1

Chapter 1

The Role and

Importance of

Research

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

2

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

� What Research Is and Isn’t

� A Model of Scientific Inquiry

� Different Types of Research

� Experimental Research

� What Method to Use When

� Applied and Basic Research

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

3

WHAT IS RESEARCH

ALL ABOUT, ANYWAY?

Increasing our understanding of how and why we behave the way we do!!

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

4

A THEORY

� Organizes information

� Helps explain past events

� Predicts new events

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

5

RESEARCH IS BASED ON

THE WORK OF OTHERS

� Past research guides new research

� Research is NOT copying the work of others

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

6

RESEARCH CAN BE

REPLICATED

� Repeatability is a sign of credible science

� Replication guides future research

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

7

RESEARCH IS

GENERALIZABLE

� Research should apply to situations

outside of the study setting

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

8

RESEARCH IS NOT DONE IN

INTELLECTUAL ISOLATION

� It is based on some logical rationale

� It is tied to theory

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

9

RESEARCH IS “DOABLE”

� Good research questions can be

translated into projects that can be done!

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

10

RESEARCH IS ONGOING

� Research generates new questions

� Research is incremental

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

11

RESEARCH IS APOLITICAL

� Research should have the betterment of

society as its ultimate goal

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

12

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

� A shared philosophical approach to

understanding the world

� A standard sequence of steps in

formulating and answering questions

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

13

The steps in the research process

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

14

QUESTIONS

� Asking a question

� Identifying a need

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

15

IDENTIFYING IMPORTANT

FACTORS

� Not fully investigated

� Advance understanding

� Can be investigated

� Are interesting

� Lead to more questions

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

16

FORMULATING A

HYPOTHESIS

� “If…then” statements

� Objective extension of the original question

� In a testable form

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

17

COLLECTING RELEVANT

INFORMATION

� Hypotheses posit a relationship between different factors

� Data are collected that will confirm or refute the hypothesis

� Hypotheses are testable (not provable)

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

18

TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS

� Inferential statistics

� Separate effects of factors from effects of chance

� Assign a probability level to obtained data

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

19

WORKING WITH THE

HYPOTHESIS

� If the hypothesis is confirmed� Plan new research

� If the hypothesis is refuted� Try to understand what other factors might be

important

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

20

RECONSIDERING THE

THEORY

� Theories can be modified

� Leading to new questions

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

21

DIFFERENT TYPES OF

RESEARCH

� Nature of question asked

� Method used to answer question

� Degree of precision of method

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

22

NONEXPERIMENTAL

RESEARCH

� Describe relationships between variables

� Cannot test cause-and-effect relationships

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

23

NONEXPERIMENTAL

METHODS

� Descriptive

� Historical

� Correlational

� Qualitative

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

24

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

� Describes characteristics of existing phenomena

� Provides a broad picture

� Serves as a basis for other types of research

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

25

HISTORICAL RESEARCH

� Describes past events in the context of other

past or current events

� Primary and secondary sources of data

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

26

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

� Asks what several events have in common

� Asks whether knowing one event can

allow prediction of another event

� Does not imply causation

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

27

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

� Examines behavior in natural social, cultural,

and political contexts

� Usually results in non-quantitative data

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

28

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

� Tries to discover causal relationships

� Two types:

� True experimental research

� Quasi-experimental research

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

29

TRUE EXPERIMENTAL

RESEARCH

� Participants assigned to groups

� Treatment variable is controlled by

researcher

� Control of potential causes of behavior

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

30

QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL

RESEARCH

� Participants are preassigned to groups

� Useful when researcher cannot manipulate variables

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

31

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH METHODS

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

32

WHAT METHOD TO

USE WHEN?

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

33

BASIC VS. APPLIED RESEARCH

� Basic research has no immediate application

� Applied research has immediate applications

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

34

SUMMARY - STUDENTS SHOULD BE

ABLE TO:

� Define basic terms related to research and the scientific method.

� List eight (8) characteristics of high-quality research.

� Summarize the eight (8) steps in the scientific method.

� Describe the difference between experimental and nonexperimental research.

� List the three (3) different types of nonexperimental research designs.

� List the two (2) types of experimental research designs.

� Distinguish between basic research and applied research.

� Explain why a strong scientific method of inquiry will lead to valuable information regardless of significant or nonsignificant findings.

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.