Psychological Research Specialization (Repaired) - Tài liệu tham khảo | Đại học Hoa Sen

RESEARCH STEPS 1.
Using the Scientific Methods
Literature review:xaminingexisting
researchrelatedtoatopicofinterest
Hypothesis:aspecific,testableprediction - Reality Example:
Step of the Scientific Method Example ObserveaPhenomenon
Astudentnoticesthatstudyinginone large block of timedoesnot help her rememberthematerial. AskaQuestion
Shewonders,“Will I understand my notes better if I review them each day or at the end of the week?” ReviewtheLiterature
Shelooksforpast researchthattestedvariousstudytechniquesandmeasured learning. FormaHypothesis
Shemakestheprediction: “Studying for 10 minutes daily will lead to recall of more
material than studying for 70 minutes once.” TesttheHypothesis
Inweek1,fiveparticipantsstudyfor10minuteseachdayandthentaketheChapter
1quiz.Duringweek2,thesameparticipantsstudyfor70 minutes in one sittingand
thentaketheChapter2quiz. AnalyzetheData
Shecomparesthedifferencesinpercentageofquestionsansweredcorrectlybetween weeks1and2. DrawConclusions
Sheconcludesthat spreading out studying over the week was more effective than
studying in a large block of time. ReviseTheory
Fromherresults,shewilldetermineifherresearchsupportsorrefutesthe
establishedtheory,orwhetherthetheorymightberefinedinsomeway. -
Real Example: psychologistDustinAlbertandcolleagues(2013)investigatedtheobservationthatadolescentsengagein
moreriskybehaviorsthanadults.
Step of the Scientific Method Example ObserveaPhenomenon
Likeus,theresearcherswouldhavenoticedthat teens seemed to engage in risky
behaviors more often than adults. AskaQuestion
Afternoticingthebehavior,itisnaturaltowonderwhyitishappening.The
researcherslikelyaskedquestionslikethis:“Whyareteenschoosingtoparticipatein
riskybehaviorsmoreoftenthanadults?”“Dotheyalwaysbehavethisway?” ReviewtheLiterature
Inordertofindoutwhatisalreadyknownaboutthistopic,theresearcherslookedfor
published studiesdealingwithteenage impulsivity, brain development, cognitive
development, and social and emotional development. FormaHypothesis
Afterreviewingtheliterature,includingtheirownpastresearch,Albertand
colleagues(2013)decidedto investigate the role of peers in adolescent decision-
making.Inthiscase,agoodhypothesiswouldbe:Teenagerswillexhibitmorerisky
behaviorswheninthepresenceofpeerscomparedtowhentheyarealone.Thisisa
specific,testableprediction,soitisagoodhypothesis. TesttheHypothesis
Atthispoint,Albertandcolleagues(2013)testedadolescentsinadecision-making
scenario.Inthisstudy,itwasadrivingsimulation.Onegroupwouldbetestedinthe
presenceofpeersandtheothergroupwouldbetestedalone. AnalyzetheData
Toanalyzethedata,theresearcherscomparedthepeerandno-peergroups’
performancesinthedrivingsimulation. DrawConclusions
Albertandcolleagues(2013)concludedthat the presence of peers caused
adolescents to make more risky decisions,whichresultedinahighernumberof
crashesinthedrivingsimulation.Theywroteascientificpaperandpublishedtheir
findingsinaresearchjournal. ReviseTheory
Basedontheresultsofthisstudy,thereisadditionalsupportforthetheorythat
teensmakemoreriskydecisionswheninthepresenceofpeersthantheymakewhen alone. 2.
