amy sweetman | ResourcesByTopic / ResearchMethods

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Submitted by Dr. Rick Froman to the Society for Teaching of Psychology Discussion list

For Statistics and Probability, "The Chain of Chance". There is hardly a book by Lem that doesn't have something interesting and humorous to say about the scientific enterprise and the meaning of human nature. I'm sure a lot depends on your sense of humor but my favorites are Memoirs found in a Bathtub (due to my brief time working for the Defense Logistics Agency as a summer hire) and the Futurological Congress.

Freakonomics, by Steven Leavitt

Cartoons

Classroom Activities

Research Methods

Basic Worksheet on Experiment and Correlation Submitted by Amy Sweetman amysweetman@earthlink.net

Experiment (Independent and Dependent Variable Worksheet) Correlation ( What’s the relationship)

Find the Independent and Dependent Variables in the following scenarios

1. Dr. Baldwin studies the effects of marijuana on memory she designs an experiment where half the group is receiving THC ( the active ingredient in Marijuana) and the other group gets oregano. The subjects are all given the same list of words to study while they are smoking the substances. Recall is tested 1 hour later.

2. A test was designed to test the effects of alcohol on motor coordination group one was given a mixed drink with two shots of alcohol in it. Group two was given a mixed drink with one shot of alcohol in it. Then their motor coordination was tested by asking them to do a series of balancing exercises.

3. A study was conducted on sleep deprivation and cognitive performance on a problem solving test. One group of subjects was deprived of 1 hour of sleep, the other group of subjects was deprived of 4 hours of sleep. Then they were given the problem solving test.

4. A recent report found that blueberries enhanced the maze running performance of mice. What was the independent variable and dependent variable of this experiment?

5.We are studying whether or not a new vitamin supplement helps boost memory retention. What is th IV and DV?

6. If I wished to try a new cooperative teaching method and I wanted to study how effective it is compared to the standard lecture method. How would I design my experiment?

Answer the Correlation questions

1. There was a -.85 relationship between the amount of exercise people do and their weight. What does this mean? 2. It has been found that the more control people have over their work environments, the more productive they are. What type of correlation would this be? 3. A study found that the less drugs people do the higher their grade point average, what type of correlation would this be? 4. A study found that the more people sleep, the younger they are. This is an example of what type of correlation? 5. If a +.55 relationship was found between variable A and variable B what would this mean? 6. Research has found that the bigger the credit line a bank offers, the more money people owe. This is an example of a ________________ correlation., 7. If I found a correlation coefficient of.-75 between variables A and Variables B what would this mean?

Class Demonstrations

Homework ideas

Ethics in Research [--submitted by Linda Jordan lgjordan@hughes.net]

In Chapter One, you are introduced to the Scientific Method. To help you focus more closely on the section of the chapter entitled Ethical Considerations (page 31), I would like you to take a look at a famous experiment that was conducted at Stanford University in the early 1970’s. To learn all about this experiment, go to www.zimbardo.com . This takes you to the home page for Dr. Philip Zimbardo. On the menu, click on Prison Experiment and prepare to be amazed at how research was once conducted. Go through the entire slide presentation, then use the considerations discussed in your text to write about which ethical considerations were violated in Dr. Zimbardo’s research. Would Dr. Zimbardo be able to conduct this research today? What did we learn from this study that is of importance to us? Do the potential end results of research sometimes justify the way in which research is conducted? How would you decide?

Cautionary note: I know that your thoughts are fascinating, but this essay is to include not only your thoughts but also concepts from the text that indicate that you have read the ethical considerations and thought about how they apply here. Please type your essay, double space, and make it no longer than three pages. One paragraph is too short. Got it? I do care about proofreading, so make sure you treat this as an important assignment. Proofread your work and make sure you use spellcheck and grammarcheck. That is all the help I can give you.

( 30 points possible)

Correlations – Do you understand them? [submitted by - Linda Jordan lgjordan@hughes.net]

For the following correlation findings, state 1) whether the correlation is positive or negative, and 2) what possible intervening variables might explain the results. (Some examples are imaginary.)

A. The more rooms a person has in their house, the more pairs of shoes they are likely to own.
B. The more class days students miss, the lower their grades are likely to be.
C. The more expensive a person's car is, the fewer successful intimate relationships they have.
D. More educated people tend not to buy designer label clothing.
E. The more alcohol a person drinks, the lower their scores on performance tests.
F. The fewer friends an elderly person has, the more likely they are to have symptoms of depression.
G. The more selections from Mozart that a baby listens to, the higher the child’s intelligence scores.
H. The fewer fruits and vegetables a person eats, the more likely they will get cancer.
I. The more languages you speak, the higher your scores on mathematics.
J. The more chocolate your teacher eats before class, the more likely she is to tell jokes.

