foundations of research 1 what does science ‘do’? this is a powerpoint show click “slide...
DESCRIPTION
Foundations of Research 3 How do we describe the natural world? Vivaldi’s Four Seasons well describes the emotional experience of the changing seasons. (Click the image for a Janine Jansen performance). This picture ‘describes’ a desert environment. Literature can well describe peoples’ inner states. History, Journalism and the like describe the physical, social and cultural environment. Click Click for a Nova article on describing the world with math. © David J McKirnanTRANSCRIPT
Foundations of Research
1What does science ‘do’?
This is a PowerPoint Show Click “slide show” to start it. Click through it by pressing any
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© Dr. David J. McKirnan, 2015The University of Illinois [email protected] not use or reproduce without permission
Photo: :Public domain, via Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique. http://www.cnrs.fr/cw/fr/pres/compress/Toumai/Tounaigb/illustragb.html
Click image for NY Times piece on a revolutionary fossil discovery.
Foundations of Research
2What does science do?
What does Science do?
1. Describe the world
2. Made predictions (hypotheses)
3. Develop & test theories
4. Apply findings or theories
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Foundations of Research
3How do we describe the natural world?
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons well describes the emotional experience of the changing seasons.(Click the image for a Janine Jansen performance).
This picture ‘describes’ a desert environment.
Literature can well describe peoples’ inner states.
History, Journalism and the like describe the physical, social and cultural environment.
Click for a Nova article on describing the world with math.
© David J McKirnan
http://janinejansen.com/vivaldi-the-four-seasons/
Foundations of Research
4Galileo; How does the world work, not why.
Public domain image downloaded from: yathish.deviantart.
Galileo developed formulae that perfectly described the relation of time and distance for a falling object:
Time it takes for an object to fall a given distance ‘d’.
Distance an object will fall given time ‘t’.d = 16t2
Prior to modern science knowledge was often via authorities rather than evidence; • i.e., the church, influenced by
classical Philosophers. One of Galileo’s major contributions
was to not ask Why objects fall, a religious question, but How they fall, a scientific (descriptive) question.
Careful descriptions of the world can substantially change our knowledge or understanding.
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
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There are two major ‘streams’ of descriptive research:
QuantitativeQualitative and
Addresses “lived experience”; the sight, sound and feel of participants’ worlds.
Data can be textual descriptions, recordings, soundscapes*…
Methods include: Focus groups, Open-ended (free
response) interviews, Direct observation
Captures mathematical or numerical characteristics of nature.
Data can be simple frequency counts – “how many…” – or complex correlations.
Methods include: Surveys, Structured interviews, Archival data, e.g., Unified
Crime Reports…
Describing the World
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Qualitative Quantitative
Conceptual approach
Methods
Adopted from: Minichiello, V. (1990). In-Depth Interviewing: Researching People. Longman Cheshire.
Describing the World: 2 major themes
Understand behavior from the participants’ perspective.
Discover facts about the social world.
Assume a dynamic and negotiated reality.
Assume a fixed and measurable reality.
Direct participant observation (“in the wild”), structured interviews, “life histories”...
Structured, “objective” measures that numerically code behavior.
Analyses seek dominant themes in participants’ stories
Statistical analyses of numerical data..
Data reported in the language of the participants.
Data reported via statistical inferences.
Click through the table to flesh out and contrast our themes a little more…
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Addresses “lived experience”; the sight, sound and feel of the worlds.
Data can be textual descriptions, recordings, or even soundscapes…
Click the image for a TED talk about using soundscapes to understand nature.
Describing the World
Qualitative Description
Foundations of Research
Simple observation: Describe what goes on “in the wild”.
Anthropology, sociology, ethnography, ethology, and similar disciplines rely on qualitative or observational data.
The Humanities often have sensitive, qualitative description at their heart…
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. ApplicationQualitative Description
Madame Bovary, even as fiction, provides a rich and sensitive description of provincial life in mid-19th century France.
Describing the World
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Foundations of Research
Observational data are typically structured: Extensive field notes, Checklists, Behavioral counts, Audio / Video…
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. ApplicationQualitative Description
Many quantitative studies begin with qualitative descriptions of a target population.
Describing the World
Foundations of Research
Qualitative Description
Social science descriptive studies often involve recording patterns of behavior in specific groups & places.
Focus groups, group interviews, structured observations… These data are valuable for formulating hypotheses.
