Veronica Diaz, PhD

Introductions Syllabus /Course

OverviewGmail account setupGoogle docs overviewWork in Google docs Chapters 1, 2,

Appendix A

Deliverables Research Proposal ▪ Research Questions▪ Introduction▪ Literature Review▪ Methodology▪ RP Draft ▪ RP Final ▪ Oral Defense

4 anatomy questions Analytical frame

review Course exam

Readings Cozby Articles (proposal

research and CD) Grading Schedule

Deliverables and points Overall

Course management http://www.slideshare.net/dr

vdiaz

Google Docs

12/3 CLASS

http://www.doodle.ch/participation.html?pollId=sga324davc2wdnfu

10/29 CLASS

http://www.doodle.ch/participation.html?pollId=2sx94reescy9hv4v

Create a Gmail account Go to google.com Go to gmail Sign in or sign up

Go to http://tinyurl.com/6p3kvp Fill in your gmail

account Google Docs tour

http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html

Source: Shelley Rodrigo http://maricopatech.wetpaint.com/page/Google+Docs 5

DISCLAIMERS

These online office tools are not as robust as MS Office programs

Does not yet interface (upload or download) in MS Office 2007 file formats

Need to set up a Gmail account to use

TIPS

If you need polished formatting, develop content in Google Docs then download to Office to do final formatting and printing

Can insert comments, tables, headers/footers, etc.

Source: Shelley Rodrigo http://maricopatech.wetpaint.com/page/Google+Docs 6

Simplified MSWord-like Toolbar

Share work Peer review Collaborators-people

can make changes Viewers-view only

mode Directions on how

to share docs with others

Tracking revisions "history" of changes

that are made, can revert

Exporting different file types

Facilitates drafting process

Source: Shelley Rodrigo http://maricopatech.wetpaint.com/page/Google+Docs 7

Career aspirations in 5 years Background in research and

statisticsUndergraduate major

Scientific Understanding of Behavior

Explain the reasons for understanding research methods

Describe the scientific approach to learning about behavior, and contrast it with pseudoscientific research

Define and give examples of the four goals of scientific research: description, prediction, determination of cause, and explanation of behavior

Define and describe basic and applied research

Increasingly important in public policy and judicial decisions

Important when developing and assessing the effectiveness of goal oriented programs

Organizations are increasingly becoming data-driven organizations

Analytics in HEDRetentionEnrollment

management Early-Alert

Limitations of Intuition

Intuition relies unquestioningly on personal judgment Erroneous conclusions about

cause and effect

Illusory correlation

Examples of Authority

News media, Books, Government officials, Religious figures

Limitations of Authority

Many believe statements based on authority; scientific approach rejects this notion and requires much more evidence before conclusions can be drawn

Skepticism, Science, and the Empirical ApproachEmpiricismFalsifiabilityPeer review

Credentials Conflict of interest Verifiability

Hypotheses generated are not typically testable

If scientific tests are reported, methodology is not scientific and validity of data is questionable

Supportive evidence is anecdotal and does not cite scientific references

Claims tend to be vague, and appeal to pre-conceived ideas

Claims ignore conflicting evidence

Claims are never revised

Description of Behavior [notes]Prediction of BehaviorDetermining the Causes of Behavior

Temporal precedence Covariation of the cause and effect Alternative explanations

Explanation of Behavior Determining “why” something is

happening or not

Basic ResearchFundamental questions

about the nature of behavior- Theoretical issues often

concern basic phenomena such as cognition, emotion, motivation, learning, psychobiology, personality development, and social behavior.

- May have no practical application.

Applied ResearchConducted to

address issues in which there are practical problems and potential solutions.

