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Course Overview Welcome to your Capella University online course, PSYC-FP4600 – Research Methods in Psychology .

This course is designed to provide you with an overview of the research process. By the end of this course, you should have a good understanding of the differences between the different types of research, the characteristics of a sound research study, and how to develop a research study of your own. The knowledge you gain here will make you an informed consumer of research and give you some of the foundational skills of a behavioral researcher.

Note that, for this course, you are required to complete the assessments in order. You also must receive feedback on Assessment 1 before completing Assessment 2 and so forth, as each assessment builds on the one prior.

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Assessments

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SYLLABUS

Course Overview Welcome to your Capella University online course, PSYC-FP4600 – Research Methods in Psychology .

Course Competencies To successfully complete this course, you will be expected to:

1. Describe types of psychological research methods. 2. Evaluate research methods and psychological research findings. 3. Apply knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate plan for a psychological research study. 4. Communicate effectively in a variety of formats.

Course Prerequisites PSYC1000 or PSYC-FP1000; PSYC4700 or PSYC-FP4700. Cannot be fulfilled by transfer or petition.

Capella University'S Scholar-Practitioner Learning Model Capella University's learning model focuses on developing scholar-practitioners through learning that incorporates both theoretical knowledge and relevant experience. Learners develop along a continuum of scholarship and practical application. The model emphasizes a learner's knowledge, skills, and abilities in goal-setting, time management, and self-direction.

As a FlexPath learner, you will develop your own plan for completing the assessments to successfully demonstrate the course competencies. This will provide you with the flexibility to work at your own pace. You will move along the continuum, reflecting on your experiences, building and applying your knowledge, participating in your professional community, and making theoretical and practical contributions to your field.

Competency Demonstration As in all Capella courses, your successful completion of this course will be based on your demonstration of the course's competencies (refer to University Policy 3.04.07 ). In FlexPath courses, you will demonstrate competencies through multiple course assessments that are designed to simulate the authentic professional challenges that you can expect to encounter in the field. Your progress in this course depends only on your ability to successfully demonstrate the course competencies through the assessments. This approach is different from traditional offerings that rely on grades and credits to determine progress. Therefore, it is important that you examine the following information carefully, and that you thoroughly understand the expectations for competency demonstration in FlexPath courses.

After each of your assessments has been evaluated by faculty, you will be able to see your updated, cumulative progress in demonstrating each course competency, through a graphic display called your Competency Map. Your Competency Map can be accessed via your academic plan on iGuide. You will also receive detailed faculty feedback about your assessment, which you can access through the assessment’s scoring guide.

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Based on your assessment results and faculty feedback, you may wish to revise your work and resubmit your assessment. In FlexPath, you are permitted to revise and resubmit each assessment up to two more times during the course, for a total of three potential submissions overall. It is a good idea to engage your FlexPath Coach and FlexPath Tutor to help you create a revision plan when you revise an assessment. The tutor will work with you as needed to review faculty feedback and complete the plan you have devised.

After all course assessments have been evaluated, undergraduate learners who have demonstrated all competencies at a "Basic" performance level or higher will pass the course. Learners in master’s degree programs must receive a “Proficient” performance level or higher in order to pass.

If you have not attained the required performance levels on all of the competencies, you will enter into an academic warning phase, during which your overall ability to succeed in the FlexPath model will be reviewed and assessed. Upon completion of the course, your demonstrated competencies will be entered into your academic record.

For further information on this process, please contact your FlexPath Coach.

Competency Demonstration Scoring Guides Course requirements include the following major independent measures of learner competency.

Activity Scoring Guide

1. Unit Activities

Research Methods Research Methods Scoring Guide .

Research and Literature Review Research and Literature Review Scoring Guide .

Measurement and Statistics in Research Measurement and Statistics in Research Scoring Guide .

Methodology Methodology Scoring Guide .

Creating a Complete Research Proposal Creating a Complete Research Proposal Scoring Guide .

Learner Expectations FlexPath courses are designed to be competency-based, which means that your progress depends only on your ability to successfully demonstrate the course's competencies. In FlexPath courses, you will demonstrate the course competencies solely through your assessments.

In this FlexPath course, you will work in a flexible and self-directed manner, at your own pace within an academic term. You will demonstrate the course competencies by submitting each assessment according to your own schedule.

You can be enrolled in up to two FlexPath courses at one time. If you finish at least one of them within the first six weeks of the quarter, you can add another FlexPath course to your schedule. However, every course must be completed within the academic term in which you started it. Adding another FlexPath course to your schedule will not be possible if there are less than four weeks remaining in the quarter.

To receive credit for each course, you must complete all assessments and demonstrate all course competencies at the level of:

• Basic or above for undergraduate-level courses. • Proficient or above for master's-level courses.

Personal Course Completion Plan In every FlexPath course, you will start by developing a Personal Course Completion Plan to outline your schedule for successfully completing all course assessments, and to organize your time and obligations. If you receive financial aid, your submission of your Personal Course Completion Plan during the first week of the course will release your financial aid funds.

This plan is a tool you will use throughout the course. In order to demonstrate continued academic engagement, you are required to resubmit your Personal Course Completion Plan every week until you complete the entire course. Your deadlines can be adjusted if your schedule changes, or to add time to incorporate feedback on your work. You can revise your plan to accommodate unexpected developments and changes in your schedule.

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Using the Academic Community Successful Capella learners in FlexPath courses are skilled at goal-setting, time management, and self-direction. In the FlexPath program, you will work independently to complete your assessments. You will set your own pace, but you will also need to adhere to the deadlines you set. This can be difficult to manage alone.

As a learner at Capella University, you are a member of a scholarly community. Learning at Capella is a partnership. You are ultimately responsible for your own success, but you are not alone. In this section, you will learn what is expected of you as a Capella learner, as well as when and how you will work with Capella staff and faculty to support your learning.

Listen to Deb Bushway, Vice President of Academic Innovation, discuss the value of Capella's Academic Community .

Use the Capella academic community to build and make use of a support network of people who can help you stay on track and effective in the completion of course assessments.

FlexPath Coaches You have already met your FlexPath Coach. Remember that FlexPath Coaches will support you in achieving your goal of completing your degree. They will help you to select courses that meet your degree requirements, answer your questions about course selection, and help you register for courses. They will also help you to understand Capella policies and procedures, help you develop your Personal Course Completion Plan, and navigate through problems and difficult situations.

Your FlexPath Coach will keep apprised of your progress throughout the quarter and assist you in re- registration, as needed. In addition, your coach will work with you to develop your Personal Course Completion Plan for successful demonstration of course competencies, if needed.

FlexPath Tutors Each course will have a FlexPath tutor to provide academic support through on-on-one tutoring, consultation, courseroom tips, and the facilitation of periodic group study sessions. In the courseroom, the tutor will post short descriptions of resources and strategies related to the subject matter of the course, or share general learning strategies. Tutors can assist you in preparing to submit an assessment, and they can help you revise your work if you need to resubmit an assessment. Questions about course content and clarification about assessments should be directed to the FlexPath course tutor.

FlexPath Faculty In FlexPath courses, the primary role of faculty is to review, evaluate, and provide prompt and comprehensive feedback on your assessment submissions. Faculty members' interactions with you will be focused on providing robust formative and summative feedback regarding your demonstration of the course competencies in your assessments. FlexPath faculty members are committed to responding to your assessment submissions within 48 hours.

Policies and Procedures

Academic Honesty Policy Statement Capella University is committed to providing learners with the competencies and skills associated with academic honesty and integrity. Capella learners are expected to meet their academic requirements with honesty and integrity pursuant to this policy. Learners are expected to be the sole authors of their work and to acknowledge the authorship of others' work through proper citation and reference. Use of another person's ideas, including another learner's, without proper reference or citation constitutes plagiarism and academic dishonesty and is prohibited conduct. Capella extends the concept of plagiarism to include issues of copyright and trademark infringement. Submission of prior work without self-citation constitutes self-plagiarism and academic dishonesty and is prohibited conduct.

Collaboration in the completion of course work is prohibited unless explicitly permitted by the course instructor. Where such collaboration is permitted by the course instructor, learners must acknowledge any collaboration and its extent in all submitted course work.

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The disciplinary consequences of academic dishonesty are determined on a case-by-case basis and may include but are not limited to one or more of the following sanctions: non-acceptance of submitted course work, failing grade on an assignment, lower grade in a course, failing grade in a course, written warning, suspension from the university, removal from the program, administrative withdrawal or dismissal from the university, and cancellation of previously awarded course credits or degrees.

Capella University learners, faculty, and staff share the responsibility for promptly reporting any alleged violation of this policy.

