Unit 2 The Science of Psychology
Overview
In Unit 2, we will engage with the necessary and important skills for understanding psychology as a science by learning how to read and evaluate scientific research. This is of utmost importance as not all scientific studies (or the journals that publicize them) are of the same quality. The peer-review process is supposed to eliminate poor quality studies; however, some sub-standard studies are published. Additionally, some articles are published to promote a political or activist agenda and the information contained in those articles can be misleading, even dangerous. Thus, you should always read scientific papers critically, while suspending your own biases, to evaluate how trustworthy the research is.
Topics
This unit is divided into the following topics:
- Principles of Scientific Research
- Scientific Research Designs
- Ethics in Psychological Research
- A Statistical Primer
Learning Outcomes
When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:
- Describe the key terminology related to the principles of scientific research, research designs, research ethics, and statistics.
- Describe the five characteristics of quality scientific research and how biases might influence the outcome of a study.
- Apply the concepts of reliability and validity to examples and concepts of experimental methods to research examples.
- Analyze whether anecdotes, authority figures, and common sense are reliably truthful sources of information.
- Explain what it means when variables are positively or negatively correlated and how experiments help demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships.
- Analyze the pros and cons of descriptive, correlational, and experimental research designs
- Explain the importance of reporting and storing data, why animals are often used in scientific research, and how and why psychologists use significance tests.
- Apply your knowledge of ethical principles of scientific research to examples and interpret the most frequently used types of graphs.
- Analyze the role of using deception in psychological research and the choice of central tendency statistics based on the shape of the distribution.
Activity Checklist
Here is a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.
Learning Activities
- Read and Reflect – Chapter 2
- Review the Unit 2 – Course Notes (found on Course Notes tab)
- Complete the Evaluating Scientific Literature activity
- Complete the Applying Research activity
- Complete the Ethical Considerations activity.
- Complete the Embracing Statistics in Psychology activity
- Complete the Chapter 2 Key Terms Quiz
Note
The course units follow topics in the textbook, Revel for An Introduction to Psychological Science by Krause et al. (4th Edition). For each unit, please read the pertinent chapter(s) before completing the assessment for the unit.
Assessment
In this course you demonstrate your understanding of the course learning outcomes in different ways, including papers, projects, discussions and quizzes. Please see the Assessment section in Moodle for assignment details and due dates.
2.1 Principles of Scientific Research
We begin Unit 2 by developing a sense of the principles of scientific research. If you have not already read the text, you will see that the textbook points out that the five important aspects, that every quality research endeavour should have, are:
- It is based on measurements that are objective, valid, and reliable.
- It can be generalized.
- It uses techniques that reduce bias.
- It is made public.
- It can be replicated.
At the same time, the systems and structures that fund experiments and conduct research, positively or negatively, influence scientific endeavours. An interesting survey conducted by Vox in 2016 revealed some profound challenges facing research and researchers from survey information obtained from 270 scientists. Ideally, the organizational structure of the scientific process is like this: ask a question, set up an objective test, get an answer, and replicate. However, science is rarely practiced to that ideal. The information from the Vox survey’s 270 scientists from all over the world (including graduate students, senior professors, laboratory heads, and Fields Medalists) indicated that there are seven major problems facing scientists today:
- Academia has a huge money problem
- Too many studies are poorly designed
- Replicating results is crucial — and rare
- Peer review is broken
- Too much science is locked behind paywalls
- Science is poorly communicated
- Life as a young academic is incredibly stressful
The point here is to recognize that though scientific research and findings can be valuable, the culture and environment of scientific endeavours can have a powerful effect on the research outcomes.
Note:
If this information is intriguing to you, you can read the full Vox Survey results here.
Activity: Read and Reflect
Take a moment to read through chapter 2 of your textbook and review the Course Notes for this unit. Consider how some of the themes and concepts you read about apply to what you have learned in this section.
Activity: Evaluating Scientific Literature
In the section above, we introduced the idea of the principles of scientific research. Recall (from Unit 1) that one definition of psychology is that it is the application of the scientific method to address psychological questions. To ensure you are conducting your research in a responsible and critical fashion, the article below outlines the 10 steps that will allow you to properly evaluate scientifically-based papers:
After you complete the reading, consider the following questions:
- How much do you allow scientific research finding shape your opinions and approach to life?