Program evaluationGovernment EducationHealth careCriminal justice Industry Mental health

Comparing Basic and Applied Research Neither is considered

superior to the other

Applied research is often guided by theories and findings of basic research

Findings in applied settings often require modification of existing theories and spur more basic research

Basic research is crucial to public policy

How to Write a Research Proposal

Research Proposal Guides and Other Resources

Dissertation Proposal Workshop

Where to Start

Discuss how a hypothesis differs from a prediction

Describe the different sources of ideas for research, including common sense, observation, theories, past research, and practical problems

Identify the two functions of a theory Summarize the fundamentals of conducting

library research in psychology, including the use of PsycINFO

Summarize the information included in the abstract, introduction, method, results, and discussion sections of research articles

Hypothesis: A tentative idea or question that is waiting for evidence to support or refute it

Prediction: A statement that makes an assertion concerning what will occur in a particular research investigation

Sources of Ideas Common Sense Observation of the World

Around Us Theories

Organize and explain

Generate new knowledge

Modified by new research

Past Research Practical Problems

Terminology: Who We Study Participants (APA

preferred) Subjects Respondents Informants

The journal has “instructions to authors” about the submission guidelines and peer-review process.

The article is written by the researchers that conducted the study.

In addition to the title and author information, the article includes abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion and reference sections.

Experts in the author’s field

review the theoretical basis, methodology, statistical analyses and interpretation of findings.

The editor and/or reviewers decide whether or not to accept the article for publication.

The intended audience is scholars that have knowledge in or are interested in the field.

The article is not written for profit.

NAU Library: http://library.nau.edu/

Custom tutorials http://www2.nau.edu/jaggers

/

The Nature of Journals Where researchers publish

the results of their studies Online Sources

Psychological Abstracts PsycINFO

Electronic index of all abstracts from 1800s to present

PsycFIRST Electronic index of all

abstracts published in last 3 years

Know the journals in your field http://homepages.wmich.e

du/~abeach/HEjournals.htm

http://www.kennesaw.edu/cetl/resources/journals.html

ERIC: www.eric.ed.gov/journals

CC Review: http://crw.sagepub.com/

CSCC: http://www.cscconline.org/

Snowball research

Some PsychINFO search strategies

Strategy 1: Use fields such as TI and AU.

Example: (divorce) in TI requires that a term appear in the title

Strategy 2: Use AND to limit search

Example: divorce AND child requires both terms to be included

Strategy 3: Use OR to expand search.

Example: divorce OR breakup includes both terms.

Strategy 4: Use NOT to exclude search terms.

Example: shyness NOT therapy excludes shyness with therapyStrategy 5: Use the wildcard asterisk (*)

Example: child* finds any word that begins with these letters

Searcheshttp://scholar.google.com/Professional meeting

searches

COMPONENTS

Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion

YOUR PROPOSAL

Research Questions Hypotheses

Introduction Abstract

Literature Review Significance

Methodology Limitations

Abstract A summary of the

research report 120 words or less Includes the

hypothesis, procedure, and the broad pattern of results

Will be easiest to write this at the end

Introduction Outlines the problems

investigated Past research and

theories relevant to the problems described

Formal hypotheses or specific expectations are introduced and connected to past research

Method Section Subsections depend

on complexity of the design▪ Overview of design▪ Characteristics of

participants▪ Procedure▪ Equipment or testing

materials

Research Questions What will your study

address What do you think

you’ll find (educated guess)

Discussion section Review research from

various perspectives Present methodological

weaknesses and/or strengths

Explain how the results compare with past results

Include suggestions for practical applications

Include suggestions for future research on the topic

Results section Findings presented

three ways:1. Description in narrative

form2. Description in

statistical language3. Material in table or

graphs

Use as a reference Writing style Organization APA style tutorial

http://gseacademic.harvard.edu/~instruct/articulate/APA/player.html

Sample paper

Analytical framework Prompt Example CD articles ▪ Review a few

Research questions Topic ideas on

common google doc Create your own and

share with Veronica

Research topic http://www.educause.edu/

PressReleases/TopTenITIssuesinHigherEducatio/118610

http://www.aascu.org/media/pm/pdf/topten2008.pdf

http://www.aascu.org/policy_matters/topten2008.htm

http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/TopTenITIssues2006/40631

http://www2.nea.org/he/hottoc.html