ideas Develop?
• The effect of theory– Psychologists who subscribed to behavioral theory
to regarded animal behavior as a useful substitute for human behavior in research
– More cognitively oriented psychologists are less likely to view animal research as being as important as in the past.
How Do Research Ideas Develop?
Reasons for decreases in animal research– People are more sensitized to issues of ethics in
animal research– Changes in theory, away from behavioral theory
to cognitive theory
The Theory Behind Research Ideas
Percentage of articles by decade published in key psychology journals that include keywords associated with cognitive, behavioral, psychoanalytic, and neuroscience perspectives.
Source: Spear, J. H. (2007). Prominent schools or other active specialties? A fresh look at some trends in psychology. Review of General Psychology, 11, 363-380. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.11.4.363. Copyright American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission.
How Can You Generate Research Ideas?
Ways to Generate Research Ideas
Studying spontaneously occurring events
Studying the validity of everyday beliefs and when these beliefs break down
Evaluating formal if-then statements
Using previous research as a stepping stone
Testing theory
How Can You Generate Research Ideas?
• Cultural Issues– Do classic findings hold true across cultures?– What aspects of culture are responsible for
differences across groups?– Are methodologies that are appropriate for one
cultural group also appropriate for different cultural groups?
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
• Increasing amounts of internet research– Surveys and correlational research dominate
internet research– Smaller amount of experimental research
involving manipulation of variables
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
• Technical and logistic considerations– Formatting web pages to fit different devices that
access the internet– Establishing the population that is on the internet– Increasing or maintaining respondent motivation
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
Area of Psychology Examples of Internet-Based Research
Social Psychology Attractiveness of facesJudgments of social situations
Health Psychology Eating disorders and family relationshipsSelf-medication with over-the-counter medication
Forensic Psychology Perceptions of sexual assaultEyewitness recognition
Sexuality Gender-related attitudesSexual health of college students
Cognition Memories for songsDecision making
These are examples on the Hanover College website of different types of research projects with data collection on the internet. The research changes, with new projects appearing regularly.
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
Ethical considerations in Internet ResearchInformed consent may be hard to verifyDebriefing may not be feasible and it may not be guaranteedInvasion of privacy may occur if people are not interested in participating but receive solicitationsResearch with minors is not legal without parental consent; you don’t know how old your participants really are
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
• Sex– Women—78% (+8%)– Men—78% (+7%)
• Age– 18-29—95% (+8%)– 30-49—87% (+4%)– 50-64—74% (+9%)– 65+--62% (+30%)
• Ethnicity– White, Non-Hispanic--79% (+6%)– Black, Non-Hispanic--67% (+5%)– English-speaking Hispanic--78% (0%)
• Income– Under $30,000/yr—55% (+8%)– $30,000-49,000—69 %(-4%)– $50,000-74,999—90% (+8%)– $75,000+--93% (+4%)
What percentage of the population was on the internet in 2011 (and the change since 2007)?
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
Do people respond to internet surveys?
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Percent R
esponse
Magazine Hyperlink Newsgroup Individual email
Means of Contacting Respondents
Source: Schillewaert, N., Langerak, F., & Duhamel, T. (1998). Non-probability sampling for WWW surveys: A comparision of methods. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 21, 55-70. © 1998 American Educational Research Association. Adapted with permission.
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
Advantages to Research on the Internet
Saves time for the researcher
People can participate at any time
Data collection is automatic and accurate
Wider samples of people are possible than in traditional laboratory research
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
Potential problems with internet research
Impossible to respond to questions participants might haveRemote participants might provide low-quality data
Computer users do not reflect the entire population
There are new ethical concerns
Presentation difficulties on different internet devices
The Virtual Laboratory—Research on the Internet
• Are potential problems with internet research serious?– In general, researchers have found that internet-
generated data are comparable to those in traditional formats.
Checking on Research: ReplicationThe value of replication
Checking on reliability of research results
Providing additional support for theories
Increasing construct validity of concepts being testedProtecting against fraudulent or fabricated data
Checking on Research: Replication
Types of replication– Exact replication—Doing the study as it was
originally conducted– Replication with extension—Repeating the study
but adding some new procedures– Conceptual replication—Addressing the same
question but from a different approach
Checking on Research: Replication
The literature review– Finding out about results of previous research– Discovering how other researchers have
conducted their research– Borrowing techniques from other researchers
Controversy: Does Music Make You Smarter?
• Researchers found that test scores improved when participants listened to Mozart.
• Other researchers wondered if the results would replicate.
• Subsequent research showed that the “Mozart Effect” was due to factors like mood and motivation, not to the music itself.
• Replication helped resolve the controversy.
How To Conduct A Literature Review
• Electronic Data bases, including PsycINFO describe published research
• There are ways to make search strategies in PsycINFO more effective so you find enough useful information but not too much
How To Read A Journal ArticleUnderstanding the format of a journal article
Abstract—An overview of the entire project
Introduction—Background on previous, related research; description of the researcher’s hypothesis
Method—Description of participants, materials, and procedureResults—Presentation of data and statements of what the researchers discovered
Discussion—Conclusions and implications based on the results