Lecture 3 _ Common Research Methods

docx

School

University of Houston *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

1300

Subject

Psychology

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by ProfessorWorldChimpanzee34

Common Research Methods in HDFS Lecture 3 | HDFS 1300 Development of Contemporary Families Taking notes in your own words (not simply copying word-for-word from the slides) will help you to learn the material. Paraphrasing helps you to ensure you fully understand the information. I also encourage you to practice applying the concepts to real-world situations because you will be required to demonstrate this ability when you complete the lecture quiz. Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about the material. Key Terms to Understand (Not Simply to Memorize) These are some terms that we will reference during the class period. You will also encounter some of these terms when reading research articles for the class or when reading the book. These are very basic definitions of these terms. (You will learn more in your research methods course.) The Very Basic Terms ● Variable : anything that can vary or change ● Operational definition : a precise description of a variable reflecting how it is measurable ● Sample versus a population o Population : all of the people in a group of interest (i.e., all families in the United States; all families in the world; all dual-income families in the United States) o Sample : a group of participants drawn from the population (not everyone in the population); Example: the dual-income families living in the United States that you successfully recruit for your study ● Hypothesis versus a research question o Hypothesis : a precise, specific, testable statement indicating whether or not changes in one variable will be associated with changes in another variable o Research question : typically, an open-ended question that is less precise than a hypothesis; useful when there is not much known about the topic of interest Terms Related to Research Design ● Longitudinal versus a cross-sectional design o Longitudinal : type of research study in which the same participants are observed/measured over time and data are collected at multiple time points o Cross-sectional : type of research study in which data are collected at one time point and groups are compared 1 HDFS 1300 | Dr. Erica Jordan

● Qualitative versus quantitative data o Qualitative : open-ended, detailed, descriptive data used by the researcher(s) to identify themes o Quantitative : data that are numerical (or that are converted into a numerical format, such as a scale); researchers use for statistical analyses (everything from basic frequencies and percentages to sophisticated statistical models) ● Correlational versus causational o Correlational : a type of research design that illustrates the association between two variables but that does NOT prove one variable is the cause of this association o Causational : a type of research design that illustrates how one variable causes changes in another variable because the researcher has strict controls and has manipulated the independent variable Data Collection Techniques in HDFS ● Case study : in-depth interviews and/or direct observation of one participant or a very small group of participants ● Ethnography : immersing oneself in the environment of the population of interest as much as possible over a relatively long period of time ● Focus group : trained facilitator asks questions to a small group about a specific topic of interest ● Interview, questionnaire, and survey : face-to-face interview, phone interview, or self- report survey/questionnaire; especially helpful if questions have been validated (accurately measures what they should) and tested for reliability (consistently measures what they should) ● Naturalistic observation : carefully recording or notetaking about participants in their own environment (i.e., home, school, workplace, playground, neighborhood) ● Laboratory observation : carefully recording or notetaking about participants in an artificial/researcher-created setting (i.e., lab, apartment setup for observation, Gottman’s “Love Lab,” playground setup for observation) ● Experiment : researcher randomly assigns participants to groups (experimental and control groups) and participants receive different treatments/situations/experiences. Can be in a lab or outside of a lab but MUST involve the manipulation of the variable of interest by the researcher. o Independent variable : the variable that the researcher manipulates (or changes) based on the group/condition the participant is placed in o Dependent variable : the variable that changes based on changes in the independent variable (often thought of as the “outcome” variable, but this term is somewhat debatable) o Control variables : variables that remain the same/constant across all groups/conditions 2 HDFS 1300 | Dr. Erica Jordan

● Natural (or quasi-) experiment : Comparing groups that naturally occur in nature (and are not manipulated by the researcher); Example: comparing child development outcomes in a town that had access to the internet and a town that did not ● Physiological measurements : measuring information about bodily functions (i.e., heart rate, temperature, cortisol level, eye tracking, sweat) ● Secondary data analysis : using data that have already been collected for a previous reason and analyzing it in a different way ● Mixed-methods : combining two or more techniques in a single study Question to Consider Your Answer Theories inform research. Research informs theories. Both can inform practices with real families! Defining Terms for Research Opening Activity: 1. How would you define religiosity? 2. How would you measure it? 3. How would you define marital satisfaction? 4. How would you measure it? 1. How strong someone’s faith is. 2. By how devote someone is in their daily life. For ex: how much does one practice their religion and abide by it. 3. How happy and content one is with their partner, future, environment, and financially. 4. By the frequencies in arguments or feelings of negativity with their partner How do your thoughts compare? I agree with this for the most part. What are operational definitions? Why are they important when conducting research studies? How many ways can you measure a variable? - Operational definitions are clear, precise (not vague), and measurable. - Accurate in the sense that you’ll get similar responses from a multitude of individuals. - a BAD example : “how religious somebody is” - a BETTER example : “religiosity refers to people’s varying tendencies to commit themselves to religious beliefs, principles, and activities - It’s important that variables are clearly defined and someone shows how they measure them to verify the accuracy and validity of the statements - clear summaries of research allow for replication, debate, and ongoing advancement of science - A few measuring ways for religiosity: - self-report survey asking if they are religious - Self-report survey asking how often they pray, attend religious services, etc - Asking whether or not they are a member of a religious group - Observing how much they contribute time or money to religious organizations 3 HDFS 1300 | Dr. Erica Jordan

