1
Q
The Aim
A
- All research begins with an idea or question that need further investigation, with the first part of the research cycle being identification of the research aim, formation of the hypothesis and operationalisation of variables
- The aim of an experiment is a general statement of the intent of the research, based on previously published research and theories
- A hypothesis is then formulated, which is a clear and testable prediction of what the researcher expects to happen in the experiment
2
Q
Hypotheses
A
- A directional hypothesis is one where a clear and testable statement that predicts a specific outcome
- A non-directional hypothesis is one where a clear and testable statement predicts a difference or relationship but is not specific in its outcome - not specific whether it is positive or negative
- A null hypothesis is a statement that predicts that there will be no difference or relationship on the outcome of the experiment, and any observed difference is down to other factors
3
Q
Experimental Design - Repeated Measures
A
- A repeated measures design is when the same group of participants takes part in both conditions
Strengths - - As the same participants are used in each condition, the effects of individual differences are controlled, so any changes in the DV are due to the IV and not participant variables
- Fewer participants are needed to conduct the experiment
Limitations - - The second condition can be affected by order effects such as practice effect, fatigue, or boredom
4
Q
Experimental Design - Independent Group Design
A
- An independent group design is where participants take part in only one of the two conditions.
Strengths - - As the participants only take part in one condition they are less likely to experience order effects such as boredom, fatigue, and practice effect.
- The same materials are used for both conditions, so for example harder or easier word lists would not become a confounding variable in this design
Limitations - Individual differences between the two groups will be a problem in this design. For example, if one group was more alert than the other this would systematically distort results on a quick response test.
5
Q
Experimental design - Matched Pairs Design
A
- This is the same as the independent group design, except that the participants have been matched in terms of key characteristics, IQ, height, gender, age, ethnic origin etc.
Strengths - - As the participants only take part in one condition they are less likely to experience order effects such as boredom, fatigue, and practice effect.
- The same materials are used for both conditions, so for example harder or easier word lists would not become a confounding variable in this design
- Individual differences are minimised as participants are matched on important variables
Limitations - - It is difficult and time consuming process to find participants who match on a number of key variables. A large pool of participants is needed making it less practical than the other designs
6
Q
Pilot studies
A
- A small study conducted in advance of the main study, normally good practice in order to identify any flaws or areas for improvement which can then be corrected before the main study. For example questions can be checked for clarity and ambiguity.
- The pilot study is also used to check procedures for design errors and timings.
- This means that any adjustments can be made before the main study, which saves time and money.
- Pilot studies are often used to determine if the experimental design is appropriate
- When deciding on the methodology from research it is important to know what sort of results you may get
- Pilot studies allow this to happen
- They are also a good way of getting your investigation regulated by the BPS
7
Q
Objectivity and the Scientific method
A
- When carrying out scientific research, psychologists need to make sure that they uncover the truth without contaminating it in any way. This is done through careful consideration of the following key features of the scientific process.
- In order to be truly scientific, all research evidence must be empirical, that is based on evidence gathered through carefully controlled and tested observation and/or experiment. In addition it must also be objective, meaning free from personal feelings, prejudices and interpretations - For psychology to be truly scientific it needs to use empirical methods; Replicability, Objectivity, falsification
- Popper - Observations made through experience and not own views to ensure empiricism. Variables must be fully operationalised.
8
Q
Replicability
A
Replication is a key feature of the scientific process as it enables the researcher to look at different situations and participants to determine if the basic findings of the original study can be generalised to other participants and circumstances. This is done through repeating an investigation under the same carefully controlled conditions.
- Popper - Repeating research to check the validity of results. Methodology must be clear and detailed for repetition under the same conditions.
9
Q
Falsifiability
A
Researchers must be able to evaluate evidence in a way that also includes the possibility that a particular theory may be proven false as well as correct. It does not mean that something is false, it merely means that if the claim was false then they must be able to prove that it is false.
- Popper - Theory must be empirically testable to check if it is true for all. However, this is almost impossible to do and so it is generally agreed that nothing can be proven.
10
Q
Theory construction
A
A scientific theory is constructed by bringing together ideas and definitions in a logical way to explain and describe a specific event or a relationship between events. A researcher can then use the theory to make specific predictions about the outcome of their investigation, this is known as the hypothesis
11
Q
Hypothesis testing
A
It is important for the scientific process that a hypothesis is clear and testable and that an appropriate experimental method is used to test the hypotheses.
