Running head: RESEARCH METHODS LEARNED
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Research Methods Learned
Introduction
Amanda White
Liberty University
Author Note
Amanda White , Department of Psychology, Liberty University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amanda White , 1248
Wadell St Manning, South Carolina, 29102. Email: awhite18@liberty.edu
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Research Methods Learned
Introduction
This course was designed to introduce the students to the techniques of psychological
research, to help improve how research is done, to introduce the methods that are used in
research, and help the student by able to communicate more efficiently about the research
process. I will use my as the subject of the case study for this paper as we explore what I learned
about the research process and how it applies to the above goals. McLeod (2015) states that
case studies can, “Provide detailed (rich qualitative) information, insight for further research, and
permit investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations.” (McLeod, 2015). We will
examine the techniques and ides of research and then apply those against Biblical principles to
conclude the case study.
What Have I Learned About Research at an Introductory Level?
Why Use Research and the Scientific Method?
The mental health field professional must always be on the lookout for new techniques and
ways to help their patients more efficiently. (Cozby & Bates, 2012). Research is nothing more
that a way to explore ideas that have already been tired before. During the course, I have learned
that interpreting the research can help one to determine the legitimacy of the research and then
will help you determine how to apply the research to your situation. There are so many ways to
gather the necessary information needed to make the correct decisions. This course has help me
to become more aware of the scientific method and the value of the method. There are other
methods that rely more on feelings or more on one’s judgment, but the scientific method holds
the information gathered during the process to a much higher level than other methods. During
the method, ideas are looked at in a logically manner to ensure the validity of the ideas then
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conclusions are interpreted.(Cozby & Bates, 2012). During my research for the paper, I learned
that research have four main goals to achieve:1)To describe the behavior that is being observed.
2) To predict when that behavior will occur in order to help a broader population. 3) To
determine the cause of the behavior being observed. 4) To explain why and understand the
behavior (Cozby & Bates, 2012).There are several ways to go about reaching these goals such as
using basic or even applied research. Basic research deals more theoretical issues while applied
research deal more with practical implications.(Cozby & Bates, 2012).
Ethical and Legal Issues in Research
During the process of research, I found out that the “what” of the research is not the only
thing that is important. We must also be concerned with the “how” of the research process also.
We also need to be concern with the treatment of the participants in any of the research projects
that may be conducted. Beneficence is the process of finding the most accurate results possible
while ensuring fair treatment of the participants (Cozby & Bates, 2012).Some of the steps taken
to ensure the proper treatment of the participants begin with informed consent. Informed consent
ensures that all those involved understand the all parts of the research that may affect their
decision to participate (Cozby & Bates, 2012). Informed consent does not necessarily mean that
there is full disclosure of all the information as that may interfere with results. After the research
is completed then debriefing is a helpful tool to help combat any of the ill effects that may have
been suffered by the research. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).Safeguards are put into place to help
further protect the participants of the research and this is put in place by the Institutional Review
Board. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) was put into place and is primarily responsible for
the research conditions taking place at their institution. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).Another way that
the participants are protected during and after the research is by confidentiality. Confidentiality is
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achieved through many ways such as anonymous questionnaires, or coding of answers to protect
privacy (Cozby & Bates, 2012). This type of protection is not only applied to people, but it is
also applied to protect the animals as well.
While testing on animals have been proven to be greatly beneficial in a number of different
fields; the treatment of the animals is a big concern during these tests. The IACUC is the
organization that monitors and keeps the researchers accountable during the test and ensures that
the animals are treated humanely during all research tests. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).One of the
final things to consider from this course is fraud and plagiarism. Fraud is when one intentional
falsify their findings to show a result that they did not get in their research. This is why peer
reviewed work is especially important in preventing fraud in the research community. In this
review the findings must be replicated to ensure that no fraud was committed in the initial
research. When one decides to present other ideas as their own then they are committing
plagiarism. One can use other findings in their research which can prove to be valuable as long
as they give the proper credit for the shared research.
