research ideas & hypotheses. involves formulating specific qs, then systematically finding...
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Research Ideas & Hypotheses
Involves formulating specific Qs, then systematically finding answers.
Produces most accurate answers. Principles of the Scientific Method:
1) It is empirical2) It is public3) It is objective
The Scientific Method (Review)
The Scientific Method (Review)
Step: Description:1 Observe behavior or other phenomena
2 Form a tentative answer or explanation (a hypothesis)
3 Use your hypothesis to generate a testable prediction
4 Evaluate the prediction by making systematic, planned observations
5 Use observations to support, refute, or refine the original hypothesis
The Research Process1. Find a research
idea
2. Form a hypothesis & prediction
3. Define your variables
4. Identify & select participants
5. Select a research strategy
6. Select a research design
10. Refine or reformulate your
research idea
9. Report the results
8. Evaluate the data
7. Conduct the study
10 Steps in the
Research Process
The Research Process/The Scientific Method
1. Find a research idea
2. Form a hypothesis & prediction
3. Define your variables
4. Identify & select participants
5. Select a research strategy
6. Select a research design
10. Refine or reformulate your
research idea
9. Report the results
8. Evaluate the data
7. Conduct the study
10 Steps in the
Research Process
Step 1
Steps 2 & 3
Step 4
Step 5
Chapter 2 Overview Discuss steps 1 & 2 of the research
process Step 1 – finding a research idea
Selecting a topic Searching the literature to find an unanswered
question Step 2 – forming a hypothesis
The Research Idea
A gap in current knowledge or unanswered Q that interests you.
Do your homework! Get a solid, basic
understanding of current knowledge in the area.
Narrow your topic.
The Research Idea
Step 1 in the Research Process.
Pick a topic you like!!!! Do your homework. Keep an open mind.
Be flexible, but critical. Focus!
Cannot answer all questions at once.
1 step at a time.
Defining a Research Area: Pick a topic you like
Several ways to define an interest area: General Topic
e.g., Job stress, child abuse, aging, personality, motivation
A particular behavior e.g., language development, adolescent dating,
anxiety, depression, color preferences, overeating
Specific population or group e.g., preschool children, police officers, elderly,
single-parent families
Defining a Research Area:Pick a topic you like
Key: really wanting to learn more about the topic you select
This way… Preparing, planning, and conducting the
research will be interesting Less chance of burn-out If the task is important to you = will enjoy
this more Or at least not hate it as much…
Defining a Research Area:Do your homework
Most of your research time is actually spent preparing
Once you identify your topic… Collect background information Read books and journal articles to
familiarize yourself with: What is already known What research has been done What questions are still unanswered
Defining a Research Area:Do your homework
No matter what your topic is there will be 100+ articles and books devoted to the topic
DON’T PANIC
Keep in mind:1. You don’t need to know everything.
You should read enough to gain a solid, basic understanding of the current knowledge in the area.
2. You will quickly narrow down your research topic.
Defining a Research Area:Do your homework
Narrow your focus Developmental psychology Social development Play and peer relations The role of siblings in the development of
children’s social skills This will greatly reduce the amount of
relevant background reading as well
General
Specific
Defining a Research Area:Keep an open mind
Best strategy is to start with a general topic Let your background reading lead you to a specific
area
Don’t try to start with a specific question this can be a mistake Question may already be answered Difficult to find relevant background research May not have the equipment, time, or participants
to test your idea So best to be flexible and keep an open mind
Defining a Research Area:Focus
Developing a single, specific research idea is a weeding-out process.
1 hour of reading can lead to a dozen ideas. But you cant answer all questions in a single
study. You will have to throw most of the ideas out
At least for now.
Goal = develop one research question at a time and find the background info directly relevant to that question
Defining a Research Area:1 step at a time
This is a major project Planning and conducting research can be a
long and difficult process In the beginning you may feel that the
task is impossible Remember: you don’t need to do the whole
thing at once Take it one step at a time
Finding a General Topic Area
Sources:1. Personal interests & curiosities
What are you interested in? What do you wonder about? Interests from previous courses?
2. Casual observation e.g., noticing behavior of others or yourself
Finding a General Topic Area
Sources:3. Reports or observations of others
Critically thinking about what others notice Newspaper & Magazines, Television, Internet Classroom Lectures Past Research – highlight any knowledge
gaps or unanswered questions in that area. A failure to replicate raises additional Qs.
Finding a General Topic Area
Sources:4. Practical problems or questions
Issues with life, job, relationships, etc.
Example: B.F. Skinner and the Air Crib.
an easily cleaned, temperature & humidity-controlled crib designed to make child-rearing easier.