Scholarly Sources (Literature Review)
Google Scholar(scholar.google.com)and PsycINFO(apa.org/pubs/databases/psycinfo) ●
Scholarly sourcemeetsacombinationoffactors: - Authored by scholars: o
Oftenhaveanadvanceddegree o
Rigoroustraininginresearchmethodology o
Aparticularspecialtyarea. o
Somescholarsconductresearchalone,butmostworkincollaborativeteams. -
Peer-reviewed journals:externalexperts(i.e.,expertswhowerenotinvolvedinthewritingoftheparticular
article,havethesamescholarlyareawiththeauthors)
review+approveanarticlebeforeit  ispublished - Research evidence: o
Describetheresearchmethodologyandfindingsofaspecificscientificstudythattheyconducted o
Describethecurrentresearchliteraturerelatedtothetopic,orboth. ●
Types of Journal Articles: (determine by reading the abstract) -
Academic journal:American Psychologist, Journal of Applied Psychology -
Research journal (empirical journal): describeindetailthemethodologyusedtoconductaspecificstudyandthe
correspondingresult-“primary sources” -
Review article: criticallysynthesizetheresultsofmultiplepublished,empiricalarticlesonagiventopic+providea
comprehensivereferencelistofrelatedsources-“secondary sources” ● The Gray Literature: -
Researchreportsandotherdocumentsthatarenotpublishedinacademicjournalsaresometimescalledthegray
literature,todistinguishthemfromthescholarlyliterature. -
Someofthesereportsaregeneratedbygovernmentalandnongovernmentalagencies. - Policydocuments,speeches 
,andso-calledwhite papersthatmayreport,oratleastappeartoreport,thefindings ofresearch. 3.
Reading the Scientific Literature ●
Terminology:setoftermstorefertoconceptsrelatedtoatopic -
E.g:researchersusetheterm“groupthink”torefertoaspecifictypeofdecision-makingprocessthatsomegroups follow. ●
Conceptual definitions:similaritiesanddifferencesinthewayconceptsaredefinedbyresearchers. -
E.g:theword “stress” isdefinedinatleastthreedifferentwaysintheresearchliterature:
①. torefertothenumberofmajor life eventsapersonrecentlyexperienced
②. thedegreetowhichapersonfeelsoverwhelmed
③. changesinsympatheticarousalandstresshormonelevels ●
Authors:tendtopublishmorethanonearticleorchapteronatopic+collabwithothers ●
Journals and books:asyouread,youwillencountercitationsandreferences, - E.g:appearin2ways
①. parenthetically:“...studiesofaerobicexerciseandrecoveryfromstress(Bernstein&McNally,2017)”
②. narratively:“Intheirstudiesofaerobicexerciseandrecoveryfromstress,BernsteinandMcNally(2017)found…” 4.
Structure of Research Article:
①. Abstract: briefsummaryofthearticle. +
Typicallyincludesstatementscorrespondingtoeachofthefollowingsectionsofthearticle,introduction,method,
results,anddiscussion. +
Mostjournalsimpose a strict word limitfortheabstract—usuallyafewhundredwords.
②. Introduction section:abriefsummaryoftheliteratureandthenexplainstherationaleforthestudy,includingthe
hypothesisorresearchquestion.
③. Method section:howtheauthorsconductedthestudy(participants,importantvariables+proceduresofthestudy)
④. Result section: presentthefindings(usuallywithcharts,graphs,tables)aswellasstatisticalanalysesofthedata.
⑤. Discussion section:comparestudywithpreviousresearch,explainsthestudy’scontributionstothefieldandits
implications+pointoutthelimitations
⑥. Reference section: theinformationtolocatetheoriginalsources,citation 5.
Analyzing a Research Article:
Questiontoanalyzetheresearcharticle: ●
Whatisthenature andquality oftheresearchquestionbeingaddressedinthearticle? ●
Whatisthehypothesis,orarethehypotheses,tobetested? ●
Whatarethemethods theauthorsusedtoconductthestudy(theparticipants,manipulatedandmeasuredvariables, procedures)? ●
Howdidtheauthorsanalyze thedata? ●
Whatweretheauthors’interpretationsofthestudyresults? ●
Whatwastheimportance and ofthedata? application ●
Aretherecommon results? ●
Arethereareasofagreement or among disagreement differentstudies? ●
Dotheauthorsrefertocommonlyacceptedtheoriesinthefield?Dothestudies’findingssupportthesetheories? ●
Whatgaps (limitationsorunansweredquestions)remainintheliterature?Whatkindsoffuturestudiesmightaddress thesegaps? ●
Whatmethods andmeasurements doresearcherstendtousewheninvestigatingthistopic?Couldthesemethodsand
measurementsbeusefulforyourstudy? ●
Whatchallengesorlimitations doresearcherstendtoencounterwheninvestigatingthistopic?Howdotheymanage these issues?