Any relationship can be described in terms of how strong the relationship actually is. Does one variable actually cause another? We can say that when it rains, the ground gets wet. I feel very certain that rain has a strong relationship to the ground being wet. Relationships in psychology are not so certain. Human behavior is complex and the result of many factors. We describe the strength of relationships in terms of numbers. +1.0 is the strongest a relationship can be – like rain and wet sidewalks. This describes a positive correlation. 0 means no relationship at all – like the relationship between a satellite flying overhead and the color of clothes you chose to wear today. -1.0 is also the strongest a relationship can be. It describes a negative correlation. After doing the above exercise, you should know the difference between positive and negative correlations.

Answer the following:

1. Identical twins’ IQ scores correlate .50. Is that a strong relationship?
2. As the unemployment rate rises, the incidence of domestic violence also rises. The relationship is described as being at a strength of .30. Is that a strong relationship?
3. As the number of missed classes increases, the scores on tests decrease. Let’s say this correlation is described a -.70. Is that a strong correlation?
4. As the number of satellites overhead increase, the likelihood of students wearing the color blue decreases. The correlation is described as a -.05. What do you say?

Experiment Analysis --submitted by Linda Jordan lgjordan@hughes.net ?

Dr. U. P. Straight is a developmental psychologist who loves his work. It is a great profession except he can never get away from work – people are developing everywhere all the time. One area of interest for him is toilet training because parents always ask how to do it faster and neater. He was out at a restaurant sitting next to a table of boy toddlers. It wasn’t the best eating event for him; however, he did become fascinated as the boys made targets out of everything. The boys even threw wads of napkins at his water glass – fortunately, their aim wasn’t that good. It got him to thinking, though, about boys and targets and whether he could use this for toilet training. He decided to set up an experiment. He enlisted 10 daycare centers that agreed to participate. He wrote letters to parents asking if they would allow their children to be subjects in his study. He only used boys because girls are perfect and really easy to train. Plus, they don’t have lousy aim. A number of parents agreed to participate, so he put their names in a hat and assigned them to different groups – one group received instructions to throw Cheerios in the toilet for the boys to aim at. The other group did not use targets and just did normal toilet training with the boys. Dr. Straight charted the time it took to become accident free, i.e. toilet trained. He was delighted to find that the Cheerio boys trained in half the time. As you might imagine, the makers of Cheerios were delighted. Perhaps you have seen Dr. Straight’s photo on certain Cheerios boxes. He is now a wealthy man and very famous. You must attend to the more boring aspects of his experiment.

What was Dr. Straight’s theory?

What was his hypothesis?

Independent variable? Why?

Dependent variable? Why?

Did he get a random assignment of subjects? Why or why not?

Did he show causation? Why or why not?

What was Dr. Straight’s theory?

What was his hypothesis?

Independent variable? Why?

Dependent variable? Why?

Did he get a random assignment of subjects? Why or why not?

Did he show causation? Why or why not?

Research Methods Homework

(submitted by Linda Walsh, University of Northern Iowa - also available at http://www.uni.edu/walsh/exp.html)

Name: ____________________________

Section 1 Experiments: Identifying Variables and Groups

In each of the examples, identify the independent variable and dependent variable as well as which participants make up the experimental group and which make up the control group.

Remember:

Independent Variable = What the investigator manipulates; the particular treatment or

 condition the investigator is most interested in the effects of

Dependent Variable = What is measured or observed; the "data" collected in the experiment Experimental Group = Those participants exposed to the independent variable Control Group = Those participants treated just like the experimental group EXCEPT they are not exposed to the independent variable; the group with which the experimental group can be compared

1) Of 100 individuals with moderate depression, 50 receive 8 weeks of a new cognitive-behavioral therapy, while the other 50 are placed on a waiting list for 8 weeks. At the end of the 8 weeks all 100 are given psychological tests to assess their level of depression.

Independent Variable: __________________________________

Dependent Variable: ____________________________________

Experimental Group: ____________________________________

Control Group: _________________________________________

2) A biopsychologist is studying the effects of anabolic steroids on the aggressive behavior of female rats. 24 female rats receive daily injections of a placebo (fake drug), while 24 others receive daily injections of the steroid. Round-the-clock videotapes of the communal cages of all rats allow all aggressive encounters to be counted and timed.