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

- A few measuring ways for marital satisfaction : - self-report survey asking how happy each partner is - Observing how balanced household work appears to be - Counting how long the couple has been married for - bringing a couple into a lab, presenting them with a problem and they have to find the solution - observe how they interact and how balanced the conversation is - Observing how often the couple is affectionate, etc Correlational and Causational Design What is the “gold standard” for research studies? Why do we consider it to be the gold standard? What are some strengths of this design? What are some limitations? - Gold standard is the experimental and control group design. - dubbed as the gold standard because it is viewed as the best way to come up with a causal claim (one thing causes the other) - The design of the experiment : - random assignment between the groups - NO volunteers - no significant difference between the groups - Researcher has strict control over the conditions - Researcher can manipulate the independent variable and keep other variables constant between groups - Allows us to be more confident about making causal claims - Strengths : - Can make confident causal claims - allows for strict variable control - Limitations : - Time and money - Authenticity, like if the people lie about the results or behave differently in the lab - The researcher can have bias from the get go - Morals - - some experiments we just can’t ethically / morally do - Ex: spanking a child v.s not spanking Explain the difference between correlational and causal relationships. Why are most studies correlational, despite the limitations of correlational designs? What are spurious correlations? - We might THINK we know a cause, but we cannot be sure unless we conduct an experiment with random assignment - Can examine associations between variables but not causal claims - Spurious Correlation : - Not theoretically meaningful at all - i:e - when icecream sales rise, murder rates rise. Is icecream the cause of the increase in murder? 4 HDFS 1300 | Dr. Erica Jordan

Common Data Collection Techniques (How we get the information we need) Data collection technique Strengths Limitations 1. Natural / Quasi Experiments - It’s the next best thing to an experiment design - Still cannot fully control the variables as adequately as one would like - Can be expensive and time consuming as well 2. Laboratory Observation - You have control over pretty much everything - There’s no control group, not as clean as an experimental design - Some things cannot ethically be done - They know they’re being observed and are in a lab so they act accordingly to it - 3. Physiological Measurements - Can be more objective and specifically measurable definitively - - Are not perfect, sometimes can be interpreted wrong - Other factors can elevate heartrate, not necessarily the factor that the researcher is looking for 4. Naturalistic Observation - It is more likely that you view a natural behavior - Very time consuming - The families still know that they are being watched 5. Interviews, Surveys & Questionnaires - Can potentially lead to more honesty - Convenient for participants and researches - Much cheaper than any other choice of observation - Can obtain results from a lot of people quickly - Is truly voluntary - The families may misinterpret the question or misunderstand the question - There is bias in how people answer aka rose tinted glasses - People are not reliable in if they remember certain details accurately 5 HDFS 1300 | Dr. Erica Jordan

6. Focus groups - Questions are developed by multiple ppl to limit biasness and is asked with around 5-10 participants - More opinions - They are quick - Facilitator must be trained - One sided mentatlity- one person could state their opinion and the rest follows along - Small group cannot represent everyone 7.Case Study - in depth interviews for detailed information for small number of participants 8. Ethnography - spend time with participants by living with them - most in depth data collection approach 9. Secondary data analysis - quickest approach - taking someone’s data and analyze it in a different way - large sample size - government funded or grant funded - lots of statistical power, more ppl more statistal ananlysis - may not include all variables your interested - may not give you permission - may not agree with methods of data collection/ variables or you may not see they are effective - data could be old Thinking about research overall… - systematic way to collect a topic - we cannot ethically study everything - families are complex - only so much control for everything What are some necessary ethical considerations? - Must take some kind of training - Need informed consent - Risks that could occur and what the info is used for - Child needs to be consented - Vulnerable population- telling studens to participate in a study and they will get extra credit Thinking about the options, which ones do you like most? Lecture 4 Finding Information - Wanna be careful with websites of organizations and personal ones without a peer review process - Mass market books are not peer reviewed - It is easy for ppl to present themselves as experts within areas they may write about 6 HDFS 1300 | Dr. Erica Jordan

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

The CRAAP Test - Is it current - Needs to be relevant information - Accuracy-Does the author have credentials for the area - Whats the purpose Academic Journals - Not perfect but closest we can get to a gold standard - It is paneled by other researchers before publishing Empirical Research Studies - Journal articles that describe an original research study that was conducted by the authors - Literature Review journal articles that summarizes research of a topic - Not a primary source like empirical research study Meta-analysis and systematic reviews - Taken previous empirical studies and calculate statistical analysis and conclude what the studies’ direction is Making causal claims - Must be careful with wording of causation with factors 7 HDFS 1300 | Dr. Erica Jordan

Lecture 3 _ Common Research Methods

Related Documents