WEEK #1 - research methods

Question 1

what are the three goals of science ?

Answer 1

describe, predict and explain

Question 2

define “describe” :

Answer 2

achieved through careful observation

Question 3

define “predict” :

Answer 3

achieved after sufficient observation of behaviours or events that are systematically related to one another

Question 4

define “explain” :

Answer 4

achieved by determining the causes of behaviours or events

Question 5

basic vs applied research : what is basic research ?

Answer 5

conducted for the sake of achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of a behaviour or events without trying to address any practical problem

Question 6

basic vs applied research : what is applied research ?

Answer 6

conducted to address a practical problem

Question 7

what are the steps of the model of scientific research ?

Answer 7

informal observations/practical problems → research questions →research literature →research questions → empirical study → data analysis → conclusions → research literature

Question 8

what are three important points in finding a research topic ?

Answer 8

• good research required a good foundation in the research question
• process to develop a research question can be stressful and difficult
• inspiration of good research questions can come from a variety of sources (clinical experience, theory and “unanswered questions” in professional literature”)

Question 9

inspiration of good research questions can come from what three variety of sources ?

Answer 9

• clinical experience
• theory
• “unanswered questions” in professional literature”

Question 10

TRUE OR FALSE

previous research is a common source of inspiration for research questions ?

Answer 10

TRUE

Question 11

TRUE OR FALSE

it is not important to conduct a literature review early in the research process which involved a review of research literature ?

Answer 11

FALSE

it IS important to conduct a literature review early in the research process which involved a review of research literature ?

Question 12

TRUE OR FALSE

reviewing the research literature requires you to find, read and summarize the published research ?

Answer 12

TRUE

Question 13

what are some other ways reviewing research literature can also assist you in other ways ?

Answer 13

• it can tell you if a research question has already been answered
• it can help you evaluate the interestingness of a research question
• it can give you ideas for how to conduct your own study
• it can tell you how your study fits into the research literature

Question 14

what are professional journals ?

Answer 14

a scholarly journal addressed to a particular professional audience such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, or accountants and published by a professional organization

Question 15

TRUE OR FALSE

more professional journals require a double blind peer review ?

Answer 15

TRUE

Question 16

TRUE OR FALSE

professional journals will publish a variety of article types but THREE main categories are empirical research reports and review articles ?

Answer 16

FALSE

professional journals will publish a variety of article types but TWO main categories are empirical research reports and review articles ?

Question 17

what are the TWO main categories of professional journals ?

Answer 17

empirical research reports and review articles

Question 18

what are empirical research reports ?

Answer 18

contains research based on observation and experience as opposed to belief or theory

Question 19

what are review articles ?

Answer 19

summarize previously published research

Question 20

professional journals typically publish in one of the following three ways :

Answer 20

1) closed access/traditional
2) open access with peer review
3) predator publishers/”pay to play”

Question 21

define “close access/traditional” :

Answer 21

the reader pays for a subscription to the journal and authors publish for free

Question 22

define “open access with peer review” :

Answer 22

the authors pay a fee to publish in the journal, articles go through a peer-review process and readers can access the journal for free

Question 23

define “predatory publishers/pay to play” :

Answer 23

the authors pay a fee to publish and there is no peer-review process

Question 24

what are scholarly books ?

Answer 24

are written by researchers and practitioners for use by other researchers and practitioners

Question 25

what are monographs ?

Answer 25

is a specialist written work or exhibition on one subject or one aspect of a usually scholarly subject, often by a single author or artist (in a similar fashion to a research article)

Question 26

what are edited volumes ?

Answer 26

have an editor who recruit many authors to write separate chapter son different aspects of the same topic

Question 27

TRUE OR FALSE generally, scholarly books undergo a similar peer review process to professional journals

Answer 27

TRUE

Question 28

what are some examples of tools and resources to conduct a literature search ?

Answer 28

- journal websites - electronic databases - reference sections in articles

Question 29

What are electronic databases ?

Answer 29

indexes multiple journals and allows you to search across them

Question 30

FILL IN THE BLANK __________ typically are the best approach for literature searching

Answer 30

electronic databases

Question 31

what are some examples of electronic databases ?

