This document contains all the recommended reading for RDA I (both semesters), taught by Piers Fleming and George Malcolm at the time. I have written up all the contents in a digestible manner, including colour-coding, infographics and pro & con lists for the different research methods. This makes ...
Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis
in Psychology
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
- Research is the systematic study of some topic in order to find answers to
questions à backbone of social science
- Asch experiment (1956) about group pressure & desire to conform (“find the
comparison line”) important until today
- Brief history & dominant approaches:
o People used to believe the same scientific methods were applicable to
both physical and social sciences (some still do today)
o From the beginning of the 20th century: Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
still very important. It has 2 flaws: little possibility of testing the
imprecise statements, even with evidence statements are merely
modified to fit the evidence = not scientific theory at all
o Middle 20th century: Behaviourism, concentrates only on what is
directly observable & dismisses research into the workings of the mind
o Early 1980s: Cognitive psychology (theoretical)
- Hypothesis: Empirically testable predictions about what co-occurs with what
and what causes what
- Science should be based on empirical evidence / data derived from good-
quality research. Claim that science needs to be objective is controversial (we
claim what we do is objective & try to initiate experiments free from bias, but
might be better to explicitly recognize the subjective nature of the research
process)
- Induction is the process by which scientists decide on the basis of multiple
observations or experiments that some theory is true or not à concluded on
the basis of multiple observations. Problem: we can never guarantee that
observations / effects from the past wont change (can never consider full
range of conditions, might change as course of nature etc.)
- Hypothetico-deductive method: Principal scientific method in Social
Sciences. Researcher produces hypotheses (often stems from existing
theories) à tests this hypothesis through empirical tests / experiments à
results and further action. Functions in a cyclical fashion, as hypotheses are
generated from theories, hypothesis are tested through empirical
experiments, which can strengthen the theory.
Must be seen in relation to an inductive approach (rather than opposite)
à Psychology needs both inductive & deductive approach to research
- Theories: are systems of ideas or statements that explain some phenomena.
They are derived from previous inductive research.
, inductive
Theory
deductive
QUANTITATIVE VS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
- QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH concerns the quantity or measurement of some
phenomenon = quantifying the phenomena (dominant Western approach).
Believe, that if we measure things accurately enough we can make claims
with some degree of certainty about the object of study. Tends to use
hypothetico-deductive approach.
- Quantitative Research tends to be in controlled settings, as unaffected by
external influences as possible
PRO CON
ü Precise (in terms of measurement) - May grossly oversimplify the
ü Controlled (in terms of design) complexity of human nature
ü Makes claims about causation - May fail to recognise or be explicit
ü Has predictive power (can generalise about the subjective nature of social
to other settings on the basis of sciences research
some finding in a particular setting) - May fail to recognise the individuality
ü Dominant approach in psychology and autonomous nature of human
beings
- QUALITATIVE RESEARCH concerns the quality or qualities of some
phenomenon = text-based data and meaning. Rejects the idea of a simple
relationship between our perception of the world and the world itself + denies
existence of definable, quantifiable “social facts”
, - Greater focus on inductive approach, but still empirical (based on a smaller
number of individuals) = semi-structured / unstructured interviews
PRO CON
ü Recognizes the subjective - Cannot apply traditional notions of
experience of participants validity and reliability on the data
ü Often produces unexpected insights - Its often not appropriate or even
about human nature through an possible to make generalisations or
open-ended approach to research predictions
ü Enables an ‘insider’ perspective on - Needs justification for its still not a
different social worlds widely and consistently accepted
ü Generally does not impose a approach to psychological research
particular way of ‘seeing’ on the - Lacks of replicability
participants
STARTING OUT IN RESEARCH
- Find relevant existing research
- Find out what has been done before
- Avoid jingles (terms are the different, but given the same name) and jangles
(terms are the same, but given new words)
- Design a research questions (PICO model)
o PATIENT/Population/Problem. This determines the sampling frame
(e.g. adolescents, children, elderly) adults
o INTERVENTION. The treatment or condition that participants were
assigned to. jogging
o COMPARISON/Control. This is usually a control group or a group not
receiving treatment. In Psychology usually another ‘level’ of the
assigned condition (independent variable). No jogging
o OUTCOME. This is the dependent variable. We want to know if the
independent variable (treatment) influences the dependent variable
(outcome). depression
o For psychology research Intervention can be replaced with the
independent variable (= effect of the manipulation in the experiment)
- Database search.
o Search at least 3 databases (PsycINFO, Medline, EMBASE, Science
Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, Arts & Humanities
Citation Index, PubMed, Ovid etc.) à more databases on p. 24-25 or
https://portal.uea.ac.uk/library/subject-guides/psychology
o Include synonyms & use MeSH headings (www.nim.nih.gov/mesh) /
‘Searchword’ [Mesh]
o Link keywords and phrases together in search strings: ‘Working
memory’ not working memory
o Use Boolean operations: AND, NOT, OR
o Use Truncation symbols: ‘memor*’, behavi?r, organi#e
o Use a Reference Manager
o Pick a topic and find 10-15 articles to work with intensely. If you find
too much output focus on a narrower population, a more specific
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