For further information, please read the following policies and learner expectations at Capella: • University Policy 3.01.01: Academic Honesty . • University Policy 4.02.04: Discrimination, Harassment, and Assault . • University Policy 4.02.02: Learner Code of Conduct . • iGuide – University Policies . • Turnitin Source Matching Tool . • iGuide – Online Etiquette .

Disability Services Statement Capella University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified learners with disabilities in all university programs and activities. Capella recognizes its obligations to accommodate the needs of learners with disabilities, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and similar laws. Learners requiring academic accommodations should refer to iGuide – Disability Services , e-mail [email protected] , or call 888-CAPELLA and ask to speak with a Disability Services team member.

Learners approved for academic accommodations will receive a Letter of Eligibility for Accommodations from the Disability Services office.

Important: Learners who have been approved for accommodations must share this letter with the academic advisor in order to receive the accommodations. If you are a learner with a disability, you are encouraged to secure this approval as early as possible, as accommodations cannot be applied retroactively.

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ASSESSMENT 1

Research Methods

Overview Write a 2–3-page assessment in which you will compare the research questions, hypotheses, methodologies, and overall findings of two psychology research articles and explain how the articles illustrate the main differences between quantitative and qualitative research.

Note: Developing a research proposal requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in sequence and must be completed in order.

Show More There are many different types of research studies, and the type of study that is done depends very much on the research question. While there are a number of different types of studies that can be done, all of them fall under two basic categories: quantitative and qualitative.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Describe types of psychological research methods. ▪ Describe key elements of both a quantitative and a qualitative research project, including hypothesis, methods,

and findings. ▪ Compare the research methods used in a quantitative research study and a qualitative research study. ▪ Describe the sample and sample size used in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

• Competency 2: Evaluate research methods and psychological research findings. ▪ Evaluate the data collection process, including methods and instruments used, in both a qualitative and a

quantitative research study.

• Competency 4: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats. ▪ Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of

professional communities. ▪ Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Context Psychology research aims to understand human behavior. In most cases, psychology research focuses on the ways in which elements of the environment—be they people, places, things, relationships, situations, or conditions—affect that behavior. Research in psychology is the basis for the practice of psychology: a practicing psychologist must use interventions that are shown to be effective through research.

Show More Read the Assessment 1 Context document for important information on the following topics related to research methods:

• Quantitative research. • Qualitative research. • The research report. • Research questions. • The hypothesis. • Variables. • Selecting a research problem.

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Questions To Consider To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

• How do sample size, data collection, and data analysis differ in qualitative and quantitative studies? • Where do good research ideas come from? • What topics in psychology interest you most? • Do you prefer to investigate your topic of interest with a qualitative or quantitative design?

Resources Suggested Resources The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Capella Resources Click the links provided to view the following resources:

• Assessment 1 Context .

Capella Multimedia Click the links provided below to view the following multimedia pieces:

• Qualitative Versus Quantitative Analysis Quiz | Transcript . • Quantitative Versus Qualitative Research | Transcript . • Diagram of the Scientific Method | Transcript . • The Research Continuum | Transcript .

Course Library Guide A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the Research Methods in Psychology Library Guide to help direct your research.

Bookstore Resources The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore . When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.

• Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ▪ Chapter 1, "The Role and Importance of Research," pages 1–19. ▪ Chapter 2, "The Research Process: Coming to Terms," pages 21–37. ▪ Chapter 3A, "Selecting a Problem and Reviewing the Research," pages 39–81. ▪ Chapter 13, "Writing a Research Proposal," pages 259–271. ▪ Chapter 14, "Writing a Research Manuscript," pages 273–299.

Assessment Instructions Note: You must complete and receive feedback on this assessment before moving on to submit Assessment 2.

Use the Capella library to locate two psychology research articles: a quantitative methods article and a qualitative methods article. These do not need to be on the same topic, but if you have a research topic in mind for your proposal (see Assessment 5), you may wish to pick something similar for this assessment. Read each article carefully.

Then, in a 2–3-page assessment, address the following elements: 1. Summarize the research question and hypothesis, the research methods, and the overall findings.

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2. Compare the research methodologies used in each study. In what ways are the methodologies similar? In what ways are they different? (Be sure to use the technical psychological terms we are studying.)

3. Describe the sample and sample size for each study. Which one used a larger sample and why? How were participants selected?

4. Describe the data collection process for each study. What methods were used to collect the data? Surveys? Observations? Interviews? Be specific and discuss the instruments or measures fully—what do they measure? How is the test designed?

5. Summarize the data analysis process for each study. How was the data analyzed? Were statistics used? Were interviews coded?

6. In conclusion, craft 1–2 paragraphs explaining how these two articles illustrate the main differences between quantitative and qualitative research.

Additional Requirements • Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message. • APA formatting: Your assessment should be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style and formatting. • Length: A typical response will be 2–3 typed and double-spaced pages. • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Research Methods Scoring Guide View Scoring Guide Use the scoring guide to enhance your learning. How to use the scoring guide

[U01A1] Research Methods Write a 2–3-page assessment in which you will compare the research questions, hypotheses, methodologies, and overall findings of two psychology research articles and explain how the articles illustrate the main differences between quantitative and qualitative research.

Assessment Submit Submit Assessment

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U01A1: Research Methods

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U01A1: Research Methods: Revision 1

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ASSESSMENT 2

Research And Literature Review

Overview Write a 6–8-page literature review using 4–8 articles on a topic of interest.

Note: Developing a research proposal requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in sequence and must be completed in order.

Show More A literature review is a critical reading of research that has been already been published and a key academic competency. Your ability to evaluate the quality of someone else's research demonstrates knowledge of the field you are studying. The skills you use when writing a literature review will contribute to your long-term career success.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Describe types of psychological research methods. ▪ Define the research methodology proposed to answer a research question.

• Competency 2: Evaluate research methods and psychological research findings. ▪ Explain the appropriate research methodology for a research question. ▪ Describe why a research question adds important knowledge to a particular area of study. ▪ Evaluate research studies that present the theoretical framework for a particular area of study. ▪ Develop a complete literature review of articles related to a particular area of study.

• Competency 3: Apply knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate plan for a psychological research study.

▪ Develop a clear, concise, and appropriate research question.

• Competency 4: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats. ▪ Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of

professional communities. ▪ Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Context Without research participants, there would be no research. Research participants are meant to represent us all as we study their behavior in order to determine how and why we, as humans, behave as we do. As such, research participants are extremely valuable and should be treated with care and concern for their well-being.

Show More The Assessment 2 Context document contains important information related to the following topics:

• Ethics in research: Protection of human participants. • Sampling and generalizability. • Sample size.

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Show More Consider a topic that would you like to research in this and remaining assessments in this course:

• What do you know from the research about your potential topic? • What questions remain? What questions do you want to know? • What aspects of the research that has already been done leave gaps—such as the sample or measures used? • What does your potential topic contribute to the understanding of this issue?

Capella Resources Click the links provided to view the following resources:

• Assessment 2 Context .

Capella Multimedia Click the links provided below to view the following multimedia pieces:

• Ethical Considerations in Research | Transcript . • Quantitative Research | Transcript . • Qualitative Research | Transcript .

• Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ▪ Chapter 3B, "The Importance of Practicing Ethics in Research," pages 83–94. ▪ Chapter 4, "Sampling and Generalizability," pages 95–108.

Assessment Instructions Note: You must complete and receive feedback on this assessment before moving on to submit Assessement 3.

In Assessment 5, you will design an ethically appropriate research proposal plan for a psychological research study. Before beginning Assessment 2, review Assessment 5. Consider the parameters for Assessment 5, and choose a topic that would you like to research in Assessment 2 and the remaining assessments in this course.

Then, conduct research in the Capella University Library on your topic. Identify 4–8 articles on your topic of interest to read and analyze for use in this assessment.

Write a literature review in the form of a 6–8 page paper in which you discuss the following: 1. A research question and methodology needed to address it: Begin your paper by clearly identifying both the research

question and hypothesis that your proposal will address as well as the research methodology you plan to (hypothetically) use. If your plan is for qualitative work, research questions are sufficient. Please operationalize the variables and provide a brief explanation as to the method of research that will be employed and a brief rationale for your choice.

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2. The research question's relevance: Include a description of why this topic is important to research in the context of current literature on the topic. Provide scholarly information that supports your view.

3. Theories underscoring the area of research: Describe the specific psychological theory or theories related to the chosen topic that are best suited to form the foundation for the proposed research. Be sure to identify how this theory pertains to the proposed research.

