RESEARCH OVERVIEW Nature, Cycle, and Ethics Research Methods Graduate Program in Human Services University of Massachusetts at Boston ©2012William Holmes 1

NATURE OF RESEARCH Objective—open to alternative outcomes Empirical—use empirical data to answer questions Skeptical—recognize risk of mistakes or confounding data Simple—prefers simpler explanations to more complex ones 2

THE RESEARCH CYCLE A Continuous Process Begins with Research Question or Hypothesis Design Created to Answer Question or Test Hypothesis Data Collected According to Design Data Analyzed and Interpreted to Answer Question or Test Hypothesis Results Lead to New Questions 3

RESEARCH ETHICS Protects Subjects and Integrity of Data Obtains Informed Consent when Necessary Reduces Harm/Provide Benefit to Subjects Protect Confidentiality of Individual Data Avoid Fraud and Plagiarism 4

OBJECTIVITY Doesn’t predetermine outcome Conclusions based on facts Doesn’t make moral judgments Willing to change beliefs Evidence open to examination 5

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE Uses concrete facts Subjects facts to scrutiny Accessible to observation Accessible to challenge Facts are reproducible 6