Types of Research Question: ●
Numeric value of variable.
E.g:whatpercentageofwomenintheUnitedStatesaged40to49haveanIQof120orabove?Or,whatistheaveragetime
thata6-week-oldbabysleepsperday? ●
Associative Relationship between variables.
E.g:doestakinga5-minutebreakeveryhourincreaseproductivityatwork?Or,whichofthreetherapeuticapproaches
causesthegreatestreductioninanxiety?
Basic and Applied Research
Basic research isdesignedtogainabetterunderstandingofaphenomenon,simplyforthesakeofincreasingknowledgeand understanding. - E.g: o howfatcellswork, o
whethercertainrewardsincreasecertainbehaviors,or o
howpeopleprocessinformationwhileinmotion.
Applied researchisdesignedtoaddressspecificpracticalproblems. - E.g: o
aprescribedexerciseprogramiseffectiveinreducingtheneedformedicationamongpeoplewithType2diabetes, o
oneleadershipstyleismoreeffectiveinincreasingemployeeproductivitythananother,or o
thedistancebetweenahighwayexitsignandthecorrespondingexitramppredictsthenumberofvehicle
accidentsnearthoseexits. KEY TAKEAWAY: ●
Meta-analysis:Aquantitativesynthesisofabodyofresearchonatopicthatcombinestheresultsofpreviouslypublished studies. ●
Value:Themathematicalmagnitudeorquantityofavariable. RECOGNIZE VARIABLES
1. Qualitative and Quantitative Variables: +
Qualitative variables:categorizedanddescribed +
Quantitative variables: measuredandordered E.g: Scenario 1:
Distractions, and what causes them, are important topics in educational research. For example, a quick visit to a coffee shop will
make it obvious that many students attempt to study where there is background music. Even in a library, students wearing earbuds
are common. But, is this music a distraction that hinders memory encoding? To investigate, we might ask participants to study a
topic in psychology with half assigned to a room where background music was playing and the other half assigned to a room that
was quiet. To measure performance, we might give each participant a 10-item quiz about the topic that they were attempting to
learn in the study room. From this scenario, take a moment to identify the variables and their type before reading on. Scenario 2:
At our core, we are social animals and, at times, just the presence of others can have an effect on how we behave. A popular topic in
psychology is how people behave in crowds under different contexts. For example, suppose you were walking through the park and,
in the midst of a crowd, you notice a person fall and then have difficulty standing. Would you step over to help? Would your response
be different if the person in need was different from you, maybe a different age group, socioeconomic status, or ethnicity, or maybe
someone who was unhoused? Most people will say they would be helpful in this situation, but would this be born out in their actions?
To investigate, we might ask for the help of a confederate to act out a fall in a crowd of bystanders where the confederate either was
or was not a member of the participant’s ingroup. To assess responsiveness to the confederate’s fall, we might record the time that
elapses between the fall and the first step the participant made following the fall. From this scenario, take a moment to identify the
variables and their type before reading on.
2. Operational Definition of Variables -
Operational definition:awaytodefinethevariableinobservable,concreteterms.(todefineanabstractvariable) o
E.g:the“Hypothesis”columnoftheOperational Definitions Tableliststhreehypothesesderivedfromthe
similarity-attractiontheory.
Operational Definitions Table Hypothesis Operational Definition Operational Definition for Similarity for Attraction
Thosewithsimilarpersonality traitswillspend
Number ofsharedpersonality
Amount of timespenttogether more timetogether. traits
Peoplewithsimilarphysical fitnesswillholdeach
Bodymassindex(BMI)within
Durationofdirecteye gaze other'sattention. 5points
Acouplewithsimilar social skills willhavea
Numberofsharedfriends
Length ofrelationship
healthy romanticrelationship.