Independent Variable: __________________________________

Dependent Variable: ____________________________________

Experimental Group: ____________________________________

Control Group: _________________________________________

3) An industrial psychologist is interested in whether lowering the temperature in a packing room will increase productivity (number of products packed). Workers in two equivalent packing rooms participate in the study. One room is maintained at 65 degrees, the other room is left at the usual company temperature of 76 degrees.

Independent Variable: __________________________________

Dependent Variable: ____________________________________

Experimental Group: ____________________________________

Control Group: _________________________________________

4) Big Pharma Drug Company is conducting research of their new drug Attendomax to improve the note-taking behavior of college students diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Fifty of the students receive capsules contain Attendomax, another fifty receive capsules which look the same but actually contain the drug Ritalin which has been used for many years. All students attend the same series of lectures and have their notes collected afterwards. Notes are scored for completeness and accuracy.

Independent Variable: __________________________________

Dependent Variable: ____________________________________

Experimental Group: ____________________________________

Control Group: _________________________________________

5)Here is your opportunity to describe an experiment of your own creation:

I would like to investigate the effects of ____________________________________________

on this behavior: ______________________________________________________________.

Half my participants would ______________________________________________________

while the others would _________________________________________________________,

Independent Variable I am manipulating is: __________________________

Dependent Variable or data I am collecting is:: __________________________________

Experimental Group (that I am most interested in) is: ____________________________

Control Group (that is for comparison purposes) is: _______________________________________

Section 2 Correlational vs Experimental Studies

For each of the following decide whether it is a correlational study OR an experiment. If it is a correlational study decide what type of correlation was observed. If it is an experiment identify the independent variable manipulated by the researcher.

Remember:

Correlational research looks for some relation between 2 or more sets of data. Even if such a relationship is found, no cause-effect conclusions can be drawn. Positive correlation: the relationship is such that high scores in one data set tend to be associated with high scores in another data set (and low scores tend to be associated with low scores) Negative correlation: the relationship is inverse; that is, high scores in one data set tend to be associated with low scores in the other data set, and visa versa. Experiment: under carefully controlled conditions the researcher compares the responses of participants exposed to an intentionally manipulated independent variable to the responses of participants not exposed to that independent variable.

1) After administering a test of self-esteem to all the 6th graders in a school, the school psychologist has 6th grade teachers monitor the number of times each 6th grader voluntarily participates in class (answering questions, offering opinions) and determined the lower the self-esteem score of the child, the less they participated.

Type of study: Type of correlation OR Independent variable:

2) A survey study conducted in England found that wealthy women between the ages of 30 and 50 reported more frequent sex, more orgasms, and more enjoyment of sex than women of the same age from poorer households.

Type of study: Type of correlation OR Independent variable:

3) A cognitive psychologist tests students' ability to recall of textbook material studied for thirty minutes under either noisy or quiet conditions.

Type of study: Type of correlation OR Independent variable:

4) Using photographs, a social psychologist had participants rate the attractiveness as well as the perceived competance of 50 individuals. Those individuals rated as the most attractive were also rated as the most competant.

Type of study: Type of correlation OR Independent variable:

5) After observing and treating hundreds of patients, Dr. Bashir has come to the conclusion that the larger the ridges on a Klingon's forehead, the lower their self-control when provoked.

Type of study Type of correlation OR Independent variable:

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Online Articles

Online Videos

http://www.learner.org/resources/series65.html "Against All Odds" Video Series provides 26 half hour segments dedicated to explaining statistics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI2461dDnwc -- "Early History of Reaction Time Research," 5:48. Produced by Christopher D. Green of York Unviersity (Toronto) as a supplement to his documentary, "Toward a School of Their Own: The Prehistory of American Functionalist Psychology."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhlc7peGlGg submitted by Michelle Everson- University of Minnesota --The Monty Hall Problem

 exposes students to a game show format in which they must make a decision on which door to choose in order to win a goat or a car. It explores probability and thinking isssues. Approximately 5 1/2 minutes long.

Poems and stories

Questionaires

quotes

Songs

Weird Science - Oingo BoingoLyrics Song Sample
Shock the Monkey - Peter Gabriel Lyrics Video
She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby Lyrics Video

Technology resources

Websites

http://phpartners.org/health_stats.html Health Data Tools and Statistics from the partners in information Access for the public health workforce. If you need statistics--this is the first place to look. A megasite for health statistics!