- Do you see the steps from the article as being important? Why or why not?***
- Do you think most people critically read articles well enough to scientifically form their own opinions or do you think most people only superficially read material and are influenced by the opinions of others?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
2.2 Scientific Research Designs
Next, this section will look at how critical role design will play in scientific research. Psychology research always begins with a research question. Research questions can look like this: “What is the most effective way to study?”, “What kind of communication contributes to satisfying romantic relationships?”, or “Does meditation reduce stress?” The stated research question is followed by a hypothesis – a prediction about the outcome. The researcher(s) then create a research design, a set of methods that allows a hypothesis to be tested. Research designs influence how investigators (1) organize the stimuli used to test the hypothesis, (2) make observations, and (3) evaluate the results.
It is important to note that there are several types of research designs. It is the researcher(s) responsibility to choose a design that best addresses the research question and that is most suitable to the subject of their research. All research designs have variables, use operational definitions, and produce data that needs to be collected. To apply some of this information, let us consider the question, “Does meditation reduce stress?” This question establishes the foundation of the research problem. From here, you can start by looking at what research, if any, has been done on this question; this is known as a literature review. After you’ve done a literature review you will have clarity as to what kinds of questions have yet to be asked about meditation and stress. Then you can decide what type(s) of meditation to use and determine what level(s) (biological, psychological, social, or spiritual) you want to measure stress. Now, you could put together a research question and propose a hypothesis. Following this, you will describe the data necessary for adequate hypothesis testing and consider the subjects or population you will need for data collection. At this point, you will be able to select your research design and determine the methods of analysis to be applied to the data.
The purpose to having steps like these is to help you become more comfortable with the research process and to grow your scientific knowledge.
Activity: Applying Research
Have you ever wondered if all the research done by the government, and at academic institutions, actually becomes useful in some way to the public?
In the article below, you will discover that the answer is a resounding, “Yes!” The researchers set out to answer the question, “Does scientific research reliably lead to usable practical advances?” The results indicate that basic research seems to matter and that there is a strong link between basic research and economy boosting products. Read more by clicking on the following link:
After you complete the reading, consider the following questions:
- What has your attitude been towards research? Has it changed as you’ve been reading from the text and additional resources? How so?
- Can you think of any products you use that were developed from a research foundation?
- What is something you would like to research? After reading about research design, do you think you could research your interest in a scientific manner?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
2.3 Ethics in Psychological Research
The search for knowledge about ourselves, and the world around us, is a fundamental human endeavour. Research is a natural extension of this desire to understand and to improve the world in which we live.
The scope of research is vast. On the purely physical side, it ranges from seeking to understand the origins of the universe down to the fundamental nature of matter. At the analytic level, it covers mathematics, logic and metaphysics. Research involving humans ranges widely, including attempts to understand the broad sweep of history, the workings of the human body and the body politic, the nature of human interactions and the impact of nature on humans – the list is as boundless as the human imagination.
There can be no doubt that research has greatly enriched and improved our lives. Significant advances in human understanding in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, engineering and health sciences have been made as a result of research involving humans. A fundamental premise of this Policy is that research can benefit human society. In order to maximize the benefits of research, researchers must have academic freedom. Academic freedom includes freedom of inquiry; the right to disseminate the results of that inquiry; freedom to challenge conventional thought; freedom to express one’s opinion about the institution, its administration or the system in which one works; and freedom from institutional censorship. With academic freedom comes responsibility, including the responsibility to ensure that research involving humans meets high scientific and ethical standards that respect and protect the participants. Thus, researchers’ commitment to the advancement of knowledge also implies duties of honest and thoughtful inquiry, rigorous analysis, commitment to the dissemination of research results, and adherence to the use of professional standards. There is a corresponding responsibility on the part of institutions to defend researchers in their efforts to uphold academic freedom and high ethical, scientific and professional standards.
Research is a step into the unknown. Because it seeks to understand something not yet revealed, research often entails risks to participants and others. These risks can be trivial or profound, physical or psychological, individual or social. History offers unfortunate examples where research participants have been needlessly, and at times profoundly, harmed by research, sometimes even dying as a result. Ethical principles and guidelines play an important role in advancing the pursuit of knowledge while protecting and respecting research participants in order to try to prevent such occurrences.
People have also been gratified and have had their lives enriched by their participation in research, either because they may have benefited directly or because their participation has contributed to the expansion of knowledge. Given the fundamental importance of research and of human participation in research, we must do all that we can as a society to ensure that research is conducted in an ethical manner so as to build public confidence and trust. By promoting and guiding the ethical conduct of research involving humans, this Policy seeks to contribute tangibly to these goals.
No single document can provide definitive answers to all ethical issues that may arise in an undertaking as complex as research involving humans. This Policy aims to assist those who use it – namely researchers, sponsors, members of research ethics boards (REBs), participants, and the public – to identify ethical issues in the design, conduct and oversight of research and to point the way to arriving at reasoned and ethical responses to these issues.
