critical thinking #2

For the following two links, identify the following:

1) What was the data collection technique used?

2) What type of research was used?

3) Identify the research variables. If appropriate, identify the variables as the independent variable, dependent variable, or quasi independent variable.

4) How are each of the above mentioned variables operationally defined?

Article 1: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5843960/

Article 2: 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244017716217

The Process of Research in Psychology
5th Edition
Chapter 4: How Researchers Use the Scientific Method

1

Validity
How well a study tests.
External validity is the degree in which observations are realistic and natural.
Internal validity rules out alternative explanations.
Pezdek et al.’s (2022) study as example.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
2

LO 4-1: Evaluate internal and external validity of different research designs.

Validity
Validity: How well a study tests what researchers want to test.
External validity—The degree to which the behavior observed is realistic, would occur naturally, and can be generalized.
Internal validity: The degree to which a study provides a good test of a hypothesis, where alternative explanations of the results can be ruled out.
High internal validity provides accurate information about a behavior.
Controlling for extraneous factors increases internal validity.
Example: Pezdek et al.’s (2022) study.

2

Reliability
Consistency specific to each data collection technique.
Internal reliability is how similar a subject responds across a survey.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
3

LO 4-2: Describe the importance of reliability in measuring behavior.

Reliability
Reliability: Consistency that is specific to each individual data collection technique.
Internal reliability: The reliability of responses—or how similarly a subject responds to each question—across items in a survey.

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Data Collection Techniques
(1 of 10)
Operational definition lays out concept for measurement and data collection.
Goal is to be as specific as possible.
Dependent or response variable.
Can measure single variable.
Can examine relationship between variables.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
4

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Data Collection Techniques
Operational definition: The definition of an abstract concept that is specific to each study and which allows researchers to define the concept for the purpose of measurement and data collection.
Goal: Be as specific as possible so the way the behavior is measured is clear and consistent.
Examples: Operational definitions of social behavior or procrastination.
Dependent or response variable: Observations of behavior (e.g., data).
Can measure single variable descriptively.
Can examine relationships between multiple dependent variables.

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Data Collection Techniques
(2 of 10)
Naturalistic Observation
Process in which researchers learn about natural behavior.
Requires definitions of behavior to observe.
Can observe more realistic behavior as opposed to other methods.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
5

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Naturalistic Observation
Naturalistic observation: The process in which researchers learn about behavior that naturally occurs without influencing the behavior; the goal is to be unobtrusive and not affect the observed individuals’ behavior (e.g., Meerkat Manor).
Requires a coding scheme—defined categories of behavior that fit the type of behavior being observed.
Advantage: Behavior is likely to be more realistic compared to some of the other techniques.

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Data Collection Techniques
(3 of 10)
Naturalistic Observation
Process in which researchers learn about natural behavior.
Requires definitions of behavior to observe.
Can observe more realistic behavior as opposed to other methods.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
6

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Disadvantages: Can be difficult to be unobtrusive, can be time-consuming, and multiple observers may not record observations in the same way.
Interobserver or interrater reliability: How consistently the observers are observing or coding the data compared with one another; usually reported as a percentage.
Example: Chiang’s (2008) study.

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Data Collection Techniques
(4 of 10)
Surveys/Questionnaires
Survey research aims to measure data through self-reports.
Close ended response scales limit responses.
Open-ended response scale allows for any type of response.
Qualitative rather than quantitative.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
7

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Surveys/Questionnaires
Survey research: Research often conducted to measure mood, attitudes about a topic, or frequency of certain behaviors through self-reports from the participants.
Questions that ask participants to rate the presence/frequency of their thoughts/behaviors.
Response scale or response category.
Closed-ended response scale: A design used in survey research in which only certain responses are valid responses to items (e.g., the Distress Disclosure Index).
Open-ended response scale: A design used in survey research in which subjects can respond in whatever way they wish to questions.
Qualitative as opposed to quantitative data.
Requires a coding scheme.

