Session One

Types of research articles

• Theoretical

• Empirical

Empirical Research

• Is the process whereby questions are raised and answers are explored by carefully gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data

Examples of Research Questions

• What factors cause stress in college students?• What is the relationship between weight gain

and self esteem?• Why do college students feel stressed during

tests?• Why do some people gain weight faster than

others?

Components of a primary research article

1. Title2. Abstract3. Introduction4. Methodology5. Results6. Discussion/ Conclusion7. References

Title

• A title needs to be concise & shows focus of the study

• Example: Effects of Day Care on the Development of Cognitive Abilities in 8 year-olds: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

• A well written abstract should include:a. Purposeb. Participantsc. Methodd. Main resultse. Interpretation of results/conclusions

Example

• “Abstract: Objective: Experiments have found that pressure to be thin from the media promotes body dissatisfaction and negative affect, but the effects of social pressure to be thin have not been examined experimentally. Thus, this study tested whether social pressure to be thin fosters body dissatisfaction and negative affect. Method: Young women (N=120) were randomly assigned to a condition wherein an ultra-thin confederate complained about how fat she felt and voiced intentions to lose weight or a control condition wherein she discussed a neutral topic. Results: Exposure to social pressure to be thin resulted in increased body dissatisfaction but not negative affect. The effects were not moderated by initial thin ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, or social support. Discussion: Results support the assertion that peer pressure to be thin promotes body dissatisfaction but suggest that this factor may not contribute to negative affect.

Introduction

• The topic/Background information• Importance of the topic• Any theory • Research question/ hypothesis• Definition of any special terminology

Examples of Hypotheses

• Level of income influences the quality of child care.

• The more college students are anxious, the worse they will perform on exams

Definitions of variables

Anxiety • Theoretical definition: “an uncomfortable

feeling of nervousness or worry about something”.

• Operational definition: the score on a test measuring anxiety.

Variables

• Independent variable• Dependent variable

Methodology

The typical subsections in the methodology:• Sample• Research design• Data-collection procedures

Sample

A well written sample section gives:• Characteristics of participants/objects • Rationale of selection

Types of Samples

• Information-rich: used to do an in-depth analysis of some phenomenon

• Representative sample: used to generalize the findings to a larger group of people (target population)

Sampling procedures

A

C B

D

C

AB

Target Population

SampleGENERALIZE

SELECTION

Adapted from: Perry, p.60

The sample is not fully representative

Design

Research DesignTypes of design1. Basic 2. Qualitative3. Exploratory

AppliedQuantitativeConfirmatory

BASIC APPLIED

• Basic research is highly theoretical

• Applied research is very practical

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

• Information-rich samples

• Verbal data• Data are analyzed

for patterns, comparisons and contrasts

• Representative samples

• Numerical data• Statistics are used to

generalize to populations

EXPLORATORY CONFIRMATORY

• A study is exploring some phenomenon before the development of any hypothesis

• A study is trying to confirm a hypothesis

Data – Collection Procedures

Instruments or observational procedures.

surveys tests personal interviews observations

Data collection

• Triangulation of data collection means the researcher(s) used many procedures to collect their data

Data analysis

• Reliability the consistency of the results. • Validity the accuracy of instrument

or procedure

Results

The results of the data analysis are given in the form of:

• Numerical data statistics • Verbal data patterns

P-value

• The p-value represents the probability of error that is involved in accepting our observed result as "representative of the population."

P- value

• The p-value of .05 is acceptable. • Results at p < .01 level statistically

significant• Results at p  <.005 or p  <.001 levels highly

significant.

Discussion

Discussion/Conclusion• The results are related to:• Research question(s) and/or any hypothesis• Previous research

Discussion

• Practical implications• Strengths and limitations • Suggestions for further research