CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES ON

ANXIETY, MOOD AND STRESS

GENS 0005

LECTURE TOPIC ONE (B): WHAT IS

SCIENCE?

DR. JOSHUA M. BRODERICK

What is the process of science? What is the scientific method?

Theory (research questions)

Hypothesis/collecting data (experiments)

Analysing the data (checking results)

Interpreting the results

Updating the theory

Testing new ideas

What are the main types of experiments (procedures)?

True experiment

Correlational study

Quasi-experimental study

Case study

What is a true experiment?

These are conducted to test the theory and more specifically the hypotheses which are based on the theory

and previous results.

Experiments require variables

Independent Variable: A variable that the experimenter manipulates to examine its impact on

the measured variable (i.e. the dependent variable)

Dependent Variable: The measured outcome of a study, or the response of the subjects in the study.

HeoTypewritten Textit is highly controlled experimentpure experiment. any things is not true experiment is more opento more bias and error.

HeoTypewritten Text/ve ri ble/

HeoTypewritten Textallow to change and vary and often times they manipulate intentionally by the experiment => what impact on dependent variable

HeoTypewritten Textindependent: what u manipulating: on/offdependent: how much water comes out

What is a true experiment?

Theory: Watching television causes you to become alcoholic

Hypothesis: Watching 4 hours of TV per day will make you drink more alcoholic drinks than if you watch no TV

This is a hypothesis because:

It is a prediction in a specific direction (wrong = drinking alcohol is related to TVwatching)

It is measurable (we can measure the amount of television watched and the amount of alcohol drunk)

It is replicable (another person can conduct the exact same experiment somewhere else)

It is falsifiable (we can find evidence within the context of this experiment that contradicts our theory)

causes

HeoTypewritten Textgood about

HeoTypewritten Textc th sai lch, c th lm gi mo (ti liu)

What is a true experiment?

Theory: Watching television causes you to become alcoholic

Hypothesis: Watching 4 hours of TV per day will make you drink more alcoholic drinks than if you watch no TV

Independent Variable: Amount of TV watched

Condition One: 4 hours TV per day in a week

Condition Two: No TV in week

Dependent Variable: Amount of alcohol consumed before and after experiment manipulation

Measured: Number of standard drinks per day

Note: these variables must be operationalised!

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

How would you measure the below concepts?

Love

Sadness

Height

Green

Ham sandwich Anxiety

Depression

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

Note: Some things are easier to defineothers are more difficult because they are abstract concepts (not concrete)

Love

Sadness

Height

Green

Ham sandwich Anxiety

Depression

HeoTypewritten Textoperationalise a variable refer to how u will define and measure a specific variable as it is used in yourstudy

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

Lets operationalise these concrete terms:

Height = the number of centimeters from the top to bottom of an object

Ham sandwich = two slices of bread with some ham in the middle (perhaps some butter and mustard too!)

Green = Those wavelengths of light ranging between 520570 nanometres

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

The purpose of these definitions is to allow us to measure a certain concept.

That is what it means to operationalise something to derive a system whereby objective tangible measurement is possible.

Let us think again about how we might operationalise the abstract concepts

mentioned before that is, how would you design a system to measure the concepts in an objective and tangible manner?

While you are doing this, think about whether or not you believe it would be

possible to design a 100% objective and accurate operationalisation for these

concepts?

Love Sadness

Anxiety Depression

How would you measure each of these abstract concepts?

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

LoveNumber of hugs between two

people over a period of one

year

Frequency and duration of

physical intimacy over a

period of one year

Increase in blood levels of

Oxytocin over a period of one

year

Amount of love a person

reports feeling for another on

a scale from 1-5

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

LoveNumber of hugs between two

people over a period of one

year

Frequency and duration of

physical intimacy over a

period of one year

Increase in blood levels of

Oxytocin over a period of one

year

Amount of love a person

reports feeling for another on

a scale from 1-5The number and variety of ways to operationalise

(measure) love is infinite.

This is because the concept is abstract. It only exists

insomuch as we have labeled it.

This does not mean we should not try to define it,

measure it, study it but it does mean there will be disagreement over what we accept as a good

operationalisation of it and the definition may change over time

LoveSternberger

Triangular Love Scale (cited from Sternberger,

1997)

1 3 5 7 9Not at all Somewhat Moderately Quite Extremely

Please make a rating of the extent to which you

agree with the following statements:

Love has been operationalised as

comprising three separate abstract

concepts (Intimacy, Passion and

Commitment).

Each of these is measured by a score

on the questionnaire.

The higher the score on the

questionnaire the more love an

individual is theorised to possess.

Here we can see that operationalisation

can be driven largely by theory this theory suggests that love is

multifaceted

What is a true experiment?

Independent Variable: Amount of TV watched

Condition One: 4 hours TV per day in a week

Condition Two: No TV in week

This is a control variable. A control variable allows us to infer causation to a greater extent. We can infer

the impact of watching TV because, all things being

equal, we know what the impact of not watching TV

is (we can compare)

What is a true experiment?

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

No TV group TV group

Num

be

r of drinks p

er

week

What is a correlational study?

A correlational study is one where researchers try to show the relationship (or correlation) between two variables

Only have dependent variables

Only observing not manipulating anything

What is a correlational study?

Positive correlation

As one event tends to increase, the second event tends to increase

Positive associations may be stronger or weaker

What is a correlational study?

Negative correlation

As one event tends to increase, the second event tends to decrease

Negative associations may be stronger or weaker

Strong - correlation

What is a correlational study?

Perfect positive correlation

Means that an increase in one event is always matched by an equal increase in a second event

Almost never observed in research settings

Zero correlation

There is no relationship between the occurrence of one event and the occurrence of a second event

Often observed in research e.g., hypotheses not supported

Perfect correlation

Zero correlation