Crawford (2019), states researchers have an “Ethical and Social responsibility where you will
apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice and you will develop
ethically and socially responsible behaviors” (Crawford, 2019, p.184). Crawford (2019) states
that ,”you will apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice and you
will develop ethically and socially responsible behaviors for professional and personal settings in
a landscape that involves increasing diversity.” (Crawford, 2019,p.48).
Fundamental Research Issues and Measurement Concepts
After all the screening for the participants for the research project has been considered
then it would be the time to begin the research process. There are many variables within the
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research settings that can change depending on situation and the circumstances of the research.
When one is trying to determine what is an operational definition for these variables one must
ensure that everyone that reads the research fully understands the procedures used to measure or
manipulate these variables. (Cozby & Bates, 2012). When the researchers have more than one
variable in to be concerned about, the main concern is how are the variables going to relate to
each other. The relationships the variables form is defined as positive linear, negative linear,
curvilinear, or no relationship. When surveying theses relationships one needs to look for how
one variable reacts in the presence of the other (Cozby & Bates, 2012). There are few ways that
one can study these relationships that occurs between these variables like through
nonexperimental and experimental methods. Nonexperimental relations do not involve any direct
manipulation of the variables in the research. This is method that is more about asking questions
and observations. Then we have the experimental method that is more about direct manipulation
to see the results. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).
The topic to consider is the reliability of measures that helps to ensures the most accurate
results possible. This allows the researcher to trust the accuracy of the measure within the
research. There are several ways to assess the reliability of measure by the researcher. In a test-
retest scenario , the researcher would give the test twice first then judge the results based on the
similarity in the results of the two tests.(Cozby & Bates, 2012). The internal consistency
reliability, the researcher would be given several items in which to measure the variable all at
one time. If all the results are similar, then one can assume that the results are reliable. (Cozby &
Bates, 2012). Interrater reliability is when there are two or more raters that interpret the results
similarly that gives the result the reliability that the researcher can count on. (Cozby & Bates,
2012).
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After the method is chosen and the results are obtained then there are two additional things
that one must look for in order to use the result that were just obtained which are the internal and
external validity. The internal validity is when the changes that are seen in the experiment are a
direct result of the relationship between the variables. External validity deals more with how the
results are applied to the population after the research is completed. If the research is repeated
but only in a different setting each time with the same results, then the external validity will be
high. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).
The researcher needs to ensure that their methods are accurate to ensure that all their results
can be trusted. In order to ensure this there are several indicators that one can look for to help
keep the results accurate. The first indicator being free validity. Free validity is suggested when it
appears that everything is valid at least on the surface. The next one is content validity which is
observed when the thing that is being measured corresponds “with the universe of content that
defines the construct” (Cozby & Bates, 2012, pg. 103). Predictive validity is another indicator
that helps to predict future behavior.(Cozby & Bates, 2012). Then there is concurrent validity
that occurs when results that are related to measuring two criteria at the same, yet they differ in
very predictable ways. (Cozby & Bates, 2012). The next indicator would be achieved when a
measure that is taken is related to another measure taken at the same time which is called
convergent validity.(Cozby & Bates, 2012).The last validity is the discriminant validity and this
validity is when the measures taken at the same time are not in relation to each other because
they are different in theory. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).
The next step would be to interpret the results and there are scales of measurement of the
variable to accomplish this. There are four different scales of measurement to accomplish
interpreting the results which are: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio (Cozby & Bates, 2012).
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The nominal scale is used when the categories have no numerical value. The ordinal scale then is
used for placing things in ranking order. The interval scale is used when you take the difference
between the difference the numbers on the scale are all the same size. Then the ratio scale is used
when zero represents the absence of the variable. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).
Observational Methods and Survey Research
Observation is a part of research no matter what method one chooses. When uses
quantitative research the investigation focus is much narrower which allows more subjects to be
involved in the research process. This research has the ability to impact a much larger
population. Qualitative research is a much broader investigation which only allows a few
subjects that are in a natural setting. This type of research is more observational method of
research.(Cozby & Bates, 2012). A case study is an excellent example of an observational
method of research which begins with the description of a person or a setting to be observed.
