Research Methods & Ethics

Question 1

why is the scientific method important?

Answer 1

Enables us to distinguish true effects from folk knowledge, anecdotes, etc.

Question 2

steps in scientific method

Answer 2

• Choose a question
• Formulate hypothesis
• Conduct study
• Analyze data -> draw conclusion about hypothesis
• Make findings public

Question 3

2 standards of research

Answer 3

reliability and validity

Question 4

reliability

Answer 4

consistency; will the same results be found if the study is repeated?

• • interrater reliability: do different observers agree re: behaviour they witness?
• • test-retest reliability: does performance stay similar when re-tested?

Question 5

validity

Answer 5

• accuracy; are you measuring what you think you’re measuring?
• • Internal validity: can effects observed be attributed to what you’re manipulating?
• • External validity: is your finding applicable to new contexts?

Question 6

basic research designs

Answer 6

• correlational

- experimental

Question 7

correlational designs (and pros/cons)

Answer 7

• no manipulation; determines if a relationship exists between 2 variables
• pros: measures people as they are; learn about cause and effect
• cons: no causal info -> directionality and 3rd variable problem

Question 8

experimental designs (and pros/cons)

Answer 8

• participants randomly assigned to different groups -> does IV manipulation cause changes in DV?
• pros: causal info
• cons: random assignment necessary, ethical considerations

Question 9

longitudinal designs (and pros/cons)

Answer 9

• same participants tested repeatedly at different ages
• ex. following same group of kids from birth to age 3
• Advantages: gives info about stability/patterns of change in individuals; cohort effects avoided
• Disadvantages: time consuming and expensive; attrition

Question 10

cross-sectional designs (and pros/cons)

Answer 10

• different groups of participants tested at different ages around the same time
• ex. test groups of newborns, 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds all at once
• Advantages: reveal similarities and differences between kids of different ages
• Disadvantages: risk of cohort effects, no info about stability over time

Question 11

ethical considerations

Answer 11

• Balancing risks vs. Benefits -> do the benefits to be gained from a study outweigh any potential risks?
• • Ex. Physical risk, psychological risk
• • ex. Strange Situation ethically okay because it’s minimal risk (no greater risk than child would encounter in everyday life, ex. at daycare)

Question 12

ethical issues when working with developmental populations

Answer 12

• Non-harmful procedures: using the least stressful procedure possible
• Consent: needed from both parents and child
• Anonymity & privacy: important to keep all data private
• Discussing child’s well-being with parents: if child discloses something that may negatively influence their well-being, you are ethically obligated to disclose it to parents
• Unforeseen consequences: research must immediately be stopped if it causes unforeseen negative consequences
• Being mindful of effect of findings on parents/children (implications for society): framing research findings in an appropriate and ethical way so that they’re best interpreted by society (ex. Anti-depressant study)

Question 13

contexts for gathering data about children

Answer 13

• interviews
• naturalistic observations
• structured observations

Question 14

interviews

Answer 14

• Children answer questions asked either in person or on a questionnaire
• 2 types:
• • structured: self-reports on same topics from all participants
• • clinical: in-depth info about 1 child
• Advantages: reveals child’s subjective experience, inexpensive/easy, clinical allows for flexibility
• Disadvantages: reports are often biased, subject’s memory often inaccurate/incomplete, participant’s ability to predict their actions are often inaccurate

Question 15

naturalistic observations

Answer 15

• Observing child in everyday settings
• Used when the primary goal is to DESCRIBE behaviour
• Advantages: useful for describing everyday behaviour and studying social interactions
• Disadvantages: can’t control all variables, hard to determine which variables influenced the behaviour, observer may influence behaviour, behavior of interest might occur rarely

Question 16

structured observations

Answer 16

• aka: experimental and correlational designs
• Researchers bring kids to a laboratory, where they are presented with a specific task or situation that will elicit the behaviour relevant to the researcher’s hypothesis
• Advantages: ensures all children experience the same thing, allowing for direct comparison of different children/groups
• Disadvantages: reveals less info about subjective information that interviews, not in the child’s environment -> less natural

Question 17

developmental research designs

Answer 17

• longitudinal
• cross-sectional
• microgenetic

Question 18

microgenetic design

Answer 18

• same children are studied repeatedly over a short, critical period where developmental change is expected to happen
• advantages: clarifies process of change, more detailed
• disadvantages: no info about change over long periods of time

Question 19

ethics in applying research

Answer 19

• responsibility

- reactions to planned procedures/interventions

Question 20

ethics: responsibility

Answer 20

• Responsibility: does the weight of the research findings justify applying them to privately/publicly funded programs
• Ie. It it worth it to fund a program that research has found increases IQ by 1%?

Question 21

ethics: reactions to planned procedures/interventions

Answer 21

• Ethics of assigning half of the group to get an intervention while the other half doesn’t
• • What if treatment shows signs of negative effects? -> stop treatment
• • What if treatment shows signs of positive effects? -> is there an ethical obligation to help the control group too? Could do a crossover study (where 1 group gets treatment, then switch and other group gets it), but this rarely happens in longitudinal research