12
Q
Paradigms and paradigm shifts
A
Within the scientific process a collective set of assumptions, concepts, values and practices is known as a paradigm. Over time the paradigm may be brought into question by further research as new ways of looking at the same information are adopted, a paradigm shift has occurred.
13
Q
Validity
A
The term validity is one of the most important concepts within scientific research as it asks whether any effect or conclusions found are genuine. Validity is broken down into two types internal and external
14
Q
Internal validity
A
Whether or not the test or experiment measuring what it is meant to be measuring - researchers need to be sure that any effect or change to the dependent variable (DV) occurred as a direct result of the independent variable (IV).
Assessed in the following ways -
- Face validity –Are we measuring what we think we are measuring? In its simplest form does the research make sense?
- Concurrent validity - how well a particular test compares with a previously validated measure? For example, testing a group of students for intelligence, with an IQ test and then performing the new intelligence test a couple of days later and achieving the same results would be an indication of the internal validity of the new test.
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Q
External validity
A
Can the observed effect or conclusion be applied accurately to the real world? Research findings should be valid outside the research situation and could be used to explain other situations, especially “everyday” situations.
Assessed by -
- Ecological validity – can the findings be generalised to situations outside the environment created by the researcher? If the research task is similar to a real life situation it is likely that it will have high ecological validity.
- Temporal validity - how does the time period in which the research was carried out affect the findings? For example research into attitudes carried out in the 1960’s may not have the same relevance today.
16
Q
Improving validity
A
Internal validity can be improved by carefully controlling all other variables that are not being manipulated within the experiment.
This is done by:
- using standardised instructions and procedures to make sure that conditions are the same for all the participants in the research
- eliminating demand characteristics and investigator effects, both of which affect the way a participant behaves within the experiment, known as participant reactivity
The External validity of psychological research can be improved by making sure that experiments are set in a more natural setting and involve real-life situations and also through using random sampling to select participants
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Q
Key terms
A
Demand characteristics:
Cues in the research situation that might reveal the research hypothesis
Investigator Effects:
The way in which the researcher behaves may give participants clues about the research hypothesis making them behave in a certain way
Participant Reactivity:
They way participants respond to the demands of the research situation
Random Sampling:
A method of choosing participants that gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected
18
Q
Reliability
A
- Another key part of the scientific process is reliability, which refers to how consistent the research study or method of measure is.
- In other words, if the method was used in a similar situation again would it produce similar results. If the answer is yes then the method is said to be reliable.
As with validity it can be broken down into two types: - Internal and external reliability
19
Q
Internal reliability
A
How consistent is the measure within the research situation itself?
- Researchers need to be sure that all parts of a research study are contributing equally to what is being measured.
This is assessed by -
- Split-half method – the results of one half of the test are compared to the other half. The same or similar results displayed in both halves means that the test has internal reliability.
20
Q
External reliability
A
How consistent is the measure when it is repeated?
- Researchers need to be sure that if the study was repeated on the same participants over a period of time or if it was used to test others in the same situation it would prove reliable.
It is tested in the following ways -
1. Test-retest method – the participants are given the same test on two separate occasions. If the same or similar results are found then the test has external reliability.
2. Inter-observer method – the researcher compares their estimation of behaviour (rating) to the independent rating given by another observer. If their estimations are the same or similar then the test is said to have external reliability.
21
Q
Improving reliability
A
- Making sure that researchers use standardised instructions and procedures. This is achieved by making sure that they are well trained and have been given clear and consistent instructions or observation criteria and also that the collection and recording of all data is also standardised
- Ensuring that more than one measurement is taken from each participant so that an average score can be obtained. This reduces anomalous scores, which may be due to fatigue or boredom
- Conducting a pilot study to check that everything works before carrying out the full investigation
- Reducing human error by checking that the data has been recorded and interpreted correctly
22
Q
Reporting psychological investigations
A
- The purpose of writing a psychological report is to communicate to others within the scientific community what you did, why you did it, how you did it, what you found and what you think it means.
- Reports are intended to be read by someone who knows nothing about your experiment. They will usually see the title first, then maybe read the abstract and only then read the bulk of the report.
- There is no single style which is more ‘correct’ than any other. However, there are widely accepted standards and conventions which should be followed. All the pages must be numbered and must be written in the third person.