4. A literature review of the 4–8 related articles you identified for this assessment. Consider how these articles inform the research questions you posed, include a discussion of some of the research methodologies employed, and identify any limitations of the studies (for example, small sample size, focusing on one age group only) and gaps in the research.

Be sure to include a concluding paragraph for your literature review.

Additional Requirements • Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message. • APA formatting: Your paper should be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style and formatting. • Length: A typical response will be 6–8 typed and double-spaced pages. • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Research and Literature Review Scoring Guide View Scoring Guide Use the scoring guide to enhance your learning. How to use the scoring guide

[U02A1] Research And Literature Review Write a 6–8-page literature review using 4–8 articles on a topic of interest.

Assessment Submit Submit Assessment

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U02A1: Research And Literature Review

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U02A1: Research And Literature Review: Revision 1

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U02A1: Research And Literature Review: Revision 2

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ASSESSMENT 3

Measurement And Statistics In Research

Overview Write a 5–6-page assessment in which you discuss the types of measures and assessments that fit into your research proposal.

Note: Developing a research proposal requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in sequence and must be completed in order.

Show More The measurements and statistics used in quantitative research attempt to quantify human behavior for the purposes of comparison. It can be said that the reason we try to quantify human behavior is to better understand, and by understanding the better we can help.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Describe types of psychological research methods. ▪ Describe why selected data analysis procedure(s) make sense with a particular research methodology.

• Competency 2: Evaluate research methods and psychological research findings. ▪ Select appropriate measures for each variable of a research study. ▪ Describe how identified methods will be used in a research study. ▪ Describe the data analysis process for a proposed research study.

• Competency 4: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats. ▪ Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of

professional communities. ▪ Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Context Quantitative research requires that we measure participants in some form. It is an attempt to quantify human behavior for the purposes of comparison, either among groups or before and after an intervention of some kind. Measuring behaviors, thoughts, and emotions is difficult. Accuracy of measurement requires a solid definition of what is being measured.

Show More The Assessment 3 Context document contains important information related to the measurement and statistics in research and covering the following topics:

• Levels of measurement. • Reliability. • Validity. • Methods of measurement. • Data analysis. • Descriptive statistics. • Inferential statistics. • Statistical tests. • Interpreting results.

Questions To Consider

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To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

• What protections should you incorporate into your proposed research to ensure the ethical treatment of human participants?

• What will be your target population, sampling procedure, and sample characteristics?

Capella Resources Click the links provided to view the following resources:

• Assessment 3 Context .

Library Resources The following resources are provided for you in the Capella University Library and are linked directly in this course.

• Go to the Capella University Library and review the Mental Measurements Yearbook database. On the Databases tab, in Databases A–Z , click Mental Measurements Yearbook .

• Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ▪ Chapter 5, "Measurement, Reliability, and Validity," pages 109–131. ▪ Chapter 6, "Methods of Measuring Behavior," pages 133–153. ▪ Chapter 7, "Data Collection and Descriptive Statistics," pages 155–175. ▪ Chapter 8, "Introducing Inferential Statistics," pages 177–196.

Assessment Instructions Note: You must complete and receive feedback on this assessment before moving on to submit Assessment 4.

Access the Mental Measurements Yearbook (see the Resources) or another appropriate resource, and review types of measures and assessments that are available and relevant to your research question.

Determine the types of measures and assessments that fit into your research proposal and write about them in a short paper. Your assessment should include the following:

1. A measure selected for each variable under investigation. Please provide the name of the measure as well as the reliability and validity information. If you are writing a proposal for qualitative work, then discuss the constructs that will be assessed with the proposed measure

2. A discussion of how the measure will be used—for example, as an assessment done once during the study.

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3. A discussion of the statistics and data analysis that you will conduct after collecting your data and the rationale for your selection. Be specific about the kind of data analysis you plan to use. Be sure to note why these data analysis procedures make sense with the research methodology you have proposed (for example, you would not use ANOVA with a qualitative grounded theory design).

Additional Requirements • Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message. • APA formatting: Your assessment should be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style and formatting. • Length: A typical response will be 5–6 typed and double-spaced pages. • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Measurement and Statistics in Research Scoring Guide View Scoring Guide Use the scoring guide to enhance your learning. How to use the scoring guide

[U03A1] Measurement And Statistics In Research Write a 5–6-page assessment in which you discuss the types of measures and assessments that fit into your research proposal.

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ASSESSMENT 4

Methodology

Overview Write a 3–4-page assessment in which you compare the similarities and differences in the sampling, methodologies, and findings of selected research studies.

Note: Developing a research proposal requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in sequence and must be completed in order.

Show More By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 2: Evaluate research methods and psychological research findings. ▪ Compare the research question, design, and findings of both an experiment and a quasi-experiment. ▪ Compare the samples used in both an experiment and a quasi-experiment. ▪ Compare the methodology of both an experiment and a quasi-experiment.

• Competency 4: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats. ▪ Apply proper APA formatting and style. ▪ Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of

professional communities.

Context Nonexperimental research is research that does not involve any manipulation of variables to see how one impacts another. There is no experimental control as there is in experimental research; we are simply trying to measure something as it exists in its natural state. As we are not controlling the variables in any way to make sure the influences of other extraneous variables are accounted for, the consequence is that we cannot claim any cause-and-effect relationship between the variables under study.

Show More There are too many unknowns to be able to say that one thing caused another when the rigors of experimental research are missing. However, nonexperimental research can show us interesting relationships that can be the impetus for investing the kind of time and resources necessary to study the phenomena experimentally.

The Assessment 4 Context document contains important information related to research methodologies and covering the following topics:

• Descriptive Methods. • Correlational Methods. • Qualitative Methods. • Case Study. • Case Study Questions. • Ethnography. • Grounded Theory. • Pre-Experimental Methods. • True Experimental Methods. • Validity. • Nonequivalent Control Group Designs. • Developmental Designs.

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Capella Resources Click the links provided to view the following resources:

• Assessment 4 Context .

Assessment Instructions Note: You must complete and receive feedback on this assessment before moving on to submit Assessment 5.

Locate two scholarly articles in the Capella library. One article should be about a true experiment and the other about a quasi-experiment. Carefully review both articles for use in this assessment.

Write a 3–4-page assessment comparing the similarities and differences of the following items in the research studies:

• The research question (hypothesis), design, and findings. • The sample: What are the differences in sampling between the two different studies? • The methodology: How did the methodology (pre-experimental versus experimental) differ between the two studies? • The findings.

Be sure to include details about the defining features of each study. What makes it either experimental or pre-experimental? In the case of the pre-experimental design, why was this design necessary?

Additional Requirements • Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message. • APA formatting: Your assessment should be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style and formatting. • Length: A typical response will be 3–4 typed and double-spaced pages. • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Methodology Scoring Guide View Scoring Guide Use the scoring guide to enhance your learning. How to use the scoring guide

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Write a 3–4-page assessment in which you compare the similarities and differences in the sampling, methodologies, and findings of selected research studies.

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U04A1: Methodology

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ASSESSMENT 5

Creating A Complete Research Proposal

Overview Write a 15–20-page research proposal for a selected topic.

Note: Developing a research proposal requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in sequence and must be completed in order.

Show More By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 3: Apply knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically-appropriate plan for a psychological research study.

▪ Apply knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate plan for a psychological research study.

▪ Evaluate a body of literature, providing context for a proposed research study. ▪ Develop research methodology for a proposed research study. ▪ Describe the expected findings of a proposed research study.

• Competency 4: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats. ▪ Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of

professional communities. ▪ Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Context Writing a research proposal is basically writing the first three chapters of an APA-style research article. It includes sections 1, 2, and 3 of the research paper—the Introduction, the Literature Review, and the Methodology sections. To recap, these sections include the following:

Introduction The Introduction serves to provide the reader with the background of the research problem. It identifies what the problem is, tells why it is important to study, and gives a brief summary of the most important findings related to the problem in order to put it into context with the rest of the literature on the topic. The main objective in the introduction is to help the reader understand the research problem and its importance to the field of psychology.

Literature Review The Literature Review provides an in-depth look at all of the related research studies that have been published on the topic. It is an organized presentation of the studies that have done the groundwork for the current study and, when taken as a whole, point out the necessity for the new research by demonstrating how it fills a void in the literature—or is one of the missing pieces of that particular puzzle.

Method The Method section provides the reader with a plan for testing the study's hypothesis, or a plan from conducting the research study. Think of it like a recipe—it details, step by step, everything the researchers did to conduct the research. In a proposal, the Method chapter is written in future tense —a description of what will be done. Providing such a detailed account is important so that other

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researchers can attempt to replicate the research findings if they follow the instructions in the Method section.