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Data Collection Techniques
(5 of 10)
Surveys/Questionnaires
Construct validity is degree of accuracy.
Similar items and responses can check reliability.
Validity and reliability tested to maximize accuracy and consistency.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
8

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Construct validity: The degree to which researchers are measuring specific behaviors accurately in their survey.
Checking reliability means researchers make certain responses are similar either at different points in time or to similar items on the questionnaire.
Advantage: Observations are a step ahead of other methods because the validity and reliability have already been tested to maximize accuracy and consistency.

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Data Collection Techniques
(6 of 10)
Surveys/Questionnaires
Self-reports may not be accurate representations of behavior.
Social desirability can create self-bias.
Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventory Interviews.
Interviews allow subjects to respond orally.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
9

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Disadvantage: Self-reports may not be accurate representations of behavior.
Social desirability: Participants’ desire to portray themselves more positively to researchers and their tendency to respond in a way that achieves that goal, potentially creating bias (self-monitoring).
Examples: The Beck Depression Inventory II and Beck Anxiety Inventory Interviews.
Interviews: A design used in survey research in which subjects respond to questions orally.
Advantages: Asking about a specific behavior rather than waiting to observe it, different questions can be asked based on given responses.
Example: focus groups.

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Data Collection Techniques
(7 of 10)
Systematic Observation
Uses controlled tasks to indicate behaviors.
Research on prospective memory.
High controls provide high internal validity.
Setting can lower external validity.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
10

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Systematic Observation
Systematic observations: Typically done in a study using a controlled task to indicate the behavior of interest.
Example: Research on prospective memory.
Advantage: High control yields high internal validity.
Disadvantage: Laboratory setting can lower external validity.

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Data Collection Techniques
(8 of 10)
Using Archival Data
Data collected by other parties and interpreted by researchers.
Gallup data sets for example.
Quick collection, few resources needed.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
11

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Using Archival Data
Archival data: Data collected by third parties that can be interpreted by researchers (e.g., use of hospital records as an observation technique).
Example: Gallup.com data sets on a variety of topics.
Advantages: Quick collection and few resources are required.

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Data Collection Techniques
(9 of 10)
Using Archival Data
Disadvantage of no controls over collection, technique, etc.
Content analysis of someone’s speech or writings.
Requires no interactions.
Can be more time-consuming.
McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
12

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Disadvantages: No control over data collection, sampling technique, measures used to observe behavior, or how data are coded.
Content Analysis
Content analysis: A specific type of archival data observation technique that involves analysis of what someone has said (as in a speech or interview) or written (as in a book or article).
No interaction between participant and researcher.
Requires coding scheme.
Can be resource-intensive and time-consuming.

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Data Collection Techniques
(10 of 10)
Validity and Reliability in Data Collection
There is often a trade off between internal and external validity.
Systematic observation and surveys are high reliability.
Naturalistic observations have lower reliability.
McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
13

LO 4-3: Compare different ways to observe behavior in a research study.

Validity and Reliability in Data Collection
Internal and external validity often trade off across data collection techniques.
High reliability: Systematic observations and surveys/questionnaires.
Lower reliability: Naturalistic observations.

13

Types of Research Designs
(1 of 8)
Research design is a term that applies to the major categories of research.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
14

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Types of Research Designs
Research design—Term that applies to the major categories of research designs that are used to answer different types of research questions.

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Types of Research Designs
(2 of 8)
Case Studies
Research design that involves intense observation of natural behavior.
Small-n design is used in testing theories or attempting to find treatment.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
15

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Case Studies
Case study: Research design that typically involves intensive observation of an individual’s naturalistic behavior or set of behaviors; typically utilize naturalistic observations, interviews, or archival data (sometimes includes systematic observations and surveys).
Small-n design: Research design that is often employed when a researcher is interested in testing theories about how behavior works or attempting to find a treatment that will help an individual or small set of individuals with a problem behavior.