- This means in the past tense and don’t say ‘I’ or ‘we’. The main sections of the report should be as follows in this order; Title, Content page, Abstract, Introduction, Procedure, Results, Discussion, References, Appendices
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Q
Features of a psychological report
A
Contents Page
- Every page must be numbered and every section must be recorded along with the page number on the contents page.
Abstract - is a self-contained and brief summary of the main points of the report. It enables the reader to quickly determine whether the contents are likely of into be of interest to them. Abstracts should be approximately 100 words long and should contain a brief summary from each section of the report.
You need to include: -
- A one-sentence summary, giving the topic to be studied (aim and main background study)
- Description of participants and sampling technique
- Description of procedure
- Description of results (quote statistics and significance level)
- What does it mean? Conclusion, implications and suggestions for future research.
Introduction - should provide the following information; The introduction is an important part of the report and provides a review of the background information, reviewing existing findings and methodological issues relevant to your study leading to how the current aims and hypothesis has been derived, ending with a precise statement of the aims of your investigation and your operationalised experimental or alternate hypothesis.
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Q
Features of a psychological report cont.
A
Procedure or Method - this section describes in detail how the experimenter carried out the investigation. In order to do so it should include the following four sub-sections and each should be sub-titled and each should contain enough information for full replication to be possible:
- Design – type of experimental design, the IV and DV and the experimental hypothesis.
- Participants – how many, how they were chosen and any other important factors, such as age, gender, nationality, occupation, etc.
- Apparatus and materials - describes the apparatus and materials used in testing the participants, such as a simulator, stopwatch or CD player.
- Procedure – This needs to explain exactly what you did from start to finish, including any pilot studies, design of stimulus material etc. Remember to refer the reader to the appendices for standardised instructions, debrief, copies of stimulus materials etc.
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Features of a psychological report cont pt3
Results - a clear, concise summary of the data collected and the results of any statistical tests.
To include:
- Descriptive statistics presented in tables and charts, which reflect the findings of the investigation in terms of appropriate measures of central tendency (mean, median or mode) and dispersion (variance)
- Justification of the inferential test to be used in the statistical analysis of the findings of the investigation.
- The observed value of p generated and the interpretation of this in relation to the critical values (for inferential test). Whether the findings of the investigation were significant and the null hypothesis can be rejected.
- The level of significance.
Discussion – a summary of the results and what they mean in relation to the hypothesis and their relationship to the background research included in the introduction. A reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of the research and finally, the implications of the findings for the wider scientific community, any possible applications of the research and finally suggestions for further research.
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Features of a psychological report cont pt4
References – Reference lists are important as they allow readers to locate original sources themselves and shows that you have undertaken research for your academic work. In addition, they help prevent accusations of plagiarism. Finally, they show that you are acknowledging the valuable work of the other authors you have cited from books, journal articles, websites etc.
Appendices – includes any additional information, such as statistical calculations, raw data and standardised instructions. Each Appendix should have a full title and be referred to somewhere in the main body of the report.
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Theory construction and Hypothesis testing
- Popper saw tentative theories as being the first sign in the scientific process, as they generate predictions in the form of testable theories, which are examined through rigorous empirical methods in carefully arranged unbiased observations
The scientific method follows a cycle of set phases
1. Inductive phase - Initial observations yield information which are then formulated into theories to account for the information
2. Deductive phase - predictions made are then experimentally tested and produce data which is then analysed for refutability and falsifiability leading to theory adjustments
- This process of falsifying and changing theories is known as verisimilitude; increasing closeness to the truth)
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TC and HT cont.