Research directed at solving a practical problem is known as applied research
Research intended to solve theoretical issues is known as basic research
Applied and basic research can overlap
Finding a General Topic Area
Sources:5. Behavioral theories
Existing explanations for behavior & why/how environmental factors predict them
Should predict behavior in new situations Testing predictions of a pre-existing
theory –source for research ideas Opposing theories – great research
opportunity
Sources of Research Ideas Sources can be…
Nonsystematic Sources Just come to us.
1. Personal interests & curiosities2. Casual observation3. Practical problems or questions
Systematic Sources Carefully organized; logically thought out
5. Reports/observations of others6. Behavioral theories
Common Mistakes in Choosing Research Topics
Lack of interest in topic Too safe/easy
i.e., very familiar topic, no challenge Too difficult or broad Failure to shift/modify plans
Being inflexible Inadequate literature on topic
Testable?
Finding Background Literature: Conducting a Literature Search
Decide on general topic, then gather info. Goals of literature review
1. Gain a general familiarity with the current research in your specific area of interest
Need solid, basic understanding of current knowledge in area.
2. Find a small set of research studies that will serve as the basis for your own research idea
Move from general to focused – reduces reading.
Finding Background Literature: Conducting a Literature Search
Your main goal: find a research question Get familiar with current knowledge in the
area and know what is currently known. Then extend the current research one more
step. Could combine two or more established findings
to reach a new conclusion or prediction. Authors of research usually include limitations of
their studies and offer suggestions of future research.
Terms in the Literature to Know
Primary Sources Firsthand reports, descriptions of the authors’
observations Including: why the research was done, how the study
was conducted, results, how results were interpreted e.g., theses, journal articles, conference presentations
Secondary Sources Description/summary of someone else’s work Incomplete; sometimes biased A good starting point – guides you to primary sources
e.g., textbooks, review articles, meta-analyses, article introductions
The Purpose of the Literature Review
Research builds on existing knowledge. Logical extension of past work. Goal: use peer-reviewed sources to
define current knowledge in an area & identify unanswered questions.
Intros to research reports outline previous work to justify new study
The Purpose of the Literature Review
Current research is always based in previous research
Historical Studies(the foundation of the
research area)
Major Branching Points
(studies that started a new research
direction)
Current Research(the most
recent research studies)
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Preparation
Narrowing your general idea Start w/ reputable secondary sources (e.g.,
review article or text book) Look at chapter headings and subheading to help focus in
on a specific area Make note of:
Subject words words used to identify and describe variables and characteristics of participants (use to make literature search easier)
Ex. Narcissistic rage, forensic/institutionalized population Author names typically a small group of researchers is responsible for
much of the work in a specific area (search for these authors’ research)
Then review key primary sources Review multiple primary sources
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Preparation
Select Index terms or Subject words for your search Thesaurus of
Psychological Index Terms
collection of index terms taken from abstracts of psychological research.
Surveying the Psychological Literature: What to use
Computerized Lit Searches – e.g., PsycINFO, OU library
See Table 2.1 for description of databases available from OU library
Index terms used to search database
Contains abstracts + some full text articles cross referenced by subjects, journal & author.
Abstract = brief summary of the publication ~250 words
Only contain reputable sources
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Databases
Example: Google Scholar SearchKey word search
Number of search results
Advanced search options
Search results
NOTE: Using google scholar from a university library computer can be a quick way to gain access to OU e-journals.
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Databases
Example: OU Library (library.oakland.edu)
Key word search
Library OneSearch gives you access to all available OU library records, including catalogue numbers and e-journals/pdfs.
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Databases
Example: OU Library (library.oakland.edu)
Key word search
Number of search results
Advanced search options
Search results
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Databases
Example: OU Library (library.oakland.edu)
Log in to access full content (e.g., online .pdf files).
Shows you whether content is available online.
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Article screening
You will get a lot of results when you search the databases so…
Screen articles systematically, review…1. Title (can use to discard ~90%)2. Abstract (find out if the research is really
relevant)3. Article (skim intro and discussion first)
Carefully read relevant articles.
Surveying the Psychological Literature: How
Obtaining Relevant Publications Interlibrary loan (if you cant get electronic
copy) Requests for reprints – e-mail author
directly. University searchable faculty e-mail databases
Usually available in PDF form Can download Adobe Acrobat Reader
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Where NOT
Where NOT to obtain scientific sources: Regular google
Website ≠ knowledge. Wikipedia Pop-psychology sources
e.g., Psychology Today, Dr. Phil Media (news, magazines, TV, etc.) Word of mouth
Non-peer-review sources useful for ideas, but not valid scientific sources for generating research questions.
Surveying the Psychological Literature: Where TO
Where to obtain scientific sources: SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE
Peer-reviewed academic sources validate & refine ideas.
Only published peer-review sources will be accepted for your research presentation.
Surveying the Psychological Literature
Integrating results of Lit. Search After eliminating
irrelevant articles, make sense of your assembled materials.
Take notes on diff sections from important articles (should fit on 1 sheet of paper).