One additional note—in this section of the research proposal, you should include a section called Expected Findings that would be removed after you conducted the actual study but serves to demonstrate your ability to predict from the literature what the findings of the study will be. It is essentially the place to declare your informed opinion as to the way the research will turn out.

Reference Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

• Will you conduct research, participate in research, or simply be a consumer of research? • How can you use research in your career, currently and in the future?

Resources Required Resources The following resources are required to complete the assessment.

Capella Resources Click the links provided to view the following resources:

• Research Methods Template .

Suggested Resources The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Capella Multimedia Click the link provided below to view the following multimedia piece:

• The Research Continuum | Transcript .

• Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ▪ Chapter 13, "Writing a Research Proposal," pages 259–271. ▪ Chapter 14, "Writing a Research Manuscript," pages 273–299.

Assessment Instructions Note: You must complete Assessments 1–4 before beginning Assessment 5.

The final assessment for this course is the completion of a formal APA-formatted research proposal. You must use the Research Methods Template , which is linked in the Resources. Your proposal should reflect revisions you made based on the feedback you received on Assessments 2 and 3.

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Proposals should be approximately 15–20 pages in length (not including the references and title page), follow APA format, and contain the following elements in the order listed below:

1. Title page (not included in 15–20 page requirement). 2. Abstract (120 words or less) (Note that this is a separate page.). 3. Introduction: a summary of your proposal and the research questions under study (1 page). 4. Literature review (5–6 pages). 5. Methods section (4–6 pages) that includes the following subsections:

1. Research design selection and rationale (1 page). 2. Participants. 3. Instruments. 4. Data analysis plan.

6. Discussion of your expected findings (1–2 pages). 7. Conclusion (1–2 paragraphs wrapping up the proposal). 8. References (not included in 15–20 page requirement).

Additional Instructions • Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message. • APA formatting: Your proposal should be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style and formatting. • Length: A typical response will be 15–20 typed and double-spaced pages, not including references and title page. • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Creating a Complete Research Proposal Scoring Guide View Scoring Guide Use the scoring guide to enhance your learning. How to use the scoring guide

[U05A1] Creating A Complete Research Proposal Write a 15–20-page research proposal for a selected topic.

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U05A1: Creating A Complete Research Proposal

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ACADEMIC HONESTY EXPECTATIONS

Academic Honesty Expectations You are expected to be the sole author of your work, and to acknowledge the authorship of others' work through proper use of citations and references. Use of another person's ideas, including another learner's, without proper reference or citation constitutes plagiarism and academic dishonesty, and is prohibited conduct.

Avoiding Academic Dishonesty You are encouraged to appropriately incorporate others' work to support your academic writing because it helps demonstrate your knowledge of the relevant field. To avoid academic dishonesty when referring to others' work, either:

• Use direct quotes, enclosing the quoted content in quotation marks. • Paraphrase, using your own words to describe the content of others' work.

With both of these techniques, you must provide an in-text citation and a full reference for the content, on a references page. Use correct APA format for citations and attributions to ensure that you are giving credit to others in a clear and accurate way.

Consequences of Academic Dishonesty The disciplinary consequences of academic dishonesty may include a rating of non-performance on all criteria for the assessment, without an opportunity to resubmit. There may be additional consequences, as outlined in the Capella University Academic Honesty policy. In FlexPath courses, academic dishonesty might be identified via a faculty comparison to existing work or through a Turnitin report.

Using Turnitin The Turnitin source matching tool is available to you through a link in the left navigation menu of this course. To help you avoid academic dishonesty, you are required to submit all assessment attempts in this course to Turnitin, prior to submitting them for faculty evaluation. You are expected to include the resulting Turnitin report with each assessment submission in the courseroom. Any assessment submitted for evaluation without a corresponding Turnitin report will be returned to you without a faculty review, and will expend one of your official assessment submission attempts.

You are encouraged to use your Turnitin reports to check your assessment drafts and adjust your work as necessary before submitting the final versions for evaluation.

Learn how to use Turnitin on the iGuide: Turnitin page.

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RESEARCH RESOURCES

Description The following resources are recommended for your use in this course. The materials linked below include essential iGuide pages, tutorials, and helpful presentations to help guide you through completing the mechanics and requirements of the course.

Capella University Library • Capella University Library .

Program Research Guide • FlexPath Courses – Research Guide (PSYC) .

Course Library Guide Refer to the course-specific library guide in the Suggested Resources section.

Research Assistance • Tour the Library . • iGuide – Ask a Librarian . • iGuide – Library Research and Information Literacy Skills . • Library Guides – Can I Use Wikipedia? • Library Guides – How Do I Find Peer-Reviewed Articles? • Becoming a Scholarly Researcher . • Forming a Search Strategy . • Evaluating Sources .

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SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES

Assessment Submission Resources • Using the Scoring Guide to Enhance Your Learning . • iGuide – Turnitin .

Writing • The Writing Center . • APA Style and Format . • APA Citation – Citing a Journal Article . • APA Citation – Citing a Book. • APA Citation – Citing a Website . • iGuide – Smarthinking . • Paragraphing with the MEAL Plan . • Two Tools for Connecting Reading and Writing .

Computer Skills • iGuide – Microsoft Tutorials .

Success Factors • iGuide – Time Management . • iGuide – Learning Effectively Online . • iGuide – Critical Thinking .

FlexPath Tutorials • FlexPath Orientation . • FlexPath Orientation – Courseroom Tour .

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TURNITIN DRAFTS

Self-Check Your Work The draft Turnitin links below are provided as a resource for you to self-check your work as you are developing your assessment. Submitting your work to Turnitin as a draft allows you to review, revise, and resubmit your writing multiple times until you are satisfied with how you have utilized source materials. See How to Submit a Paper as a Draft on the Turnitin iGuide page for details on how to use this draft submission tool.

When you are ready to submit your assessment, you will need to use the Turnitin links in the assessment to obtain a report to include with your assessment submission.

1 - Draft

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RESEARCH METHODS SCORING GUIDE GRADING RUBRIC

Criteria Non-performance Basic Proficient Distinguished

Describe key elements of both a quantitative

and a qualitative research project,

including hypothesis, methods, and

findings.

Does not describe key elements of both a quantitative and a qualitative research project, including hypothesis, methods, and findings.

Incompletely describes quantitative and a qualitative research project, including hypothesis, methods, and findings.

Describes key elements of both a quantitative and a qualitative research project, including hypothesis, methods, and findings.

Analyzes key elements of both a quantitative and a qualitative research project, including hypothesis, methods, and findings.

Compare the research methods used in a

quantitative research study and a qualitative

research study.

Does not compare the research methods used in a quantitative research study and a qualitative research study.

Incompletely compares the research methods used in a quantitative research study and a qualitative research study, highlighting differences or similarities but not both.

Compares the research methods used in a quantitative research study and a qualitative research study.

Compares the research methods used in a quantitative research study and a qualitative research study; comparison includes details about why each method is appropriate for the study in which it is used.

Describe the sample and sample size used in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Does not describe the sample and sample size used in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Incompletely describes the sample and sample size used in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Describes the sample and sample size used in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Analyzes the sample and sample size used in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Evaluate the data collection process, including methods

and instruments used, in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Does not evaluate the data collection process, including methods and instruments used, in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Identifies the data collection process, including methods and instruments used, in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Evaluates the data collection process, including methods and instruments used, in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study.

Evaluates the data collection process, including methods and instruments used, in both a qualitative and a quantitative research study; evaluation includes a comparison of the processes.

Communicate in a manner that is

scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for

members of professional communities.

Does not communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly and professional but is not consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities, with written communication that is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Does not apply proper APA formatting and style.

Uses adequate written communication but includes some APA errors and inconsistencies.

Applies proper APA formatting and style.

Applies scholarly writing skills and uses proper APA formatting and style throughout the assessment.

RESEARCH METHODS SCORING GUIDE

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RESEARCH AND LITERATURE REVIEW SCORING GUIDE GRADING RUBRIC

Criteria Non-performance Basic Proficient Distinguished

Develop a clear, concise, and

appropriate research question.

Does not develop a clear, concise, and appropriate research question.

Develops a research question; question is broad and needs some additional refinement.

Develops a clear, concise, and appropriate research question.

Develops a clear, concise, and appropriate research question using scholarly language and terminology.

Define the research methodology

proposed to answer a research question.

Does not define the research methodology proposed to answer a research question.

Identifies but does not define the research methodology proposed to answer a research question.

Defines the research methodology proposed to answer a research question.

Defines the research methodology proposed to answer a research question; definition includes examples of other kinds of research for which the methodology can be used.

Explain the appropriate research

methodology for a research question.