- After this process, generating laws and scientific principles becomes possible, with Popper reasoning that a theory can be accepted or validated with supporting research evidence and the finding of it to not be true leads to falsification - therefore, although theories can be easily disproved, it is never a 100% certainty it is absolutely true
- Most empirically based research method is the laboratory experiment, which allows causality to be established
- Other methods of hypothesis testing have reduced capability to determine causality, such as field and natural experiments, but even non-experimental methods can be performed with the scientific method, such as naturalistic observation
- Objectivity can be improved with inter-observer reliability, where researchers make efforts to ensure they observe phenomena in identical, unbiased way which makes for valid results
- Psychology is often regarded as a 'soft science' because it tries to use the deterministic and reductionist principles of science but due to its subjective subject matter prevents research being carried out with the usual rigorous vigour
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Paradigm Shifts
- Kuhn (1962) argued that Popper's idea of an inductive and deductive scientific method isn't how science works, believing that scientists collect data to fit accepted assumptions of science
- This creates a bias in which scientists attempt to find examples confirming their hypothesis rather than refuting them, and scientific journals publishing and focusing on confirmatory research
- Kuhn referred to this as a paradigm; a shared set of assumptions about the subject matter of a discipline and the methods appropriate to its study
- Paradigms are occasionally replaced, usually from a minority position, such as physics' acceptance of Einstein's theories about the nature of the universe
- Kuhn therefore argued that scientific advancement occurs not through Poppe's steady progress, but instead by revolutionary paradigm shifts (changes in scientific assumption)
- Psychology may not be scientific as it has to yet to establish it's paradigm, but can be argued to have multiple paradigms through the approaches of behaviourism etc
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Observational Design for naturalistic observation; behavioural categories and sampling procedures
- Before starting the observation the researcher will need to decide how the data will be collected and recorded. If the study is small with few participants, the researcher may decide to gather information in an ad-hoc way, continuously recording every detail as it happens without a specific time frame. This is known as an unstructured observation, which has the benefit of producing qualitative data that is rich and detailed.
- However, one problem with unstructured observations is observer bias, as it is hard to control for a person’s subjectivity as they may only record behaviour that they think is relevant. Consequently, this may lead to a lack of consistency across observers, reducing the validity of the research.
- A more objective way of carrying out an observation is to design a structured observation, which produces quantitative data that is easier to analyse and interpret.
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Behavioural Categories and Sampling Methods
Behavioural Categories:
- Clearly defined
- Observable
- Measurable
Sampling Methods:
- Event sampling - how many times does a behaviour (event) occur in a target group or individual
- Time sampling - recording behaviour within a specific time frame
- Using behavioural categories allows the researcher to focus on the behaviour that they are investigating and to create a checklist that allows the observers to tally observations into pre-arranged groupings.
- e.g. if a researcher was observing aggressive playground behaviour they would create a checklist of observable behaviours.
- Observers are then asked to tick every time a child performs one of the behaviours on the checklist
- Categories enable the researcher to formulate a testable hypothesis. In addition it allows for scientific and objective data recording as all the observers are measuring the same behaviour, which results in greater reliability. It also makes it easy to analyse and interpret the findings of the observation as the data produced is quantitative.
- However, even in the most carefully controlled observations there is a chance that observers will differ in their opinion of a behaviour due to subjectivity. To reduce this two or more observers are usually used to measure the level of inter-observer reliability. If the same behaviour is rated the same by two different observers then the observations are reliable.
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Types of variable
- Independent variable - variable manipulated or controlled by the experimenter
- Dependent variable - the variable being measured to show the effect of the IV, which always is the result / outcome
- An experimental investigation is conducted to determine if the IV affects the DV
- It is important that the researcher defines what will be manipulated and exactly how the variables will be measured, known as the operationalisation of variables
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Variables - extraneous and confounding
- Extraneous variables are variables that the researcher is aware of and that will possibly have an effect of the DV, as long as they are controlled by keeping it constant in all experimental conditions, then the researcher can conclude a causation between the IV and DV
- Confounding variables affect the DV but have not been controlled for within the experiment, making it hard to conclude that the IV, making it hard to conclude that the IV is the only causation of the DV
- There are many extraneous variables that may have an effect on the result, such as situational variables or participant variables
- Demand characteristics and investigator effects are examples of these variables also as they both effect the DV
- Demand characteristics - a participant variable in which the individual behaves in a way they think is expected of them by the experimenter due to subtle clues in the procedure
- Investigator effects are an extraneous variable in which the researcher unintentionally impacts the research with their own bias and actions
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Ways of minimising and controlling extraneous / confounding variables
1. Random allocation - a method of controlling participant variables when allocating participants to the experimental conditions as it gives every participant the equal opportunity to be selected to any of the conditions, and it also controls investigator effects as it prevents them from choosing who is allocated to each condition
2. Counter-balancing - a method of controlling demand characteristics, negating practice effects, fatigue and boredom by changing the order in which participants take part in different conditions - e.g. ABBA
3. Randomisation - a method of controlling demand characteristics by randomly allocating the materials and other factors in the experiment, such as randomising the order of words in a memory task
4. Standardisation - a method of controlling all extraneous variables by standardising all aspects of the research or investigation by using standardised instructions and procedures
- Practice effects - where participants improve at a condition they do multiple times as they have experience of it
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Ethics - The British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society (BPS) code of ethics maintains that all psychological research should be carried out in line with the four main ethical principles:
1. Respect; Psychologists value the dignity and worth of all persons, with sensitivity to the dynamics of perceived authority or influence over clients, and with particular regard to people’s rights including those of privacy and self determination.