Practice: Writing Operational Definitions:
①. Theexperienceofstresscaninfluencephysicalhealth.Suggestoperationaldefinitionsforthevariableofstressandthe
variableofphysicalHealth. +
Stress:Anoperationaldefinitionofstressmightbeaperson’sbloodpressurerelativetothenormalrangeofblood pressure. +
Physical Health:AnoperationaldefinitionofphysicalhealthmightbethelevelofTcellsinthebloodorthe
numberofcoldsorfluoverthepreviousyear.
②. Distractionaffectsdrivingability.Suggestoperationaldefinitionsforthevariableofdistractionandthevariableofdriving ability. +
Distraction:Anoperationaldefinitionofdistractionwhiledrivingmightbethenumberoftimesthedriverchecks newtexts. +
Driving Ability:Anoperationaldefinitionofdrivingabilitymightbespeedofresponsetotraffichazards.
③. Goodstudyhabitsreducetestanxiety.Suggestoperationaldefinitionsforthevariableofstudyhabitsandthevariableof testanxiety. +
Study Habits:Anoperationaldefinitionofstudyhabitsmightbethefrequencyofstudysessionspriortoanexam. +
Test Anxiety:Anoperationaldefinitionoftestanxietymightbeaperson’sbreathingrate.
④. Conflictoverresourcesinfluencesintergroupcooperation.Suggestoperationaldefinitionsforthevariableofconflictover
resourcesandthevariableofintergroupcooperation. +
Conflict Over Resources:theamountofaccesstowaterorfarmableland. +
Intergroup Cooperation: thelevelofresourcesharingwithinacommunityversusbetweencommunities. 3. Measuring Variables +
Reliability:givessimilarresultsovertime. +
Validity:accuracyofthevalues-actuallymeasureswhatitclaimstomeasure.
4. Understanding Reliability and Validity of Measures
Example:A researcher suggests that intelligence can be measured by shoe size. You might be wondering how shoe size can be a
reliable and valid measure of intelligence. As a test of the researchers hypothesis, you measure your shoe size today, the next day, the
day after that week, and several days over the next month. -
Fromthisactivity,would you say that your measure of shoe size is a reliable measure? o
A reliable measureisonethatgivessimilarresultsovertime. o
Measuringyourshoesize,then,isareliablemeasure:Everytimeyoumeasureshoesize(asanadult),yougetthe sameresult. -
Now, is shoe size a valid measure for the researcher’s hypothesis? o A
measureisonethatactuallymeasureswhatitclaimstomeasure. valid
Ofcourse,manypeoplewiththesame
shoesizewillhavedifferentintelligencescores,andviceversa. o
Soshoesizeandintelligencearenotrelated.Asaresult,thisisnotavalidmeasure. 6. Replication:
Test-retest reliability: performaretestofameasureunderthesameconditionstodetermineiftherepeatedmeasuresarereliable.
E.g:theeffectofcaffeineonamechanicalaptitudetest.? -
Participants:divideagroupof60participantsintotwo sub-groupsof30participants,
①. receivesacaffeinepillonehalf-hourbeforetheaptitudetest
②. istreatedidentically,exceptthatthoseparticipantsreceiveasugar-pillplaceboinsteadofacaffeinepill. -
Result: onaverage,participantswhoreceivedcaffeinescorea53 onthetest,whereasthosewhoreceivedtheplacebo
scorea48 onaverage.
→ Replication:
①. werepeattheexperiment,followingtheexactsameprocedures,butthistimeparticipantsinthecaffeineconditionaverage
55 onthetest,andparticipantsintheplaceboconditionaverage47.
②. againunderthesameconditions,butthistimewefindthattheaveragewas54 forthecaffeinegroupand46 forthe placebogroup. 
Thereisvariabilityinthemeasuresforeachofthegroups 
Thesemeasuresaregenerallyconsistentforbothgroups. 