Does not explain the appropriate research methodology for a research question.

Identifies the appropriate research methodology for a research question.

Explains the appropriate research methodology for a research question.

Explains the appropriate research methodology for a research question; explanation details reasons for its selection over other methods.

Describe why a research question

adds important knowledge to a

particular area of study.

Does not describe why a research question adds important knowledge to a particular area of study.

Describes how a research question fits into a field but does not describe how it adds important knowledge into a particular area of study.

Describes why a research question adds important knowledge to a particular area of study.

Analyzes why a research question adds important knowledge to a particular area of study.

Evaluate research studies that present

the theoretical framework for a

particular area of study.

Does not evaluate research studies that present the theoretical framework for a proposed research study.

Identifies research studies that present the theoretical framework for a proposed research study.

Evaluates research studies that present the theoretical framework for a proposed research study.

Evaluates research studies that present the theoretical framework for a proposed research study; evaluation is grounded in the field's foundational literature.

Develop a complete literature review of articles related to a particular area of

study.

Does not develop a complete literature review of articles related to a particular area of study.

Develops an incomplete literature review of articles related to a particular area of study.

Develops a complete literature review of articles related to a particular area of study.

Develops a complete literature review of articles related to a particular area of study; literature review includes seminal works in the field.

Communicate in a manner that is

scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for

members of professional communities.

Does not communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly and professional but is not consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Does not apply proper APA formatting and style.

Uses adequate written communication but includes some APA errors and inconsistencies.

Applies proper APA formatting and style.

Applies scholarly writing skills and uses proper APA formatting and style throughout the assessment.

RESEARCH AND LITERATURE REVIEW SCORING GUIDE

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MEASUREMENT AND STATISTICS IN RESEARCH SCORING GUIDE GRADING RUBRIC

Criteria Non-performance Basic Proficient Distinguished

Select appropriate measures for each

variable of a research study.

Does not select appropriate measures for each variable of a research study.

Identifies measures for each variable of a research study but does not select the appropriate measures.

Selects appropriate measures for each variable of a research study.

Selects appropriate measures for each variable of a research study and includes an explanation for why each measure was selected.

Describe how identified methods will be used in a research

study.

Does not describe how identified methods will be used in a research study.

Incompletely describes how identified methods will be used in a research study.

Describes how identified methods will be used in a research study.

Describes how identified methods will be used in a research study and includes an explanation for why each method will be used that way.

Describe the data analysis process for a

proposed research study.

Does not describe the data analysis process for a proposed research study.

Identifies the data analysis process for a proposed research study but does not describe it.

Describes the data analysis process for a proposed research study.

Describes the data analysis process for a proposed research study and includes an explanation for why that process or those processes will be used.

Describe why selected data analysis

procedure(s) make sense with a particular

research methodology.

Does not describe why selected data analysis procedure(s) make sense with a particular research methodology.

Describes data analysis procedure(s) but does not connect them to a particular research methodology.

Describes why selected data analysis procedure (s) make sense with a particular research methodology.

Describes why selected data analysis procedure (s) make sense with a particular research methodology; description cites other examples in which the procedure(s) were used effectively.

Communicate in a manner that is

scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for

members of professional communities.

Does not communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly and professional but is not consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Does not apply proper APA formatting and style.

Uses adequate written communication but includes some APA errors and inconsistencies.

Applies proper APA formatting and style.

Applies scholarly writing skills and uses proper APA formatting and style throughout the assessment.

MEASUREMENT AND STATISTICS IN RESEARCH SCORING GUIDE

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METHODOLOGY SCORING GUIDE GRADING RUBRIC

Criteria Non-performance Basic Proficient Distinguished

Compare the research question, design, and

findings of both an experiment and a quasi-experiment.

Does not compare the research question, design, and findings of both an experiment and a quasi-experiment.

Incompletely compares the research question, design, and findings of both an experiment and a quasi-experiment, citing either similarities or differences but not both.

Compares the research question, design, and findings of both an experiment and a quasi- experiment.

Compares the research question, design, and findings of both an experiment and a quasi- experiment; comparison includes quotations and citations from the experiments reviewed.

Compare the samples used in both an

experiment and a quasi-experiment.

Does not compare the samples used in both an experiment and a quasi- experiment.

Incompletely compares the samples used in both an experiment and a quasi-experiment, citing either similarities or differences but not both.

Compares the samples used in both an experiment and a quasi- experiment.

Compares the samples used in both an experiment and a quasi- experiment; comparison includes quotations and citations from the experiments reviewed.

Compare the methodology of both an experiment and a quasi-experiment.

Does not compare the methodology of both an experiment and a quasi- experiment.

Incompletely compares the methodology of both an experiment and a quasi-experiment, citing either similarities or differences but not both.

Compares the methodology of both an experiment and a quasi- experiment.

Compares the methodology of both an experiment and a quasi- experiment; comparison includes quotations and citations from the experiments reviewed.

Communicate in a manner that is

scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for

members of professional communities.

Does not communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly and professional but is not consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Does not apply proper APA formatting and style.

Uses adequate written communication but includes some APA errors and inconsistencies.

Applies proper APA formatting and style.

Applies scholarly writing skills and uses proper APA formatting and style throughout the assessment.

METHODOLOGY SCORING GUIDE

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CREATING A COMPLETE RESEARCH PROPOSAL SCORING GUIDE GRADING RUBRIC

Criteria Non-performance Basic Proficient Distinguished

Apply knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate plan for a

psychological research study.

Does not apply knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate plan for a psychological research study.

Applies basic knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate but incomplete plan for a psychological research study.

Applies knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate plan for a psychological research study.

Applies knowledge of research methodology to design an ethically appropriate plan for a psychological research study; research plan could be implemented as written.

Evaluate a body of literature, providing

context for a proposed research study.

Does not evaluate a body of literature, providing context for a proposed research study.

Evaluates a body of literature but incompletely provides context for a proposed research study.

Evaluates a body of literature, providing context for a proposed research study.

Evaluates a body of literature, providing context for a proposed research study; literature reviewed includes seminal works in the field and represents significant knowledge of the topic.

Develop research methodology for a proposed research

study.

Does not develop research methodology for a proposed research study.

Identifies a research methodology for a proposed research study but does not completely address all aspects of the methodology.

Develops a research methodology for a proposed research study.

Develops a research methodology for a proposed research study; methodology is suitable to be implemented as written.

Describe the expected findings of a proposed

research study.

Does not describe the expected findings of a proposed research study.

Identifies the expected findings of a proposed research study but does not describe them.

Describes the expected findings of a proposed research study.

Describes the expected findings of a proposed research study, clearly explaining why those findings are expected.

Communicate in a manner that is

scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for

members of professional communities.

Does not communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly and professional but is not consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Communicates in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional communities.

Apply proper APA formatting and style.

Does not apply proper APA formatting and style.

Uses adequate written communication but includes some APA errors and inconsistencies.

Applies proper APA formatting and style.

Applies scholarly writing skills and uses proper APA formatting and style throughout the assessment.

CREATING A COMPLETE RESEARCH PROPOSAL SCORING GUIDE

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Research Methods

There are many different types of research studies, and the type of study that is done depends very much on the research question. Some studies demand strictly numerical data, such as a comparison of GPA among different college majors or weight loss among different types of eating programs. Others require more in-depth data, like interview responses. Such studies might include the lived experience of people that have been through a terrorist attack or understanding the experience of being physically disabled on a college campus. While there are a number of different types of studies that can be done, all of them fall under two basic categories: quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative Research Quantitative research deals with numerical data. This means that any topic you study in a quantitative study must be quantifiable—grades, weight, height, depression, and intelligence are all things that can be quantified on some scale of measurement. Quantitative data is often considered hard data—numbers are seen as concrete, irrefutable evidence, but we have to take into account a number of factors that could impact such data. Errors in measurement and recording of such data, as well as the influence of other factors outside those in the study, make for some limitations of this kind of research.

Some examples of quantitative studies include the following:

Qualitative Research Qualitative research deals with verbal and observational data. The primary data collection tool in qualitative research is the personal interview. Interview responses are transcribed and analyzed for their content, and in the case of multiple participants, compared for common themes in that content. Qualitative data paint a rich picture of a person or group of people in an attempt to better understand their experience. Many students assume qualitative research is easier than quantitative research because there are no numbers, thus no math, but, in fact, the opposite is often true. Qualitative research is far more intense and in depth and the level of analysis in such studies requires a lot of training to master (Salkind, 2012).