Answer 31

- pubmed - google scholar - CINAHL - scopus

Question 32

when searching, focus on sources that help you accomplish what four basic things ?

Answer 32

1) refine your research question 2) identify appropriate research methods 3) place you research in the context of previous research 4) write an effective research report

Question 33

TRUE OR FALSE when searching you should limit your search to "recent" articles ?

Answer 33

TRUE

Question 34

good research questions can be generated througha variety of means including ...

Answer 34

clinical experience, theory, or unanswered questions from professional literature

Question 35

good research questions should have one or more of the following objectives :

Answer 35

- evaluation fo measurement tools - descriptive (characterizing clinical disorders) - exploratory (investigating relationships) - comparative (cause-effect relationships)

Question 36

when we say "who are we studying" what does this mean ?

Answer 36

- what is the target population - what is my sampling frame - what characteristics should my sample include - how should I draw my sample

Question 37

TRUE OR FALSE issues surrounding sampling are crucial to the development of a good question

Answer 37

TRUE

Question 38

what do we ask when asking good questions ?

Answer 38

- who ? - what ? - why ? - how ?

Question 39

what do we mean by "the importance of context" ?

Answer 39

important to know what researchers have found in the past (literature searches, conference presentations, opinions of colleagues)

Question 40

TRUE OR FALSE researchers often generate more research questions than they can answer so its important to consider two criteria for evaluating research questions in order to use their time efficiently

Answer 40

TRUE

Question 41

what three factors contribute to interestingness ?

Answer 41

- the answer is in doubt - the answer fills a gap in the research literature - the answer has important practical implications

Question 42

what does "the answer is in doubt" mean ?

Answer 42

there must be a reasonable chance that the answer to the question will be something the tis now already known

Question 43

what does "the answer fills a gap in the research literature" mean ?

Answer 43

if the question has not already been answered by scientific research and would make sense to people who are familiar with the research literature, then the question may be interesting

Question 44

what does "the answer has important practical implications" mean ?

Answer 44

if the answer to a research question has practical implications, then it likely is an interesting research question

Question 45

what does feasibility mean ?

Answer 45

the state or degree of being easily or conveniently done

Question 46

what are some factors that affect feasibility ?

Answer 46

- time - money - equipment - materials - technical knowledge - access to participants

Question 47

what is a theory ?

Answer 47

is a coherent explanation on interpretation of one or more phenomena

Question 48

TRUE OR FALSE theories can be untested but also can be extensively tested, supported and accepted as an accurate description of the phenomena

Answer 48

TRUE

Question 49

what is a hypothesis ?

Answer 49

a specific prediction about a new phenomenon that should be observed if a particular theory is accurate

Question 50

TRUE OR FALSE hypothesis are not often specific predictions about what will happen in a particular study

Answer 50

FALSE hypothesis ARE often specific predictions about what will happen in a particular study

Question 51

TRUE OR FALSE hypothesis are developed by considering existing evidence and using reasoning to infer what will happen in the specific context of interest

Answer 51

TRUE

Question 52

TRUE OR FALSE hypothesis are often but not always derived from theories

Answer 52

TRUE

Question 53

TRUE OR FALSE hypothesis and theories always have this if-then relationship

Answer 53

TRUE

Question 54

a hypothesis can be derived from a theory in multiple ways such as :

Answer 54

- a research question can be generated, and then relevant theories can be explored that may imply an answer to the question - a component of the theory that has not been directly observed can become the focus of a hypothesis

Question 55

what are three characteristics of a good hypothesis ?

Answer 55

1) testable and falsifiable 2) logical 3) positive

Question 56

what does testable and falsifiable mean ?

Answer 56

the hypothesis must be evaluated Ising the methods of science and it must be possible to gather evidencethaet will disconfirm the hypothesis if it is false

Question 57

what does logical mean hypothesis mean ?

Answer 57

hypotheses should be informed by previous theories or observations and logical reasoning

Question 58

what does positive hypothesis mean ?

Answer 58

then hypothesis should make a positive statement about he existence of a relationship or effect, rather than a statement that a relationship or effect does not exist