2. Competence; Psychologists value the continuing development and maintenance of high standards of competence in their professional work, and the importance of preserving their ability to function optimally within the recognised limits of their knowledge, skill, training, education, and experience.
3. Responsibility; Psychologists value their responsibilities to clients, to the general public, and to the profession and science of Psychology, including the avoidance of harm and the prevention of misuse or abuse of their contributions to society.
4. Integrity; Psychologists value honesty, accuracy, clarity, and fairness in their interactions with all persons, and seek to promote integrity in all facets of their scientific and professional endeavours
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The code of ethics are a framework of how to carry out research, however, the reality of psychological research leads to a conflict between the ethical guidelines and the goal of the research study. The four main issues that psychologists face are:
1. Deception
- Deliberately withholding information that might affect the participant's decision to take part in the research
- Guidelines - Deception of the participants during the research process should be avoided wherever possible
- Ethical issue - withholding of the research hypothesis is often considered necessary in order to avoid demand characteristics
2. Informed Consent
- Participants should be made aware of any tasks required of them; their right to withdraw and any other aspects of the research that might affect their willingness to participate
- Guidelines - Participants' agreement to take part in research should be based on their full knowledge of the nature and purpose of the research. When dealing with children under 16, parent or guardian permission needs to be given
- Ethical issues - Informed consent cannot be given as in doing so participants would be aware of the research hypothesis which would influence their behaviour (demand characteristics)
3. Protection from harm
- The risk of harm during the research study should be no greater than the participants would experience in their everyday life
- Guidelines - The guideline states that participants should be protected from physical and psychological harm, such as distress, ridicule, or loss of self-esteem
- Ethical issues - In order for research to be realistic some distress may need to be caused to the participants.
4. Privacy and Confidentiality
- Participants in psychological research have a right to expect that information they provide will be treated confidentially and, if published, will not be identifiable as theirs
- Guidelines - Information obtained about a participant during an investigation is confidential unless otherwise agreed in advance
- Ethical issues - During research participant may disclose information that is illegal or threatens their safety
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Dealing with ethical issues in research
- The BPS code of ethics is not a legal document but is a professional standard that all psychologists should adhere to when conducting psychological studies.
- It recognises that the ethical issues mentioned earlier will inevitably arise during the course of a psychologist’s professional work and highlights that it is the researcher’s responsibility to ensure that they have the professional competence and experience to deal with these ethical issues appropriately.
- In dealing with an issue a psychologist should seek guidance from others in the form of a peer review or ethical committee and reflect on their own practice at regular intervals
- Having done all this, the question that psychologists face is whether their research will require them to break the ethical guidelines and what the consequences of doing so will be.
- This is known as the cost-benefit analysis. If they decide to proceed with the research and it breaches the guidelines psychologists should deal with the ethical issues as follows:
1) Debriefing
2) The right to withdraw
3) Obtaining Consent
4) Privacy and Confidentiality
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Debriefing and the right to withdraw
Debriefing -
- One of the main reasons why a researcher cannot get informed consent is because of the need for deception.
- To deal with this the researcher will need to debrief the participants at the end of the investigation and t the true nature and purpose of the research is explained to the participants, which covers the fact that they were deceived and did not give their full consent.
- Debriefing is also used to reassure participants that their behaviour is normal and to address any distress caused by the research, thereby protecting the participants from harm.
Right to withdraw -
- To protect the participants from harm they are informed at the beginning of the research that if they are distressed or upset at any point they have the right to withdraw.
- It is also the responsibility of the researcher to stop the experiment if the participant becomes too distressed.
- The right to withdraw can also be used if the psychologist has failed to gain informed consent at the beginning of the study during the debrief participants are given the opportunity to withdraw their data if they are not happy.
