W2) 4) Research methods in psychology and psychiatry Flashcards
How do you get to the truth?
Read everything with disbelief. What do they label people as?
You need a theory to make observations.
What is quantitative data?
Correlational research - this is a linear relationship between two variables.
Eg. Taller people are heavier than shorter people….
Problems: It is not causation.
What is a spurious correlation?
Two varibles are correlated, but when you introduce another variable, that correlation disappears.
What is multiple regression?
It is a statistical technique.
On a 3D plane, looking at 3 axis eg. IQ, your IQ and parent’s IQ.
Line of best fit = minimises error intervals.
Allows you to predict 1 variable from several others.
Eg. Predicting future cancers…
What is the only methods by which you can make causal statements/causal reasons?
True experiments.
Hold everything else constant and manipulate one thing - look for an outcome on another thing. You control the environment.
What 2 conditions do you need for something to be a true experiment?
Random allocation to groups.
Problem: Everything you want to test - eg. IQ, personality can’t be randomly allocated. You can’t test them experimentally.
So theory is the most important - try to test it as best as you can using quantitative methods.
How do you make studies less bias?
Look at a range of studies and amalgamate lots of data into a meta-analysis.
Looking for triangulating evidence - multiple sources of evidence saying similar things.
How does qualitative data show?
Thematic analysis - Eg. Looking for tiredness.
What is tenure and why does it operate?
In academia, there is a probationary period of 3 years, watch your work, read your articles, can be fired quite easily, less legal protection
After 3 years -> tenure
Tenure - legal protection for academics, harder to fire
Logic is… Science as a discipline is meant to be non-political and un-biased, hence we can do research and say things that the world may not like -> science has no agenda
E.g. covid -> vaccinations etc. know more people will die if people sent to work earlier than later during pandemic but govt. decides this. Govt. weighs all evidence and comes to measured balanced decision based on what kills more people