Themeasuresforthecaffeinegroupare53,55,and54;themeasuresfortheplacebogroupare48,47,and46.Although
thereisvariability,wealsobegintoseeapatternthatsuggeststhedifferenceswearemeasuringbetweenthegroups maybereal. 7. Types of replication: ● Direct replication: 
Effortsweremadetofollowtheexactsameproceduresastheoriginalresearchwitha
new group of participants . 
Findingsimilarresultsinareplicatedstudymeanstheresearchisconsistent.However,itdoesnotmeanthatthe
theoreticalargumentsofferedbytheauthorsofthefirststudyarecorrectorthattherearenotconfounding variables. ●
Conceptual replication (systematic replication): 
Testthehypothesisfromtheoriginalstudyusing different methods . ●
Replication with extension: 
Replicatetheoriginalstudyandextendthefindingsby adding new variablestoansweradditional questions . 
Theuseofvariedtypesofreplicationmethodsadds to the weight of the evidence foratopicofinterestandhelps
developscientifictheories. 8. Replication Crisis:
Only 36%ofthereplicatedstudieshadsignificantresults,comparedto97%oftheoriginalstudies.⇒itservestounderscorethe
importanceofthereplicationprocess KEY TAKEAWAY: ●
Itisimportanttodistinguishbetweennaturalorsystematic variabilityofavariable,whichissomethingthatcantakeon
differentcategories,levels,orvalues,anderror variability,whichisthevariabilitythatoccurswhenthevariableis measured. ●
Eventhesimplestmeasurements,likemeasuringthelengthofaboardoraroom’stemperature,willbesubjectto
measurement error,whichisthevariabilitythatoccurswhenthesamethingisrepeatedlymeasured. RESEARCH DESIGN 1. Research Questions:
3basictypesofresearchquestions: o
questionsthatask about the value of a variable(e.g:whatpercentageofwomenintheUnitedStatesaged40to49have
anIQof120orabove?); o
questionsthat ask about associations between variables (e.g:doesreadingfrequencyduringchildhoodpredictthe
likelihoodofhighschoolgraduation?) o
questionsthatask about a causal relationship between variables(e.g:comparedtotakingnobreak,doestakinga5-
minutebreakeveryhourincreaseproductivityatwork?). 2. Descriptive Research Descriptive research: 
Betterunderstandatopic,population,orphenomenonbyoffering information about one variable/acollectionof
variableswithoutmanipulatingvariablesorseekingdefinitivelytoestablishcauseandeffect. o
E.g: helpanswerthequestion:"Whatpercentage of high school students havebeendiagnosedwithdepression?"
Descriptivedatatypicallyincludefrequencies,percentages,oraverages. 
Adescriptiveresearchdesignhasno comparison grouporrepeated measurement,yetresearchersmaystillgainvaluable information. o
Adescriptiveresearchdesignmayprovideapictureofaparticulargroupataparticulartime,whichmayhelp
researchersimprove hypothesesandbuild a foundationforlatercorrelational researchorexperimental research. Sample:  subset
ofthatlargerpopulationthatisintendedtoberepresentativeofthatgroup. 
Ideally,samplesaredrawnfromthepopulation
inordertoeliminatepossiblebiases, randomly
butoftensamplesaremade
upofgroupsofpeopleathand,suchaspatientsfromlocalhospitalsorstudentsfromnearbyschools.
Normal conducted in 4 ways: 1.
Observational method (field research): 
Closeexaminationanddocumentationofabehaviororphenomenon. 
usedinthenaturalworld 
butitcanalsobeusedinalaboratory  . +
E.g:observingthebehaviorofstudentsinacafeteriaorcouplesinacoffeeshop. (Natural world) +
E.g:observinganddescribinginteractionsbetweenstudyparticipantsassignedtoroles.(Lab) 2. Case study method: 
adetailedandin-depthexaminationofoneora few individualsorsituations 
relevantinstudyingspecialpopulationsorcontexts(raresituation/talentedpeople) 3. Survey method: + questionnaires 
orinterviewstocollectbasicinformationinvarioussettings. o
E.g:pollingorganizationstocollectdataonlikelyvotersduringelectionsandbycensustakerstogather
informationonacountry’sresidents. +
Researchers use similar methodologytoanswertheirresearchquestions.Thismethodrelies on the candor of the
participantstorevealwhatissometimespersonalinformation;thisisalsooneofitsweaknesses. 4. Archival method: + archivaldata 
fromhistoricalrecordsorotherresearchers
(+):participantbehaviorisnotaffectedbytheexperimenterbecausethedatawerepreviouslycollectedby someoneelse.