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Obtaining consent and privacy and confidentiality
Psychologists can obtain participant consent in two ways:
- Prior general consent - Participants have already consented to take part in several different studies, so it is assumed that they will consent to the new research
- Presumptive consent - The researcher has asked similar people if they would consent to the new research, if the agree then it is presumed that the participants will also consent
Privacy and confidentiality -
- In order to ensure that a participant’s data is kept confidential the psychologist should ensure that they record no personal details and maintain the anonymity of the participants at all times.
- This is usually achieved by numbering the participant or using letters such as HM or KF. If a participant discloses any information that the psychologist believes to be illegal or threatens the safety of the participant or others, the participant must be informed that they need to seek professional help or that the information will be passed on to the relevant authorities.
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Why are sampling methods used?
- Researchers are unable to test an entire population and so they sample part of the population for testing
- Ideally, the sample is representative of the whole population, and the idea of a target population refers to the group of people the results are targeted at
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Random sampling
- Each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected, and a way of doing this is by placing all names from the target population in a container and draw out the required sample number or generating random lists with computer programs
Advantages -
- Unbiased selection -> increases chance of a representative sample
- Generalisation -> as it is fairly representative, it can be generalised to the target population
Disadvantages -
- Impractical - random sampling is difficult to achieve as it can be hard to get full details of a target population and not all members may be available or wish to take part
- Not representative - unbiased selection does not guarantee an unbiased sample, for example all females could be randomly selected, making an unrepresentative sample and thus results are not generalisable
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Opportunity Sampling
- Involves selecting participants who are available and willing to take part - Sears (1986) found that 75% of university research studies use undergraduates as participants for the sake of convenience
Advantages -
- Ease of formation - relatively easy to create samples this way as people are readily available
- Natural experiments - main sampling for this study type as the researcher has no control over who is studied
Disadvantages -
- Unrepresentative - likely to be a biased sample that excludes a certain types of participants and thus be unrepresentative so that findings cannot be generalised to the target population
- Self-selection - participants have the option to decline to take part and the sampling technique and so it becomes a self-selected sample
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Volunteer Sampling
- People volunteer to participate, self-selecting herself as a participant, often by replying to adverts
Advantages -
- Ease of formation of sample
- Less chance of 'screw you' phenomenon - as participants are eager to take part, there will be less chance of them deliberately trying to sabotage the study
Disadvantages -
- Unrepresentative - sample will be biased as volunteers tend to be a certain 'type' of person and thus unrepresentative, making results not able to be generalised to a target population
- Demand characteristics - volunteers are easy to please
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Systematic Sampling
- Taking every nth person from a list to create a sample, which involves calculating population size and the sampling interval
Advantages -
- unbiased selection
- Generalisable - generally representative
Disadvantages -
- Periodic traits - process of selection can interact with hidden periodic traits within the population; if the sampling technique coincides with the frequency of the trait, the technique is no longer random or representative of the target population
- Not representative - unbiased selection does not always guarantee an unbiased sample
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Stratified Sampling
- This is a small-scale reproduction of a population, which involves dividing the population into characteristics that are important for research and then the population is randomly sampled within each stratum
Advantages -
- Representative and unbiased
Disadvantages -
- Knowledge of population characteristics is required, and stratified samples require a detailed knowledge that may not be available, making it hard to carry out
- Time consuming process
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The impact of psychological research on the economy
- Psychology creates practical applications used in everyday life for the betterment of society, which occurs through conducting psychological research that allows these applications
- Therefore, research contributes to the economy in a substantial way, such as through the creation of effective therapies for mental disorders
- Effective therapies developed through research make huge savings in financial costs which allow many people to return to work and contribute more fully to the economy
- E.g. Koran et al's (2000) study into the atypical antipsychotic drug olanzapine found that when the drug was combined with the serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine had a positive effect on resistant forms of OCD, which benefits the economy as OCD sufferers can return to work, earn money, pay taxes and not incur long-term financial costs upon the health service
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The role of peer-review in psychological reports and the scientific process
- This is part of the verification process and determines whether or not the research is scientifically acceptable
- The peer review system subjects scientific research papers to independent scrutiny by peers (scientific experts) before a decision is made about whether or not they can be published, and so it acts as a filter system reducing the chance of flawed or unscientific research being accepted as fact and it operates on the belief that the status of research results is as important as the findings themselves
- There is a growing amount of scientific information being made public along with an increasing amount of organisations (drug companies etc) promoting and discussing scientific research in public and it becomes difficult to decide which research is worthy of consideration and which is invalid especially when scientists argue completely different viewpoints
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The peer review process
- Several expert reviewers are sent copies of a researcher's work by a journal editor and these reviewers report back to the editor highlighting weaknesses or problem areas along with suggestions for improvement if necessary.