(Cozby & Bates, 2012).The case study also includes the interpretation of the observation made of
the person or the setting. (Cozby & Bates, 2012).
Experimental Designs and Conducting Experiments
While conducting test , I learned many things to keep in mind. There are many factors to
consider when conducting test. The one thing to eliminate when testing is confounding variables.
These variables can alter your results and ultimately can undermine your research. There are
ways to eliminate these variables form your testing as much as possible. One of the best ways to
ensure accurate results is by random assigning the participants in your research. You will also
need to use a pretest-posttest approach to help ensure that the independent variable is responsible
for the changes to the dependent variable.(Cozby & Bates, 2012). While conducting research one
will need to watch out for order-effect, practice effect, and fatigue effect in order to help
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structure your research to avoid confusing results (Cozby & Bates, 2012).The behavioral
measures of the research are determined by the observations done by the researcher. The
physiological measures of the research are the measures that are recorded by the machines during
the research that indicates the changes in the body’s physical responses.(Cozby & Bates, 2012).
During this course, I have learned about the complexities of the human mind and how the
mind can be tested with the placebo groups. It is amazing how just placing an idea in the mind at
times is enough to create a reaction. (Cozby & Bates, 2012). That why with all things considered,
the cost and time involved in the research process, sometimes it is good to have pilot studies to
ensure that one is on the right track to ensure that the researcher is on the right track before
spending to much time or effort.
Single-Case, Quasi-Experimental, and Developmental Research
After further investigation in the research process, we will look at the different method of
research. Single case research is research that involves only one person, it introduces the
independent variable then the results are interpreted. The quasi-experimental is the one the
observes the effects of the independent variable with no control of the experiment setting.(Cozby
& Bates, 2012). There are variations to these that will help researcher achieve the best possible
results when needed.
Developmental research is the research that observes the changes that comes with aging.
There are different ways of doing this that involves using a cross-sectional method. This type of
research observes different age groups at one point in time. (Cozby & Bates, 2012). The
longitudinal method in another method that is the most accurate yet the most time consuming,
and expensive methods there is, and it observes the same group over a long period of time.
(Cozby & Bates, 2012). The last contributing factor to consider is the encouragement that the
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researcher can gain from the scriptures. I will look at research from the viewpoint of the Bible
next.
Course Content from a Biblical Perspective
Proverbs 25:2 sates, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, to search out a matter is the
glory of kings”. As we all conduct research on various things that God has hidden in this world,
we do not just learn more about the world around is but also, we also learn more about the God
that created us. The desire in all us to know more about the thing s around is the desire to know
more about Him. When we discover new things, I believe that it is a reward for those that are
actively seeking after Him. Our desire to take care of everything in His creation help us to show
our respect for our Creator. The scriptures reveal that God placed man on this earth to take of all
that He created. He gave man the intelligence to come up with ways to best care for the world
and that it is in it. Through research one can find news to protect the world. This course helped to
show how to accurately conduct and interpret research. Jesus came and showed concerned for all
especially for those that could not care for their selves. These are people are research should
focus on helping. Research can do so much good in this world ae we are continuing to be the
hands and feet of Christ in this world.
Conclusion
This course taught many things about the art of research like how to objectively look at the
research to determine if the research is valid or not. I learned to see the variables and the possible
problems with them. I learned about the different methods and which ones are the best to use in
the situation. I learned the ethics of research and how to ensure that I am be ethically in all my
research. Lastly and most important I look at research from a biblical view and how research is
supported through the scriptures.
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References
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Cozby, Paul C., & Bates, Scott C. (2012). Methods in behavioral research (11th ed.). New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill.
Crawford, A. R. (2019). Introduction to research: Less fright, more insight (Custom 3rd ed.).
Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
McLeod, S. A. (2015). Case Study Method. Retrieved April 28,2019 from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/case-study.html
