1. Finish up APA style Ethics
Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

2. Announcements Exam 1: on Monday Univ college writing help:
Announcements

3. APA style: Parts of a research report
Abstract
Body
Introduction
Methods
Participants
Materials/Apparatus
Design
Procedure
Results
Discussion
References
The rest
Authors Notes, Footnotes, Tables, Figures & Captions
APA style: Parts of a research report

4. Body The basic parts of a research article :
Method - tells the reader exactly what was done
Enough detail that the reader could actually replicate the study.
Subsections:
Participants - who were the data collected from
How many, where they were selected from, any special selection requirements, details about those who didn’t complete the experiment
Apparatus/ Materials - what was used to conduct the study
Design
Suggested if you have a complex experimental design, often combined with Materials section
Procedure
What did each participant do? Other details, including the operational levels of your IV(s) and DV(s), counterbalancing, etc.
Body

5. Body The basic parts of a research article :
Method - tells the reader exactly what was done
Reading checklist
1 a) Is your method better than theirs?
b) Does the authors method actually test the hypotheses?
c) What are the independent, dependent, and control variables?
2) Based on what the authors did, what results do YOU expect?
Writing checklist
Is it clear why the procedures were selected?
Are any assumptions explicit and defended?
Is the level of detail sufficient for replication?
Body

6. Results
Verbal statement of results: Describe the results but don’t interpret them here (that’s for the discussion)
Statistical Outcomes
Means, standard deviations, t-tests, ANOVAs, correlations, etc.
Relate the analyses to the specific hypotheses
Tables and figures
These get referred to in the text, but actually get put into their own sections at the end of the manuscript
Body

7. Body Results Writing checklist Reading checklist
Did the author get unexpected results?
How does the author interpret the results?
How would YOU interpret the results?
What implications would YOU draw from these results?
Writing checklist
Is it clear how the hypotheses are tested by the analyses?
Would a graph or table help clarify the results?
What questions might the reader still have, and how could I answer them in this section?
Body

8. Body Discussion (interpreting the results)
Relationship between purpose and results
Theoretical (or methodological) contribution
Implications
Future directions (optional)
Reading checklist
Does YOUR interpretation or the authors' interpretation best represent the data?
Do you or the author draw the most sensible implications and conclusions?
Writing checklist
Have you stated your most convincing argument?
Do the conclusions follow straightforwardly from the results?
Body

9. The references When something odd comes up, don’t guess. Look it up!
Author’s name
Year
Title of work
Publication information
Journal
Issue
Pages
Adolescent Depression 29
References
Barnett, P. A., & Gotlib, I. H. (1988). Psychosocial
functioning and depression: Distinguishing among
antecedents, concomitants, and consequences.
Psychological Bulletin, 104.
Beck, A. T. (1978). Beck Depression Inventory.
San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Benoit, D., Vidovic, D., & Roman, J. (1991, April).
Transmission of attachment across three generations.
Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society
for Research in Child Development.
Benoit, D., Zeanah, C. H., & Barton, M. L. (1989).
Maternal attachment disturbances in failure to thrive.
Infant Mental Health Journal, 3,
Benoit, D., Zeanah, C. H., Boucher, C., & Minde, K.
(1989). Sleep disorders in early childhood: Association
with insecure maternal attachment. Journal of the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
31,
When something odd comes up, don’t guess. Look it up!
The references

10. The rest Authors Notes Footnotes Tables Figures and captions
These are used to supplement the text.
To make a point clearer for the reader.
Typically used for:
The design
Examples of stimuli
Patterns of results
The rest

11. Ethics – people should be treated as ends not means

12. Ethical Responsibilities in Research
Two basic categories of ethical concerns:
Need to consider the rights of our participants in our research
Need to behave ethically as scientists and practitioners
Ethical Responsibilities in Research

13. Using humans in research
For the most part the researcher has the power
You know what is going to be done to the participants
Participants may feel like they have to do it
Consider the Milgram (1963) study
demonstrated how far people may go to obey authorities
This study itself exemplifies the need for strict rules of ethics
Using humans in research

14. Ethical Responsibilities in Research
Consider ethics at each step
Does the topic/idea for the research have some ethical issues surrounding it?
How are participants selected?
What methods may be used on the participant population?
What measurement techniques will be used?
What design is appropriate?
How are the data analyzed?
How are the results reported?
Ethical Responsibilities in Research

15. Belmont Report & APA’s code of ethics
Respect for persons – “All individual human beings are presumed to be free and responsible persons and should be treated as such in proportion to their ability in the circumstances.”
Basic courtesy
Informed consent
Debriefing
Avoid deception
Beneficence - ”Do good and avoid harm"
Protection from harm
Cost/Benefits analysis
Confidentiality
Justice – “Everyone is entitled to equal access to basic care necessary for living in a human way. “
Freedom from coercion
Equal chances of participation
Belmont Report & APA’s code of ethics

16. Information to allow a person to decide if they want to participate
Basic purpose of the study
Participation is voluntary
Risks involved
Benefits involved
Rights to refuse or terminate participation
Assent - guardians if participants are not competent
e.g., children, developmentally disabled people
Informed consent

17. Using deception in research
Types
Passive deception
Withholding information about the study
Active deception
Deliberately misleading participants
Avoid it when possible
Alternative to deception
Role-playing
When not possible to avoid
Make sure that you are up front with all possible risks
Potential results must be worth it
Must debrief participants as soon as possible (either right after participation or as soon as project is over)
Using deception in research

18. Costs/Benefits analysis
Costs: all potential risks to the participants
Physical harm
Psychological harm
Loss of confidentiality
Benefits: the “good” outcomes
Direct benefits to participants
Benefits to knowledge base
Benefits to world at large
Costs/Benefits analysis

19. Monitoring of ethics Institutional Review Board IRB Criteria
Minimize risk
Benefits > Risks
Equal opportunity sampling
Informed consent
Documentation of consent
Data monitoring
Privacy & Confidentiality
Monitoring of ethics

20. Scientific Integrity Fraud prevention
Replication – repeat a research study to validate results
Peer Review – critical analysis of research by peers in the same area
Plagiarism – taking credit for another’s work or ideas
Avoided by citing the ideas or words of others
Scientific Integrity

21. On-line Ethics Training
CITI ethics training
Can take short “courses” on ethics
Starting Jan most 290, 390s (and probably some PSY 331 classes) will require it (lasts for 3 years)
Social/Behavioral Research Course, Basic Course
Students conducting no more than minimal risk research
Starting this semester, this is now a 231 assignment
See the syllabus page for a link to the instructions for how to sign on and take this training
On-line Ethics Training

22. Exam 1 Exam 1: 15% of final grade Short answer & multiple choice
Covers – lectures, textbook, lab material
Textbook Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
Exam 1