Research Hypotheses and

Questions
 Research Hypotheses and
Questions
• Research hypotheses
• Directional
– Is a prediction of a study outcome.
• First grade girls will perform better on a reading
comprehension test than first grade boys.
• Children shown an adult interacting aggressively
towards a doll will engage in more violent acts than
children who observe an adult interact non-
aggressively with the same doll.
 Research Hypotheses and
Questions (cont.)
• Non-directional
– Girls will score differently than boys on a
measure of self esteem.
– The reading achievement of students
exposed to phonics instruction will differ from
students exposed to whole language
instruction.
 Research Hypotheses and
Questions
• Research Question
– Differ from hypotheses by the generality of the
question.
• How do students perceive the new curriculum?
• How do students of minority groups interpret that
way they are represented in the media?
Variables
 Measurement
• Is the assignment of numerals to objects.
• Nominal
– Examples: Gender, party affiliation, and place of birth
• Ordinal
– Examples: SES, Student rank, and Place in race
• Interval
– Examples: Test scores, personality and attitude scales.
• Ratio
– Examples: Weight, length, reaction time, and number of
responses
 Understanding Variables and
Hypotheses
• Objects
– Things that one does research on.
• People, districts, nations, etc.
• Properties of objects
– Give us a way to talk about how objects are
alike and how they differ.
• Scores
– Values on the property of interest
• Must be at least two.
 Values
• Exhaustive
– Must be able to assign a value to all objects.
• Mutually Exclusive
– Each object can only be assigned one of a set
of values.
• A variable with only one value is not a
variable.
– It is a constant.
 How variables are used
• Two major piles
– Descriptive and causal
• Descriptive
– Describes a population in relation to one or more
variables.
• Sex bias in textbooks
• Trends in dropout rates
• Causal
– Does A cause B
– Associations between A and B
• Is the observed relationship greater than would be expected
by chance?
 Hypothesis
• A proposed explanation for a
phenomenon.
– Two types
• Casual order - 'A causes B'
• Empirical generalizations – ‘A is related to B’
Sorting Out Variables in a Study
• Purpose of most empirical studies in
behavioral research is to identify causal
relationships.
– Independent variables (IV)
• Causes, determinants, predictors, factors.
– Dependent variables (DV)
• Consequences, outcomes, effects
 Dissecting Hypotheses
1. Identify the two variables and sort them
into IV and DV.
2. Describe each variable.
• Object, property, mode of variation,
elaborate on mode of variation.
3. Specify the relationship expected
between the two variables.
4. Note the unit of analysis implied or
actually used.
 Additional comments
• Simple Hypotheses have only two variables--bivariate
relations.
– H.1: Authoritarian principals are more effective than non-authoritarian principals
• What are the names of the two variables?
• How do they vary?

• Complex Hypotheses have more than two variables

– H.1: Authoritarian principals are more effective than non-authoritarian principals
when goals are clear, but non-authoritarian principals are more effective when
goals are ambiguous.
• What are the names of the three variables?
• How do they vary?
 Practice
• H.1: The greater the weight of a five-year old,
the taller the child.

– What is the object?

– What are the variables?
– What are the names of the variables?
– How do they vary-categorical or continuous?
– What is the independent variable?
– What is the dependent variable?
 Practice
• H.2: Authoritarian principals command more loyalty than
non-authoritarian ones when they have influence, but
non-authoritarian principals command greater loyalty
when principals lack influence.

– What is the object?

– What are the variables?
– What are the names of the variables?
– How do they vary-categorical or continuous?
– What is the independent variable?
– What is the dependent variable?
• H.3. Secondary teachers are more custodial in pupil
control ideology than elementary teachers.

– What is the object?

– What are the variables?
– What are the names of the variables?
– How do they vary-categorical or continuous?
– What is the independent variable?
– What is the dependent variable?
H. 4. Academic achievement will be greater among students
taught by autocratic teachers than those taught by permissive
teachers.

– What is the object?