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Describing the World
http://www.themsrgroup.com/research-services/field-services/focus-groups/
Foundations of Research
World Music: A Retrospect Across The Globe, Venus Umesh. Click for link.
Of course description is a key building block in any area of study…
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Describing the World
ShutterStock.
Click the chalkboard for a Nova overview of how Math describes the world.
Or Is mathematics an effective way to describe the world?Click.
Foundations of Research
Tracking patterns or systems using numbers
Useful for both developing and testing hypotheses.
Surveys, polls… Archival data such as
uniform crime reports. Epidemiological data;
disease rates… Physical observations
2. Quantitative Description
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Describing the World
Click for Gallop polls
From: International Panel on Climate Change, Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007. Click for How Climate Models Work Click for How Climate Models Work
Foundations of Research
Examples of Descriptive Research
Taxonomies: Classification systems Ordering / sorting natural phenomena or
behaviors into categories. Based on the premise that category
information is scientifically meaningful. Shared characteristics within a category
are stronger than differences between individuals or categories.
Knowledge of category membership allows us to predict behavior or other properties.
Categories typically form a hierarchy, from very broad to increasingly specific.
Multiple specific categories are “nested” within broader sets.
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
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Foundations of Research Examples of Descriptive Research
Taxonomies: Classification systems Central to biology, paleontology, psychology, demographics.
Biology & paleontology; describe species by shared v. distinct evolutionary characteristics
Psychology, Psychiatry; describe people (or groups) by behavioral tendencies or disorders.
Demographics: describe populations via ethnicity, education levels, language group…
Science:1. Descriptio
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American Psychiatric Assn. Click image for overview.
Foundations of Research Examples of Descriptive Research
Taxonomies: Classification systems Click the image and take a questionnaire to determine
your personality ‘type’.
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Foundations of Research Examples of Descriptive Research
Where is AIDS most common in the U.S.?
Epidemiology; The study of patterns of disease or behavior in different segments of a population.
Severity of depression, by age and income.
Epidemiology may use: Direct measurement (e.g.,
surveys)
Standard records (e.g., medical visits & diagnoses)
Archival data (e.g., auto accident reports).
Science:1. Descriptio
n2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Foundations of Research
17Descriptive research
Paleontology attempts to accurately describe the predecessors of humans to understand evolution
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E Carefully describing specimens and the conditions where they are found can: Produce insights into
environmental change and evolution
Allow us to test hypotheses & develop theory.
The discovery of a fossil with ape and human features called Sahelanthropus tchadensis, or “Toumaï", dramatically
changed our understanding of human evolution.
Click here for the original article from Nature. Here for a New York Times overview.
Foundations of Research
2. Science and Predictions
Practical applications: What test score best predicts college success?
Can I predict which employees will steal?
These applications (should) stem from a theory. Verbal & quantitative aptitude academic success A specific personality constellation criminality…
That is (or should be…) supported by empirical evidence.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Foundations of Research Science and Predictions
Practical applications:
Testing hypotheses: An hypothesis is a prediction
Correlational research; I predict that cultures undergoing rapid economic change
will be more prone to irrational beliefs. Experimental research;
In a lab situation I make one group [the Experimental group] socially uncertain. In the [Control] group I do not manipulate uncertainty.
I predict that the experimental group will later be more prone to believe a list of superstitious beliefs than will the control group.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Foundations of Research Science and Predictions
Correlational research; I predict that cultures undergoing rapid economic change
will be more prone to irrational beliefs. Experimental research;
I predict that interventions to lessen peoples’ uncertainty about economic conditions will decrease their susceptibility irrational beliefs.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Here I actually manipulate one variable within individual people – uncertainty –
to see if it changes my other variable, irrational beliefs
Here I simply measure different cultures’ rate of economic change, and frequency of irrational beliefs,
to see if they are associated.
Foundations of Research Science and Predictions Science:
1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
In both cases, evidence evaluating the prediction allows us to develop and evaluate theories about how behavior works….
Correlational research; I predict that cultures undergoing rapid economic change
will be more prone to irrational beliefs. Experimental research;
I predict that interventions to lessen peoples’ uncertainty about economic conditions will decrease their susceptibility irrational beliefs.
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22Predictions and theory development
Correlating certain anatomical features of “proto-humans” with physical environments can test or develop theories about natural selection pressures.