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Types of Research Designs
(3 of 8)
Case Studies
Several notable examples.
Focusing on unusual cases does not allow for strong testing of causes of behavior.
Can help provide starting point for investigations.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
16

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Examples: Case study of language development in Genie, case study of a brain injury in H.M., archival data or content analyses of documents from people who have experienced trauma, study of Albert Einstein’s brain.
Focus on unusual cases—Often cannot be generalized and do not allow for strong tests of the cause of behavior.
Help provide a starting place for investigations of behavior.

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Types of Research Designs
(4 of 8)
Correlational Studies
Design that allows for examination of relationships between variables.
Predictor (independent) variable.
Outcome (dependent) variable.
A positive relationship indicates values change in the same way.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
17

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Correlational Studies
Correlational study: Research design that allows a researcher to examine relationships between variables and, if a relationship is found, predict values for one variable from values on the other variable(s).
Predictor (independent) variable: The variable that is used to make the prediction.
Outcome (dependent) variable: The variable that is being predicted.
Positive relationship: Indicates that the values on the variables change in the same direction (up or down) at the same time.

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Types of Research Designs
(5 of 8)
Correlational Studies
A negative relationship shows increases in one variable causes decreases in another.
Scatterplots graph data points for two variables for each case.
Influence of third variable can prevent determining causation from correlation.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
18

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Negative relationship: Indicates that as values on one variable increase, the values on the other variable decrease.
Scatterplots: Graphs in which one variable is placed on the x-axis, and the other variable is placed on the y-axis, and data points in the graph represent the scores on the two variables for each individual (horizontally for the first variable and vertically for the second variable).
Example: GPA and the number of hours of social media per week.
Third-variable problem: An issue with correlational studies in which a variable that is not being measured influences the outcome variable; this problem means researchers cannot determine causation from correlational studies.

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Types of Research Designs
(6 of 8)
Experiments
Manipulating presumed causal variable.
Independent variable is the presumed cause of an outcome.
Levels of the independent variable.
Experimental group receives treatment.
Control group does not receive treatment.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
19

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Experiments
Experiment: Research design that involves manipulating the presumed causal variable.
Independent variable: The presumed cause of an outcome that is manipulated in an experiment.
Levels of the independent variable: The different conditions in an experiment created from the independent variable.
Experimental group: The treated group in an experiment that receives the treatment condition.
Control group: The nontreated group in an experiment that receives no treatment.

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Types of Research Designs
(7 of 8)
Experiments
Confounding variables are factors that could affect results.
Random assignment allows for control of varying factors.
Placebo is given to control subjects so they do not know which group they are in.
Systematic observations and surveys.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
20

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Confounding variables: The extraneous factors in an experiment that could affect the results.
Randomly assigning: A tactic in experiments in which the researcher controls for the varying factors of participants that may influence outcomes.
Placebo: A nontherapeutic intervention given to subjects in an experiment so that they do not know whether or not they have received treatment (e.g., sugar pill).
Most common techniques: systematic observations and surveys.

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Types of Research Designs
(8 of 8)
Quasi-Experiments
Used when researchers are unable to manipulate differences in groups.
Ex-post facto design when grouping already exists.
Pretest–posttest design measures factors before and after experiment.

McBride, The Process of Research in Psychology 5th Edition. © 2024 SAGE Publishing.
21

LO 4-4: Describe the goals of different research designs.

Quasi-Experiments
Quasi-experiments: Research design used when researchers want to compare the behavior of groups of individuals but are unable to manipulate the characteristic on which the groups differ (e.g., researching the effect of age).
Ex-post facto design: A type of quasi-experiment design in which the comparison of interest is based on a grouping that already exists instead of one the researcher assigns in the study (e.g., subjects were in an automobile accident).
Pretest–posttest design: A type of quasi-experiment design in which a factor is measured before and after the experiment (e.g., attitude at the beginning of a class vs. attitude at the end of a class).

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