(-): theexperimenterhasnocontroloverhowthedatawerecollectedorhowcompleteorreliabletheyare.
2. Correlational Research Method Correlational research: ●
therelationshipsbetweentwoormorevariableswithout directly manipulatingorcontrollinganyofthevariables. ●
Variablescanbemeasuredinthefollowingways: o
self-reportbyhavingparticipantscompletequestionnairesorinterviews; o
observation whichinvolveswatchingparticipants'behaviorasithappenswithoutintervening,butrecordingkey
aspectsofwhatisobserved; o
physiological measurementbyusinginstrumentstodeterminebodilyvariationssuchasheartrate,body
temperature,brainactivity,orweight;and o
archival researchbyobtaininginformationfromofficialdocumentsorrecords,suchasthedurationofaperson’s hospitalstay. ●
Ifweknowthevalueofoneofthevariables,itmaybeusedasapredictor variabletoestimatethevalueoftheother
variable,whichisthencalledtheoutcome variable.
 Correlation does not imply causation ●
Confounding variables: correlatedtothepredictorandoutcomevariables,whichiswhywecannotinfercausationfroma correlationalrelationship ●
Correlation coefficientisameasureofthestrengthanddirection(positiveornegative)oftherelationshipbetweentwo
variables.Itisusuallydenotedbytheletterrandrangesfrom−1to+1.
3. Using the Experimental Research:
Experimental research:examinesthecausal relationship betweenvariablesundercontrolledconditions. +
Theresearchermanipulates,alters,orvariesanindependent variableandmeasurestheeffectofthosechanges
onadependent variablewhilecontrolling ,which
extraneous variables
arevariablesthatareunrelated tothe
researchquestionbutthatmightaffect thedependent variable. +
Verbssuchas"measured,""surveyed,""tabulated,""recorded,"or"assessed"indicatethattheresearcher
measured thevariable. +
Verbssuchas"assigned,""instructed,""presented,"or"delayed"indicatethattheresearchermanipulated the variable. A two-group design:
①. Researchersuserandom assignmenttoensurethateveryparticipanthasanequalchanceofbeingplacedinan
experimentalgrouporacontrolgroup
②. researchersmanipulate theindependentvariableacrossthegroupswhileeither eliminating other variables from
thestudyorholdingthemconstantacrossthegroups.
③. Participantsintheexperimental groupundergosomekindoftreatment,intervention,orexperience,while
participantsinthecontrol groupdonot. Single-factor designs: +
a single independent variable,orfactor,withtwoormorelevels,orgroups+usedtotestfordifferencesbetween experimentalconditions. ●
factorial design (multi-factor designs): +
multipleindependentvariables,orfactors +
Iftherearetwovariables,onewithtwolevelsandtheotherwiththree,thedesigniscalledatwo-by-three(or2✕
3)factorialandthenumberofconditions(or
)inthedesignissix.Iftherearethreeindependentvariables, cells one
withtwolevels,onewiththree,andanotherwithfour,thedesigniscalledatwo-by-three-by-four(or2✕3✕4)
factorialandthenumberofcellsinthedesignis24.
(+):thefactorialdesignisthatitallowsresearcherstoconsider the joint effectsofmultipleindependentvariables.
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH METHOD:
Quasi-experimental research: +
Resemblesexperimentalresearchexceptthattheinvestigatorcannot randomly assign unitsorparticipantstoconditions,
cannot generally control or manipulate theindependentvariable,andcannot completely eliminate theinfluenceof extraneousvariables. +
Quasi-experimentaldesignsleadtoassociation claims,notcausationclaims.