Some examples of qualitative research include the following:

The Research Report Research is presented to the scientific community in the form of a research report. These reports are published in scientific journals which are peer reviewed, meaning that other researchers have reviewed the research to make sure it is scientifically valid. In order to understand a research report, it is important to know how it is structured.

Research reports are basically structured around the process of scientific inquiry: the scientific method. The scientific method comprises five steps:

It is fitting that a research report also has five basic sections:

Each step of the scientific method fits into one of these sections. In the Introduction of a research paper, the researcher will state the research problem of interest, identifying the observed phenomenon. In the Literature Review, the researcher

ASSESSMENT 1 CONTEXT

• Depression levels of widowed fathers: A comparison of fathers who lost their wives at different times in their child's life.

• Comparing two approaches for increasing medication compliance in schizophrenia patients. • Grade point average and alcohol intake: A correlational study.

• The lived experience of widowed single fathers of infants. • Doctors' experience of working with noncompliant patients. • College drinking: Understanding the reasons behind the behavior.

• Observe a phenomenon and review the literature. • Develop a research question or hypothesis. • Choose a research method and conduct the study. • Analyze the results. • Report the results.

• Introduction. • Literature Review. • Method. • Results. • Conclusions.

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will explore the research question that has arisen as a result of this observation, noting what research has already been done on the topic in order to identify a logical path toward a new research question that needs to be answered. In the Method section, the researcher will lay out a plan for testing the hypothesis they have created from their review of the existing literature. The fourth section, Results, details the data collection and analysis process wherein the researcher tests the hypothesis. Finally, in the Conclusions section of the report, those results are reported in terms of their application to the field of psychology and the larger context of everyday life.

Research Questions Research is first and foremost about questions. All research is guided by research questions, which give an individual research study its focus and scope. We cannot answer all of life's questions or save the world in one study—each research study is a small piece of a larger puzzle that will eventually provide greater understanding of a particular problem or issue.

Research is a collaborative effort among the entire scientific community. Researchers read the work of others in their field to determine what they can do to add the next piece to the puzzle. If one researcher finds that women who were exposed to abuse as children have lower self-esteem, another researcher might build on that and try to discover if men suffer the same consequence.

Another researcher may build on it in a different way by trying to discover if a particular therapeutic intervention helps enhance damaged self-esteem. All of these studies would have different research questions driving the inquiry, but each of them contributes to that particular area in a unique way that both builds on the previous research and sparks additional research.

The Hypothesis In quantitative research, you create a hypothesis after you decide on your research question. The hypothesis is based on your knowledge of previous research on human behavior. The hypothesis is an educated guess as to what will be shown by your study's results. Hypotheses are not typically used in qualitative research as that process is one of discovery. The researcher avoids predicting the outcome so as not to taint their interpretation of the results.

Variables Variables are the concepts of interest in a study. If we are interested in studying the effects of psychotherapy on depression, psychotherapy and depression are our variables.

Variables can be categorized as either independent or dependent. The independent variable is the variable that causes change in the dependent variable, or in other words, the dependent variable's value is dependent on the level of the independent variable.

Using the first example above, psychotherapy would be the independent variable, and depression would be the dependent variable. A person's level of depression would be dependent on whether or not they got psychotherapy.

Selecting a Research Problem The research problem is the situation or problem that sparks your research question. A good research problem has two characteristics—it is worthy of investigation (meaning it would further the current research in the field) and is of interest to the researcher. You can come up with a research question by considering what aspects of psychology interest you. For example, you might be interested in the impact of social media on children's social development or on the effect of television on marital satisfaction; you might be interested in the best treatments for children with autism or on the most effective methods to delay cognitive decline in the elderly.

Once you have come up with a research question, you should determine what the key variables are. For example, if your hypothesis is, "The social media impedes the development of teenager's social skills," your variables are social media and teen social skills.

Reference Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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Research and Literature Review

Ethics in Research: Protection of Human Participants Research with human participants must be carried out in a manner that maintains the basic principles of human rights. Participants must be protected from any negative consequences of research, and, thus, the international research community has a set of agreed upon rules that guide all research with human participants. The issues that researchers must focus on are as follows:

When research with human participants is done it must go through an ethics review to make sure it is sound. This review is conducted by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the institution where the research will take place or where the researcher is affiliated or both. This board makes certain all of the above issues are adequately managed.

Sampling and Generalizability Participants in a research study are referred to as the research sample. The sample is a representative group that we study with the purpose of understanding the larger, target population. The target population is the larger group of people to which the research pertains. If you are conducting a study about the effects of meditation on anxiety, the sample might consist of 50 people with anxiety. The target population would be anyone in the world (who had similar demographic characteristics) that suffers from anxiety. The results would not apply to the entire population of people with the same demographics though, only those with anxiety. Nor would it apply to the entire population of the world.

When we select a sample population for participation in a study, there are a number of different sampling methods that we can use. The sampling method we choose will determine the population to which the findings can be generalized, or applied. If we sample only Caucasian men between the ages of 50 and 55, we cannot generalize the findings of that research to Hispanic twenty-something females. We can only say that people who are similar to those in the sample might expect the same results.

In order to make the results as generalizable as possible, there are certain sampling procedures we can employ. Random sampling allows the greatest degree of generalization because if participants are picked randomly from the population at large, they are thought to be more representative of the whole. However, as in our earlier example, it is not a preferred sample for all studies. If you are interested in the effects of classical music on math test scores of high school seniors, you cannot randomly select participants from the entire high school. The participants must meet the criteria for inclusion in the study in order to participate; in this case, they must be high school seniors enrolled in a math class. This more selective type of sampling is referred to as stratified sampling.

The above sampling strategies are considered probability-sampling strategies because the samples they result in are representative of the populations from which they are sampled, thus it is probable that the results of the sample would apply to the population. Another type of sampling, called nonprobability sampling, includes sampling techniques such as convenience sampling and purposeful sampling. This is often used in less-rigorous research designs.

Sample Size It is important that sample size be as high as possible in quantitative studies. The larger the sample, the more adequately the sample will represent the population. In qualitative research, sample size is less important, and, actually, smaller samples are more desirable to get a closer, more in-depth look at a phenomenon.

Reference Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

ASSESSMENT 2 CONTEXT

1. Protection from harm: Participants must be protected from both physical and emotional harm that might result from participation in the research.

2. Maintenance of privacy: Anonymous participation must be insured that the participant's identity is not associated with their study data.

3. Avoidance of coercion: Participants should never be forced to participate in a research study, and in fact, they should know that they are free to discontinue participation at any time, for any reason, with no negative consequences.

4. Informed consent: Participants should be informed of all aspects of the research—who is conducting it, what they will be asked to do, how long participation will take, how their participation will be protected, and so on. A special informed consent must be signed by both the researcher and the participant.

5. Confidentiality: Protection of any private information contained in research records is of utmost importance. 6. Debriefing: Providing a review of all of the information about the study, after it is over, allows the participant to

be fully informed and request the removal of their data from the analyses should they so choose. 7. Sharing benefits: Participants should be aware of any benefits discovered by the research so that they can

enjoy them.

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Measurement and Statistics in Research

Levels of Measurement Different variables are measured on different scales. Continuous variables have many possible values, such as age, weight, or even height. Discrete or categorical variables have only a few possible values, such as gender, marital status, or letter grade. Categorical variables that only have two possible values are called "dichotomous variables" because they are either one thing or the other, but nothing else.

In addition to these distinctions, there are also four levels of measurement that help identify the type of variable in use in a study and, therefore, have implications on the types of analysis that can be done.

Reliability Reliability of a measure is the degree to which it performs consistently. This is measured by correlating the first score with the second score—if the correlation is high, the reliability is high. There are four types of reliability.

Validity Validity of a measure is the degree to which it measures what it says it is measuring. Does the test do what it is supposed to do? A valid test measures the behavior it intends to measure, rather than some other extraneous variable. For example, if we are studying healthy eating, and the way we decided to measure healthy eating is weight loss, is that really a valid measure of healthy eating? People who became anorexic would have a high score on healthy eating if their weight dropped, but would they really be eating healthy?

There are three types of validity:

ASSESSMENT 3 CONTEXT

• Nominal variables are categorical. These are variables that are, in essence, qualitative characteristics such as hair color or political affiliation, to which we assign numerical values for the purpose of analyzing them statistically.

• Ordinal variables are also categorical, but they can be ordered along a continuum, such as with ranks. • Interval variables are continuous. Ordered, like ordinal variables, they differ in that the distance between the

points is equal and thus measurable in a mathematically meaningful way. • Ratio variables are also continuous, and in addition to being ordered and having equal distance between points,

variables on this scale also have an absolute zero point, thus making it the most precise form of measurement.