*This selection is from the Government of Canada’s Panel on Research Ethics
Activity: Ethical Considerations
If you are planning to become a counsellor or psychologist, it will be imperative to know and understand the ethical principles that guide professional service in the field of psychology. To start the process you can check out the Canadian Psychological Association’s Canadian Code of Conduct for Psychologists that has 4 general principles that govern professional behaviour. Additionally, you could check out the General Principles tab from the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct website which list the 5 principles that governs professional behaviour in America. The last resource is TWU’s Human Research Ethics website; it contains numerous resources for conducting research with human subjects. Take some time to read through the following resources:
After exploring the different opportunities, consider the following questions:
- What differences do you notice between the Canadian and American general ethical principles?
- Do you think it is important to have ethical principles in place governing the behaviours of social scientists in their research with human participants? How come?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
2.4 A Statistical Primer
Our final topic for Unit 2 introduces us to an intimidating, but very critical element of scientific research: Statistics! As an undergraduate student, you may think the answer to the question, “What is statistics?” would be straightforward to answer. However, the reality is that if you asked 20 different professional statisticians that question you would likely get 20 different answers. As we shall see, even with the diversity of definitions, there is overlap as to what the core of statistical reasoning is. One way to ease your self into an understanding of statistics is to look at the etymology of the word. According to Merriam-Webster, the word statistic can be traced from the German word: Statistik which means the study of political facts and figures, to the New Latin statisticus of politics, originating from Latin status state. More specifically the Latin status can mean the condition of standing, stature, or status. So early uses of the term statistic referred to the activities of authorities of a state/kingdom to collect data that would inform administrative, military, and financial decisions. Moving on from the original use of the word, one of the more exhaustive definitions of statistics comes from the late American statistician and economist, Horace Secrist. According to Secrist (1917), “by statistics we mean aggregates of facts, affected to a marked extent by a multiplicity of causes, numerically expressed, enumerated or estimated according to reasonable standards of accuracy, collected in a systematic manner for a predetermined purpose and placed in relation to each other.” Edwin Seligman (1905) defines statistics as, “the science which deals with the methods of collecting classifying, presenting, comparing and interpreting numerical data collected to throw some light on any sphere of enquiry.” These definitions of statistics promote the following characteristics that are still essential today in the realm of statistics. These characteristics are:
- Numerical data should be aggregates of facts.
- Data should be affected to a marked extent by multiplicity of causes.
- Data should be numerically expressed.
- Data should be enumerated or estimated according to reasonable standards of accuracy.
- Data should be collected in a systematic manner.
- Data should be collected for a predetermined purpose.
- Data should be placed in relation to each other.
This leads us to a modern working definition of statistics, provided by Merriam-Webster dictionary, as a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of masses of numerical data.
Activity: Embracing Statistics in Psychology
What are your thoughts towards courses with titles like: Introduction to Statistics, Experimental Psychology, Data Analysis, Research Methods, and Advanced Statistics? If you desire a career in psychology, being motivated to take courses like these could produce great profit in your future studies and vocation. In this article, a case is made for the importance of embracing, rather than avoiding, statistically based psychology courses. Read more below:
After reading about statistics in psychology, consider the following question:
- What does (or could) motivate you to want to grow in your depth and breadth of statistical knowledge and understanding?
- Can you think of any examples where you have seen statistical information be misleading or misused?
Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with other members of the class
Activity: Key Terms Quiz
In order to review some of the major concepts from the text, take the following unmarked quiz. Although you will not be evaluated on these terms, they will assist you in the assignments for this course.
Assessment
Refer to the course schedule for graded assignments you are responsible for submitting. All graded assignments, and their due dates, can be found on the “Assessment” tab.
In addition to any graded assignments you are responsible for submitting, be sure to complete all the Learning Activities that have been provided throughout the content - these are intended to support your understanding of the content.
Checking your Learning
Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure that you are able to:
- Describe the key terminology related to the principles of scientific research, research designs, research ethics, and statistics.
- Describe the five characteristics of quality scientific research and how biases might influence the outcome of a study.
- Apply the concepts of reliability and validity to examples and concepts of experimental methods to research examples.
- Analyze whether anecdotes, authority figures, and common sense are reliably truthful sources of information.
- Explain what it means when variables are positively or negatively correlated and how experiments help demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships.
- Analyze the pros and cons of descriptive, correlational, and experimental research designs
- Explain the importance of reporting and storing data, why animals are often used in scientific research, and how and why psychologists use significance tests.
- Apply your knowledge of ethical principles of scientific research to examples and interpret the most frequently used types of graphs.
- Analyze the role of using deception in psychological research and the choice of central tendency statistics based on the shape of the distribution.