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Scientists can then predict
(test hypotheses about) the types of fossils that should appear in different places.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Brian Villmoare / Ancient-Origins.net
The 2.8 million-year-old fossilized jawbone with small teeth which may be a transitional fossil between primitive and modern man.Click image for article.
Foundations of Research
3. Developing & Testing Theory
Identify basic (social, Ψ, physical…) processes…
that are systematically related…
Theory is the ‘bottom line’ of science
that show how or why something works.
i.e., what “causes” a phenomenon in the natural world.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
We spent time on this in module 1, and we will address it later in the course.In general, we attempt to:
Foundations of Research
24Predictions and theory development
New data have led us to rethink the basic process of human evolution (i.e., change our theories)
from a simple progression
to a widening “bush” of parallel species.E
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Click image for an article from NYT
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25Predictions and theory development
The effects paleontologists see in their data lead them to rethink the shape of the evolutionary tree that must cause them.
This leads to a reconsideration of basic processes – e.g., selection pressures - that shape evolution.
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Foundations of Research 3. Testing theory: Mediating effects
What theory might help us explain an increase in superstitions or irrational beliefs?A. We describe a simple empirical effect
(correlation):
(Social uncertainty predicts more widespread irrational beliefs)
Social & economic uncertainty
Irrational beliefs
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Foundations of Research 3. Testing theory: Mediating effects
What might lead to irrational beliefs?B. How does this work? What Theory may
explain this?
Need to feel control
Social or economic uncertainly may create stress or a sense of helplessness.
Superstition may help people feel in control of their world under times of uncertainty.
Uncertainty Irrational beliefs
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Foundations of Research 3. Testing theory: Mediating effects
What might lead to irrational beliefs?B. How does this work? What Theory may
explain this?
Need to feel control
Critical thinking skills may lessen irrational responses to uncertain times…
Uncertainty Irrational beliefs
Critical thinking
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Foundations of Research Theory and processes
Need to feel controlUncertainty
Critical thinking
Our theory helps identify basic economic or psychological processes; specifies how they may be related; And generates testable hypotheses.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Irrational beliefs
Foundations of Research
What hypotheses does this theory contain? How might you test them? What other variables may be important to irrational
beliefs? How could you use this theory to change irrational
beliefs?
Theory and processes Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Need to feel controlUncertainty Irrational
beliefs
Critical thinking
Foundations of Research
What hypotheses does this theory contain? How might you test them? What other variables may be important to irrational beliefs? How could you use this theory to change irrational beliefs?
Theory and processes Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Decades ago the famous Psychologist Kurt Lewin noted: “There is nothing so practical as a good theory.”
Having a coherent theory allows us to test our assumptions, clarify our understanding, and suggest practical applications.
Foundations of Research 4. Applications of theory
We use theory to design interventions
…or we can use an intervention study to actually test a theory
Behavioral or biomedical interventions often compare treatments based on differing theories.
I use theory (and evidence) about learning to design this course…
Psychologists use practices derived from basic learning theory to “teach” people to no longer have phobias.
Theories of Cognitive Schema underlie Cognitive - Behavioral treatments for a range of problem behaviors.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Psychology 242Foundations of Research
Educational theory: Being active Cognitive “chunking” Multi-media attention
4. Applications of theory Use theory to design interventions
…an intervention study can test a theory
Behavioral or biomedical interventions compare treatments based on differing theories.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
Design of this course
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34Theories and interventions
One theory of smoking involves social networks: people are influenced by their friends’ smoking
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An intervention study of smoking cessation showed that having people quit with their friends may be more effective that quitting by themselves.
Science:1. Description2. Prediction3. Theory4. Application
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35Theories and interventions
The theory was that social networks influence smoking.
The hypothesis was that a network-based cessation program would work better than an individual program.
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Testing the hypothesis both: Pointed to a practical intervention approach; Supported the theory that social networks are
important to smoking and quitting.
Foundations of Research
36The values of science & empiricism
Empirical description Can take multiple forms; qualitative, quantitative…
Important for its own sake, and for developing hypotheses
Predictions Core feature of a hypothesis;
A priori predictions force us to clearly test our ideas
Developing and testing theory Central role of science; explaining how or why a natural
process works.
Applications of theories Expand and elaborate a theory through applying it
Important for advances in, e.g., technology, behavioral science
SUM
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Please go to the ‘what does science do’ quiz.