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Running Header: Methods & Ethics

The Methods and Ethics of Psychology

Elizabeth Hall

Kaplan University

SS124-02 Introduction to Psychology

Stacy Daniels

09.07.2010

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The Methods and Ethics of Psychology

What are Research Questions and Hypothesis?

A research question is one of the most important steps in a project, and is one of the first

steps to beginning a research project. In order to have effective research, a scientist must be

extremely clear on what it is he is studying. The research question is the formal statement that

clearly defines the actual goal of the study, and is the backbone of the research project upon

which all other components of the project follow in rational order. A very general example of a

research question would be; “what is the effect of something on something (Marion, 2004)”?

After a research question is developed, the next step is to formulate a hypothesis. This is

a clearly defined and testable forecast of what the research study an attempt to answer that is

based on a theory about a causal relationship (Gilbert, Schacter, & Wegner, 2009). A hypothesis

can be either proven or disproven, depending on the outcome of the study. An example of a

hypothesis based on the fact that Michelle has a runny nose would be; taking an antihistamine

would dry her nose up.

If Conducting a Study I Would Choose

The research methodology that I would choose if conducting a study is the

experimentation method. The reason I like this kind of research is because I am interested in

why we do things instead of what we do. There is another methodology for causation,

correlation, which involves observing the synchronization of variation patterns in two variables,

but because of the Third Variable Problem, is not as definitive as the experimentation method.

The experimentation method allows us to draw conclusions that seem more valid in my opinion.

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In conducting an experiment, one would first have to determine what your independent

variable, and your dependent variable is. An independent variable is a variable that the scientists

manipulate, while the dependent variable is the value that the experiment is based on. The next

step is establishing both a control and an experimental group, randomly so that there is equal

representation of types of participants in either group, but neither group knows what group they

are in. The control group will not be exposed to the stimulus being studied, while the

experimental group will be. (Gilbert, Schacter, & Wegner, 2009)

Perspectives on Ethical Issues

In making the decision to conduct an experiment, there are various ethical issues that

must be considered before beginning, which have been decreed by the American Psychological

Association (APA). Before selecting participants, we must establish what compensation they

will receive, such as reimbursement for travel expenses or small monetary amounts for time

compensation. When selecting the participants, we must have them sign an informed consent.

We also have to consider what adverse affect the independent and dependent variables would

have on the participants. (Gilbert, Schacter, & Wegner, 2009)

Psychologists, according to Gilbert, Schacter, and Wegner (2009), must take all

preventative measures to ensure that their experiments are safe and if safety is an issue, they may

not perform the study at all. When the study is over participants would have to be debriefed,

especially if the independent variable that is manipulated is kept secret. These ethical situations

must be considered in the planning stages of the experiment.

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Drawing Conclusions in Studies

When all techniques are applied to the data from a study, it is possible to design an

experiment to draw scientifically valid conclusions from the knowledge gained. Scientists do

this by designing an experiment that has internal validity. What this entails is that an independent

variable is successfully manipulated. The participants of the groups are randomly assigned to

ensure equality of participant type. . (Gilbert, Schacter, & Wegner, 2009)

It is also necessary to have a dependent variable quantified in a completely unbiased

fashion. The dependent variable must have compelling and reliable measurement. Another

condition of internal validity is that there must be a correlation between the pattern of variation

in the dependent variable and independent variables. Doing these things allows is to conclude

that the changes that were manipulated in the independent value were the cause of the calculated

changes in the dependent variable. . (Gilbert, Schacter, & Wegner, 2009)

Given the Opportunity to Conduct a Study

If I were given the opportunity to conduct my own study, because of the nature of the

subject, it would have to be conducted with the case study method since I am interested in a very

specialized group of people known to society as serial killers. This subject has been a long time

interest of mine, because I cannot understand the lack of empathy that they have. I hope to

design a study that would answer the question “why do serial killers kill?” This would help me

both professionally and personally.

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Professionally, the science involved in studying matters such as this is a new and open

field. There are other people already looking for this answer, and if science can figure out

definitively why people commit this horrible crime, they can begin to prevent juveniles from

growing up and turning into these predators. This might also reduce recidivism for other crimes

because people do not just wake up one morning and become a serial killer; usually they start out

with other crimes as juveniles. On a personal level, I was in roughly 17 or so when I read about

Richard Ramirez, and his crimes and I have been trying to find out the answer since that time.

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References:

Gilbert, D. T., Schacter, D.L. & Wegner, D. M. (2009). Psychology. New York: Worth

Publishing.

Marion, R. Ph.D. (2004). The Whole Art of Deduction: Research Skills for New Scientists.

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