• Test-Retest Reliability measures whether or not the same individual will have the same score on a measure if given more than once.

• Inter-Rater Reliability measures whether or not one rater rates a behavior the same as another rater. Problems with Inter-Rater reliability indicate a problem with the definition of the behavior being rated. For example if a rater is measuring the number of pro-social behaviors exhibited by children in a classroom, but that rater only counts verbal behaviors and not nonverbal behaviors, their ratings would not be consistent with a rater counting both verbal and nonverbal behaviors.

• Internal Consistency Reliability measures whether or not one section of a test is consistent with another section of the test. For example, are the first 20 questions measuring the target behavior in the same way as the second set of 20 questions? Are the scores on each set highly correlated?

• Parallel Forms Reliability measures whether or not one form of a measure is consistent with another. Occasionally, a measure will have two forms, Form A and Form B, for example. The different forms are used to measure the same behavior, but they allow the test taker to avoid answering the same, exact questions on multiple test administrations. If Parallel Forms Reliability is high, we can be assured that both forms are measuring the same behavior.

• Content Validity is often called face validity. It is a simple global measure of validity that tells us whether or not the content actually reflects the construct. The best way to determine content validity is simply to ask an expert. Does a test with questions about the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement represent a valid test of knowledge of American history? An expert could tell you, yes, it does.

• Criterion Validity is the degree to which a test can predict performance, either currently (concurrent validity) or in the future (predictive validity). In order to assess criterion validity, test results must be compared to a criterion. For example, people who have been successful supervisors could be given a personality test. Their scores would be made the criterion, and other employees that took the test and met that criterion would be expected to be good supervisory candidates.

• Construct Validity is the degree to which the test is measuring the underlying construct or behavior you think it is. Construct validity is determined by comparing it to another test that has been shown to be a valid measure of that construct.

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Methods of Measurement There are many different types of tests that can measure many different aspects of the human experience—thoughts, behaviors, emotions, skills, knowledge, attitudes, and so on. Most tests are multiple choice, but some are forced response, and some may even be open ended. There are six major types of tests:

Collection of data is a very detailed and precise process. Errors in data collection can result in inaccurate results of a study, and that makes the entire process invalid. There are many procedures that make data collection an organized logical process so that you can maintain the integrity of the information and draw valid conclusions from your research.

It is essential that data be collected in an organized and careful way. Researchers have a responsibility to make sure that the data is protected, both in terms of confidentiality issues, as well as in terms of accuracy of the recording of the data so that the participants are not misrepresented, and that study's results are valid.

Data Analysis Analyzing your data may seem daunting, but that is the point at which you can begin to see the fruits of your labor. Data analysis is what allows us to determine if our hypothesis is confirmed. Data can be analyzed in several ways, the two main ways being descriptive and inferential.

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics tell us the general characteristics of our data. Descriptive statistics can be presented in the form of measures of central tendency such as the mean (most common and useful), the median, or the mode. The mean is basically the average. What is the average score on an intelligence test? What is the average score on a test of anxiety or depression. The mean of your sample can then be compared either to another sample such as a control group that did not receive any treatment, or a normative group that the test creator has indicated to give researcher a source of comparison.

Descriptive statistics can also be presented in the form of measures of variability, such as range and standard deviation. Determining the variability of the data can give you an idea of how your data is dispersed. Are a lot of people scoring on the high end of the scale? Are most of the participants scoring very low? You can get the same mean from two vastly different ranges of data, so the range gives us another important picture of our sample.

The standard deviation simply tells us the average amount of variation each score has from the mean. Understanding how scores vary, can help us when comparing them to other scores, either those of another group in our sample, or those in the general population.

• Achievement Tests measure performance, knowledge, and ability. Standardized tests are the most common type of achievement test. Achievement tests measure what a person already knows and what they can already do.

• Aptitude Tests measure what a person is capable of doing. Intelligence tests are a good example of an aptitude test.

• Attitude Tests measure how someone feels about something. They can be aimed at anything from politics to personal health problems.

• Personality Tests measure personality traits, or behaviors that represent those personality traits. Personality tests can be projective (like the famous Rorschach Inkblot test) or objective (true or false test questions that indicate one's feelings or opinions on something).

• Observational Techniques can be used to test the presence and intensity of a particular behavior. • Questionnaires are self-report tests that can incorporate many different types of test questions, including

multiple choice, true or false, or open-ended responses.

• Forms: Researchers collect data on forms, either preexisting test forms or forms the researcher creates to compile information in one place, such as demographic information.

• Coding: Often, data must be coded in order to be analyzed. For example, age may be coded into child, adolescent, young adult, and adult for the purposes of the analysis. A coding procedure is established and decided upon before data is collected to make sure you have enough information to proceed with coding.

• Collection: Actual collection of the data is done under controlled, planned circumstances. Few distractions should be present, and the data collection environment should be as similar as possible for each participant to avoid any extraneous factors impacting the results.

• Data Entry: Once data is collected, it must be entered into a data analysis program such as SPSS. It is extremely important to make sure that you check and double-check your data entry. Human error is a big possibility at every stage but especially in transferring data from one form to another. If there is a way to electronically record data directly into the data-analysis software as you are collecting it, that can reduce one instance of possible data-recording error.

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Inferential Statistics Inferential statistics are the tools we use to compare our data to determine the results of our study. Inference is the leap we make from the results of our study with our sample to the population as a whole. Inference is what we use to generalize our results.

The central limit theorem tells us that as long as our sample is greater than thirty, and the distribution of the sample is normal, we can infer that our results can be applied to the larger population. The idea of statistical significance also plays into this picture because while ideally, we would like for our sample to be the perfect representation of the population, it may not be, and there may be other sources of error as well—in the way the data was collected, in the way the data was recorded, and so on.

There is some degree of risk in the inference that your results are in fact due only to the variables in your study and not chance or error, and this risk is dealt with by using statistical significance to interpret the data. By stating the level of statistical significance, you are stating your degree of confidence in your result. A statistical significance of .05 means that you are accepting that there is a 5 percent chance that your results are due to some form of error.

Statistical Tests A number of tests of significance are available for use in analyzing your data. The t test is the most common test and can be used to test the difference between two groups. Often though, studies are more complex, involving multiple variables, so an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) can be used to further analyze the variables in question. Figure 8.3 in the Salkind text provides an excellent primer for choosing the appropriate statistic for the types of data you are analyzing.

Further discussion of statistics is beyond the scope of this course but is covered in great depth in an actual statistics course.

Interpreting Results While it may be the goal of researchers to find statistical significance, that may not have much meaning in the end. A study that shows a girl's scores are significantly lower than boy's score on a measure of assertiveness means nothing unless we make some interpretation of the meaningfulness of those results. What does that mean for girls? How does that play out clinically, in real life? How does it impact girls' lives, relationships, and self-esteem?

Researchers must be careful not to overextend the meaning of one result of one study, but a body of research in one area demonstrating similar results in different settings can help a researcher come to meaningful conclusions about their data and spur additional research aimed at rectifying a situation or helping a certain group overcome a certain characteristic or circumstance. This is the real reason for research: to better understand, so that we can help.

Reference Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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Methodology

Descriptive Methods Descriptive methods are one type of non-experimental research. Descriptive methods include surveys that provide a glimpse at the characteristics, thoughts, or attitudes of a sample or interviews (oral questionnaires). The goal of descriptive methods is to provide a snapshot of a particular group—to describe them as they are, right now, at this moment in time.

Correlational Methods Correlational methods are also descriptive. They try to show a relationship between two variables. The relationship can be either positive (as one variable's value goes up, the other variable's value goes up), or negative (as one variable's value goes up, the other variable's value goes down). These positive and negative descriptions are not indicative of good and bad; they are simply descriptive of a relationship. For example, we desire the negative correlation between exercise and body weight—as exercise goes up, body weight goes down, but we might not desire the negative correlation between shopping and our bank account balance (as shopping goes up, our bank balance goes down). Likewise, a positive correlation can be either a good thing or a bad thing. As piano practice increases, piano skills increase, but as eating ice cream increases, body weight increases.

Correlation does not imply causation—just because something appears to have a correlational relationship does not mean that one variable caused the other variable to change. This is a dangerous assumption that may be better explained by other variables not measured in the study. Correlational research is often the impetus for experimental research where we can test relationships to see if they hold up experimentally.

Correlations are also used to establish reliability. When determining the degree to which we can count on a test to report consistent results, we can use correlations to compare one test administration with another. The degree to which they are correlated informs us of reliability. The Pearson correlation coefficient is the measure of correlation, reported as r .

