Transcript Research Methodology: An Evolving Discipline Graziano and Raulin Research Methods: Chapter 15 This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law.

Research Methodology:
An Evolving Discipline
Graziano and Raulin
Research Methods: Chapter 15
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by
law: (1) Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; (2)
Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; (3) Any rental,
lease, or lending of the program.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
The Essence of Science

A way of thinking
– Identify questions, refine them, and then
proceed to gather data to answer them
– Interplay between inductive and
deductive thinking

Research can be conducted at many
constraint levels depending on the
question
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
New Directions in
Research

Information may answer some question, but
it usually raises other questions
– New questions may require new techniques
– Although the logic of research is unchanged

Science is an interconnected discipline
– Ideas from one area affect other areas
– Good scientific theories explain findings in
several interconnected fields
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Evolution of Research
Questions

Answering one question raises other
questions
– Establishing that genetics plays a role in
schizophrenia leads to the question of “How?”

These new questions lead to new lines
of research
– High-risk paradigms for longitudinal studies
– Brain scan techniques, computer modeling, etc.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
New Statistical Methods



New statistical procedures open new areas
to study
Many new statistical procedures are only
possible because of high-speed computers
Vast array of new statistical procedures
–
–
–
–
ANOVA
Multidimensional Scaling
Statistical analysis of neuro-images
Meta-analysis
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Analysis of Variance



Most research designs covered in this text
were developed to take advantage of
ANOVA techniques
Used for group comparisons
Very flexible tool
– Extended into a variety of designs (e.g.,
repeated measures, factorial, etc.)

The most widely used statistical procedure
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Multidimensional Scaling

Reduces a large number of measures
into a smaller number of dimensions
– Assumed that the mathematical
dimensions found correspond to some
physical or psychological reality

Once thought to be a way to quickly
understand psychological phenomena
– It has not proved to be that powerful
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Path Analysis

Regression technique for testing
whether correlational data are
consistent with a causal model
– Like any correlational approach, it cannot
establish causality
– It can provide data that challenge a specified
causal model

One of many Latent Variable models
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Neuroimaging



Procedures such as CAT scans, MRIs,
and PET scans all use sophisticated
mathematics to produce the threedimensional images of the body
The mathematics is similar to
multidimensional scaling procedures
Developers won the Nobel Prize
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Meta-Analysis


A statistical way to combine several
studies on a single topic
Involves
– Computing an effect size for each study
– Computing a weighted effect size for the
series of studies

Advances scientific understanding
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Meta-analysis



Science builds on its cumulative
knowledge
But statistical procedures tend to
discount information from a study if
the findings fall short of statistical
significance
Meta-analysis combines both
significant and non-significant findings
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Impact of Other
Disciplines



Scientific disciplines are inherently
interconnected
Advances in one discipline provide
resources for related disciplines
Neuroscience advances have had a
huge impact on many areas of
psychology
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Interdisciplinary
Research

Scientific disciplines are artificial boundaries
– All scientists study nature using the same logic
– But the complexity of scientific study forces
specialization
– Interesting questions know no boundaries

Increasingly, interdisciplinary teams of
scientists are attacking critical questions
that cross current scientific disciplines
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Field Studies

More field research is being done
– Many important questions cannot be brought
into the laboratory
– Field research often has better external validity


Some argue for case-study approaches
as inherently more valid
High-constraint experimental research
is also possible in the field
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Laboratory versus
Field Research
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Impact of Computers

Computer capabilities are exploding,
affecting every area of science





Control of laboratory procedures
Analysis of data
Computer models of sophisticated theories
Many research studies would be impossible
without the aide of computers
Computers are only a tool; science still relies
on its logic to answer research questions
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Science and Society

Impossible to predict the directions of
science
– New findings will raise new questions not
even dreamed of yet

Scientific knowledge opens new
horizons, but in the process raises
ethical and moral questions that
society must address
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Major Scientific Discoveries
of the 19th Century





John Dalton’s confirmation that matter is made of
atoms (1808)
Sadi Carnot’s surmise that converting one form of
energy to another is inherently limited (about 1830)
James P. Joule’s demonstration of the conservation
of energy (1851)
Charles Darwin’s and Alfred Russel Wallace’s
discovery of natural selection and the theory of
evolution (1859)
James Maxwell’s mathematical unification of
electricity and magnetism (about 1880).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Science

An interaction between empiricism and
rationalism
– We observe nature and try to organize our
understanding of it with theories
– We test theories empirically, modifying or
discarding those theories that fail these tests

All scientists use the same logic
– Science is defined by its way of thinking, not by
its technology and achievements
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)
Summary



Science is a constantly developing
enterprise
As science develops, new questions are
raised and sometimes new techniques must
be developed
Many factors affect the development of
scientific research, but no factor is more
important than the cleverness of scientists
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2007)