The Lit Review Process (recap)
Start with a general idea (e.g.,
body image)
Narrow focus using recent secondary
sources
Use databases to search for
primary source articles
Continue until you no longer find
new items
Use relevant articles to find more relevant articles (new
subject words and author names)
Weed out irrelevant articles
Finding a Research Idea from a Published Research Article
Find suggestions for future research Suggested by author, usually toward the
end of the discussion section Sometimes called “limitations and future
direction” Combine or contrast existing results
Make new research idea by combining two (or more) existing results.
The Research Article
Sections of a research article: Introduction (Lit review, hypothesis,
prediction) Method (Participants, procedures) Results (Findings, statistics, figures/tables) Discussion (Conclusions, applications,
future research) References (bibliographic info)
Reading Critically Introduction
Literature review Complete & up to date? Relevant or
related topics not covered? Hypothesis or purpose
Clearly stated? Directly related to reviewed literature?
Prediction Logically flow from hypothesis? What other predictions (if any) could be
made?
Reading Critically Method
Participants Representative? Restrictions (e.g., men only) justified?
Procedure Variables well defined? Measurement procedures reasonable?
Alternative measures/procedures better? Will procedures answer research Q? Are stimuli appropriate?
Reading Critically
Results Statistics (significance & effect size)
Appropriate stats/tests used? Significant results clearly outlined? Effects large enough to be meaningful?
Reading Critically Discussion
Relation of Results to Hypothesis Support or refute?
Conclusions Justified?
Alternative Explanations Exist? Discussed? EVs?
Generalization & Applications Real-world applications? Generalizable?
Reading Critically
References Complete & current?
Tables/Figures Necessary? Clear?
Developing a Research Q
Goal: Turn idea into Q. Be critical of past research – expand
or challenge current ideas Positives & negatives? Confounds?
How could it be improved?
Characteristics of Good Research Ideas
Testable. Falsifiable (Refutable) Likelihood of success –
Increased when your view of nature closely approximates reality.
Find a Research Question 3 related pieces of research:
Male masculine features may signal genetic quality desirable in a potential mate.
Women are more attracted to masculine men around ovulation (when they are most fertile).
Women’s testosterone is highest at ovulation.
What could you test? What would you predict?
Find a Research Question 3 related pieces of research:
Female orgasm leads to greater retention of sperm-like fluid.
Women report more orgasms with partners they are more physically attracted to.
Physically attractive men father more children in hunter-gatherer societies.
What could you test? What would you predict?
The Research Hypothesis
Step 2 of the Research Process. Uses lit search to make formal
statement. Prediction about rel’p b/w IV & DV.
Converting a Research Idea into a Research Hypothesis
Take research idea, state it as a Q, & make a prediction.
Statement: Obesity and self-esteem are related.
Question: Is self-esteem related to obesity?
Hypothesis: Bad self-esteem contributes to obesity.
Based on gap in
literature
Based on previous findings
*Your prediction should make sense given past research.
Characteristics of the Research Hypothesis
General Implication Form “If X… then Y” “If” portion refers to IV manipulation(s);
“then” portion refers to expected DV changes.
“If participants watch aggressive sports, then their testosterone will go up.”
Proctor & Capaldi (2001) Most textbooks ID scientific method
almost exclusively w/ hypothesis testing. Not always best – European geologists
accepted plate tectonics earlier than Americans b/c they modified pre-existing theories.
Americans previously emphasized novel findings found via hypothesis testing, not modifying existing theories/findings.
Proctor & Capaldi (2001) American geologists were relying on inductive
reasoning & not enough on deductive reasoning.
All Possible Cases
A Few Specific Cases
INDUCTION
Generalize from a small set of
specific examples to the complete
set of all possible examples.
DEDUCTION
Predict a small set of specific
examples from a general statement
about the complete set of all possible examples.
Proctor & Capaldi (2001) New view of hypothesis testing:
research methodology not static; constant state of change.
Principles may be rejected or modified. Over-reliance on hypothesis testing
possibly harmful. Unknown variables = disconfirming true
hypothesis/theory Always testing multiple factors
Suggest using more deduction in new research areas b/c may disconfirm true hypotheses.
Let the data be your guide!
Proctor & Capaldi (2001)
Types of Research Hypothesis
Directional Hypotheses – specifies the outcome.
Nondirectional Hypotheses – does not predict the directional outcome, only that groups will differ.
Remember…
Research is an ongoing process No answers should be considered
“final”
Discuss ideas! In groups of 2-5 people, spend the next few
minutes brain-storming research ideas. Remember that you will each need an
original research idea for your presentation. Start with some general areas (e.g.,
developmental psych, health psychology, evolutionary psychology, etc.)
Discuss general topics (e.g., infant attachment, obesity, human mate preferences, etc.)
What do you want to know? How could you research that topic further?