Qualitative Methods Qualitative methods are very different from quantitative methods. Qualitative methods use data in the form of interview responses, observations, and a variety of other data in order to create a rich picture of the person, group, or circumstance.

Case Study Case study is the in-depth study—using multiple methods and data sources—of a single case. Sometimes, a number of cases are studied and reported together. The "case" in a case study is the object of study. One could study a single case (in which a single instance is investigated in depth) or multiple cases (in which a number of instances of the target are studied and then compared with one another).

Program evaluations often are framed as case studies. When a subject is not well described in the scientific literature or is newly emergent, descriptive case studies are often the best way to generate a lot of information about the case on which to base future more tightly focused studies. It is because of the highly descriptive nature of the approach, coupled with the fact that the subject is usually not previously well studied, that case studies seek numerous sources and types of information about the case, including its various contexts.

Case Study Questions Case study asks questions that involve an intense study of an individual or an organization. The case to be studied is often chosen due to its uniqueness. The case is a single research subject—a person, a program, an event, an activity, or an individual (or individuals). What are the contexts of the case? What are its boundaries? What is involved? What happens? When does it happen? What is like to be in the case?

Ethnography Ethnography is a descriptive research approach designed for in-depth investigation and description of cultures, cultural groups, large organizations and groupings, and their features. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the culture or organization they are studying, becoming a part of the culture in order to learn about it from the inside out.

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• Surveys are the most common form of descriptive research. They can be done in a quick, efficient manner with very little interaction between the researcher and the participant. There are many dos and don'ts in survey research; researchers should make sure the questions and the length of the survey are appropriate.

• Interviews can take either an open-ended (unstructured) or closed-ended (structured) approach. Only structured interview can lead to quantitative analysis. Open-ended interviews are much more amenable to qualitative analysis because they contain many non-quantifiable elements. Structured interviews can be rather like an oral administration of a survey.

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Consequently, this approach often requires longer timeframes for data collection and ethnographers frequently return a number of times to the sites of their investigations to obtain more data.

An important aspect of this research approach is that the participants (culture) are studied in their natural habitat and social contexts. Individuals are not the unit of analysis for ethnography, although they may be sources of valuable data. Thus, qualitative research questions in social psychology and group psychology often are well answered by ethnographic research.

Types of Questions in an Ethnographic Study "What are the behavioral patterns of . . . ?" "What is the culture of . . .?" An ethnographic study includes descriptive questions about values, beliefs, and practices of members of the culture under inquiry.

Grounded Theory Grounded theory is a qualitative research approach that attempts to develop theories of understanding based on data from the real world. The key word is "theory," which in science means an explanatory statement or model based on research evidence. Unlike some other forms of qualitative inquiry, grounded theory attempts to go beyond rich description (which it also strives for) to an explanation of the phenomena of interest.

The second key word is "grounded." This implies that the explanation is derived from the ground, the actual experiences, words, behaviors, and other data obtained from people directly involved or engaged in the topic. For example, if one wished to derive a grounded theory about the effects of childhood abuse on adult functioning, one would gather many kinds of data from persons who had grown up amid child abuse and build the theory of how it affects adult development on the information obtained from those people. Another unique feature of grounded theory is its tendency to return to the ground by taking preliminary insights back to the participants and asking them to further comment on and refine the researcher's conclusions.

The Type of Questions Typically Used to Guide a Study Using Grounded Theory Process questions about changing experience over time or its stages and phases (for example, "What is the process of becoming . . . ?") or understanding questions (for example, "What are the dimensions of this experience . . . ?"). In grounded theory, the researcher may ask understanding questions, trying to elicit the understanding of the participants about their experiences.

Phenomenology The key to understanding phenomenology lies in the phrase "lived experience." Put most simply, phenomenology is the study of the lived experience of persons who are going through the phenomenon to be understood. By using the terms "lived experience" and going through, we put the focus squarely on exactly how a phenomenon reveals itself to the experiencing person in all its specificity and concreteness. A phenomenon can be anything that a person experiences— but phenomena (the plural) are defined precisely in their quality of being experienced by someone. A feeling (anger) can be a phenomenon, but a phenomenological study of anger would focus on what it is like to be and to feel anger as an actual, lived experience. Similarly, being hired by a large corporation or being elected to office or losing a loved one in a car accident all are phenomena, but a phenomenological analysis focuses on how the people experiencing them actually experienced them—felt, thought about, perceived, observed, reflected upon them.

The Type of Questions Typically Used to Guide a Study Using Phenomenological Research "What is the meaning of . . . ?" "What is the experience of . . . ?" "How do people experience and describe . . . ?" "What is the essence of . . . ?" "What is the lived experience of . . .?" "What is it like to experience . . . ?"

Experimental research is, in many ways, the main focus of the research world—it is the most trusted form of research, because when it is done in true experimental form, it allows so much control that one can say with greater confidence than with any other method that the results are true. The goal of experimental research is to isolate a few variables and test their relationship in a controlled environment so that you can eliminate any other possible influences on the behavior. If the relationship holds up under those circumstances (often a laboratory environment), it can be said that one variable causes another. Experimental research is the only type of research where causation can be claimed.

Pre-Experimental Methods Pre-experimental methods are not the same as true experimental methods and do not carry with them the ability to state causation. Pre-experimental methods set the stage for experimental methods by demonstrating the proposed cause-and- effect situation, though with none of the control of a true experimental study. These are one-shot case studies that have an independent variable and a dependent variable but no control over other factors in order to make certain they had no impact. There is no random selection or random assignment in pre-experimental methods and, thus, conclusions cannot be drawn from this type of research. However, this type of research may lead to true experimental research to test whether the phenomenon is real.

True Experimental Methods True experimental methods utilize random selection of participants and random assignments of participants to experimental and control groups. These groups allow the researcher to control what happens to each so that he can better understand how the independent variable is impacting the dependent variable. The independent variable is that

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which differs between the groups, and the dependent variable is that which represents the outcome of how the independent variable impacts the person.

For example, in a study on the effect of music on math skills, music would be the independent variable. Participants would be randomly assigned to an experimental group that listened to music while taking a math skills test or a control group that listened to nothing while taking a math skills test. The dependent variable, or outcome, would be the score on the math skills test. The researcher would tightly control all other circumstances around the testing, from the temperature of the room, to the time of day the test was given, so as to make sure that the only thing that differed was the presence of music. This control would allow the researcher to claim the impact of music on the math skills.

Validity Experimental research is all about control, and the level of control you exert determines the degree to which the research can be generalized to the population. These two aspects can be measured by looking at how much control was used in the study (internal validity) and the similarity of the research circumstances to the real world (external validity). In a sense these two things are opposites—the more control we exert (the ultimate control being a laboratory environment), the less the circumstances represent the real world. So, in essence it becomes a balance between optimizing internal and external validity.

Quasi-experimental research is somewhat of a compromise. The experimental control required in true experimental designs is not always possible, for a variety of reasons. In some cases, it may be that the groups are preexisting or that it would be unethical to randomly assign people to certain types of groups. If you are studying a group of people who belong to a particular political party, you cannot randomly assign them to one or another party. If you are studying the effects of smoking on mood, you cannot randomly assign people to the smoking condition, as it would be unethical. In these cases, quasi-experimental research is the answer because it does not require the rigor of random assignment to groups, however, with that compromise comes some loss of confidence that the results are in fact due only to the independent variable.

Nonequivalent Control Group Designs The nonequivalent control group design is the most common quasi-experimental design. It utilizes the same basic set up as an experimental design, with an experimental group and a control group. It also utilizes a pre- and posttest to determine the effect of the independent variables, but there is no random assignment to groups.

If additional restrictions apply to your sample, such as the inability to give a pretest, there are other types of nonequivalent control group designs you can use, such as the static control group comparison or a single-subject design. Each of these brings with it decreasing levels of control, while essentially using the same basic design of studying the impact of one variable on another.

Developmental Designs Developmental designs are quasi-experimental designs that study a group of people over a long period of time to note changes that occur as a result of development. There are two ways of doing this—the long way and the short way. The long way is referred to as longitudinal research, and the shortcut is cross-sectional research. Longitudinal research may study the behavior of children exposed to particular reading enhancement program to see if that intervention has long term benefits in their high school GPA or college graduation rates. Cross-sectional research may look at several groups of people who are at different developmental stages with some common characteristic, such as a disease or an experience, like being educated in a Montessori school. Looking at people who share that experience but who are now at different periods of time past that experience allows the researcher to make some conclusions about the impact of that experience, without taking 40 years to conduct one study.

References Kostere, K., & Percy, W. (2006). Qualitative research approaches in psychology . Minneapolis, MN: Capella University.

Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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