There are generally four options for reviewers to recommend -
1. Accept work unconditionally
2. Accept it so long as the researcher improves it in certain ways
3. Reject it, but suggest revisions and a resubmission
4. Reject it outright
Single-blind review:
- This is the usual form of peer review, which involves the names of reviewers not being revealed to the researcher, with the idea being that the reviewer's anonymity allows for unbiased review free from interference by the researcher
- However, there is a danger that anonymous reviewers may delay the review process to allow them to publish similar research first and or hide behind their anonymity to be unnecessarily harsh
Double-blind review:
- This involves both researchers and reviewers being anonymous, with the idea that bias based on ethnicity, gender, age at will not occur
- This makes more fair reviewing and ensures review is not based on the reputation of the researcher, but it's likely that the researcher could still be identifiable by their writing / research style
Open review:
- This involves reviewers and the researcher being known to each other, and this is seen to reduce the risk of personal comments and plagiarism and encourages open and honest peer reviewing
- However, it may be that deserved criticism is watered down due to politeness or fear of retribution from famous and powerful researchers
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Criticisms of peer reviews
- Argued that it is not an unbiased process, as research occurs in a narrow social world and relationships within the world that affect objectivity
- In obscure research areas, it may not be possible to find people with sufficient enough knowledge to carry out a proper peer review and there are even suspicions that some scientists' ability to consider research in an unbiased and professional manner is compromised by them being funded by organisations that want certain research to be acceptable
- Reviewers have also been accused of not accepting research so that they can publish their own or even so they can plagiarise research, and one way to address this is to ensure reviewers are anonymous and independent
- A further criticism is the ability to publish research papers is controlled by elites, and so there is resistance to revolutionary ideas that go against prevailing views, fitting Kuhn's idea that science doesn't advance steadily, but by one paradigm being toppled and replaced by another
- Peer review is a slow process and can take months or years to complete
- The consequences of false or unscientific research being accepted as true can be serious, not least because many other scientists' subsequent research may be built upon the fact that of the original research being accepted as true - Cyril Burt, who falsified research into the heritability of intelligence was a major figure in this field and his widely accepted research finding greatly influenced the work of subsequent researchers who took his false work as a starting point
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Managing sampling is important because ->
- Samples are not always representative - needs to be valid and reliable
- Periodic traits are avoided
- It is time-consuming, which is why sampling can not always be managed fully
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Kuhn and paradigms
- Kuhn argued that scientific methods are not continuously changing but are biased to find those which confirm the theory (paradigm)
- For a theory to alter we need a lot of contradicting observations
- Advancements occur due to paradigm shifts
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Karl Popper
- For something to be considered a science it should aim to disprove a theory, not just accept those given
- For a theory to be scientific it must be able to be tested and proven false (falsification)
- Moved thoughts from inductive process to deductive reasoning
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The inductive method (top to bottom approach)
1) Observation
(something in real life which occurs regularly)
2) Pattern
(same observation noted in many areas)
3) Hypothesis
(suggestion of what the pattern is)
4)Theory
(proposal of the pattern as truth to others)
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The deductive method (bottom to top approach)
1) Theory
(ideas regarding a situation)
2) Hypothesis
(predictions based on the situation and prior experience)
3) Observation
(using scientific methods to test the predictions)
4) Confirmation
(results alter ideas and theory so that a further hypothesis can be made)
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Peer review
A verification process to ensure that all information being put into the public domain is accurate
Works on the basis that other experts will be able to offer unbiased opinions
- Accept unconditionally
- Accept it as long as there are certain improvements
- Reject it with suggestions before resubmission
- Reject it outright
Types of review:
- Single blind - reviewer is not known to the researcher
- Double blind - neither the researcher or reviewer are known
- Open review - reviewer and researcher are known to each other
Criticisms:
- May not be possible to find experts to carry out review
- Funding is seen as unacceptable and unscientific
- Plagiarism of content
- Paradigm shifts are difficult to establish
- Slow process
- Consequences of false information being published is huge