– What are the variables?
– What are the names of the variables?
– How do they vary-categorical or continuous?
– What is the independent variable?
– What is the dependent variable?
 The Ethics of
Using Human Participants
• Ethics
– the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a
particular class of human actions or a
particular group, culture, etc.
– the principles of conduct governing an
individual or a profession
 Ethical Issues
• A questionnaire on alcohol use seeks
information about growing up in an alcoholic
family.
• Students in an intro psychology class get extra
credit for completing a survey.
• Respondents to a survey are offered monetary
compensation for completing the survey.
• A questionnaire on workplace stress asks
teachers how often they drink alcohol.
 The History of
Human Participants Ethics
• The Need for Action
– Nazi Doctors
• The Nuremburg Code
(1949).
– The Tuskegee Syphilis
Experiment (1930 –
1972)
– The Milgram Study
(1961-1962)
 Milgram Experiment
• Social scientists wanted to know how people like
Hitler and Mussolini were able to get soldiers
and citizens to do terrible things.
• Participants were led to believe they were part of
a teaching and memory study in which they
would shock another person (the “student”) if he
could not remember a word correctly.
• Participants were told to continue by
experimenter (the “scientist”) even if the student
protested in pain.
 Milgram (cont.)
• Based on this research, we found out the people
will often follow authority figures to extremes. In
fact 2/3 of the subjects were willing to shock the
student to the maximum, dangerous level.
• Participants were most likely to “go all the way”
when the “scientist” was wearing a lab coat and
had a clipboard, he deferred the responsibility to
science, and the “student” was out of view
• In order to discover this knowledge however,
researchers produced extreme anxiety in
participants.
• Was it worth it?
 1974
• The Belmont Report
– Respect for Persons
– Beneficence
– Justice
• The National Research Act
– Research plans must be approved
– Do no harm (physically or mentally)
– Informed Consent
• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (The
Buckley Amendment)
– Confidentiality of Data
– “Legitimate Educational Interest”
 Question
• “Any sort of study that is likely to cause
lasting, or even serious harm or discomfort
to any participant should not be
conducted, unless the research has the
potential to provide information of extreme
benefit to humans”
– Would you agree? If so, why? What might be
an example of such information?
 Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes
• 1968 - Jane Elliot, grade school teacher in Iowa conducted a
classroom experiment to test whether racism was a learned
characteristic
• Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes - an experiment to “create racism”
• Jane Elliot divided her 4th grade class into two groups based on eye
color
• The Brown eyed group were told they were superior due to the
amount of melanin, a color-causing chemical in their blood.
• Were told the blue eyed group were stupid, lazy and not to be
trusted
• Blue eyed group were given strips of cloth to be worn around their
necks for easy identification
 Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes
• Blue Eyed Group
• Were not allowed to drink
directly from water fountains
• Weren’t allowed second
helpings at lunch
• Were given shorter recess
What do you think happened?
• Brown Eyed Group
• Were allowed to boss the blue
eyed group
• Could have second helpings at
lunch
• Were given a longer recess
 Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes
• Results: Blue Eyed • Results: Brown
Group Eyed Group
– Those of the "inferior" – Students of the
"superior" color began
color exhibited
to oppress those of the
negative feelings of "inferior" color
self-loathing and fear
 Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes
• Jane Elliot concluded from the experiment
that racism is indeed a learned
characteristic
• She went on to replicate the experiment
with similar results
• Ethical Question:
– Does what was learned from the experiment
justify the psychological trauma experienced
by some of the students?
 Informed Consent
• Participant must be aware of what they
will be asked to do in the study.
• Participant must freely choose to
participate. (“participants are given
explicit assurances of the voluntary
nature of their involvement”)
• Consent must come from guardian for
minors and those with diminished
capacity. They themselves should give
assent.
 Informed Consent
• Participants are free to withdraw at any
time.
• Information should be given in language
the participant can understand.
• The information should help them
decide whether to participate.
• Information must include risks and
benefits.
 Consent vs. Assent
• Take a look at the consent and assent
forms.
• How do they differ?
• As a parent would you give your consent?
– Why or why not?
 Research With Children
• Studies using children as participants present some special issues
for researchers.
• The young are more vulnerable, have fewer legal rights, and may not
understand the language of informed consent.
• The following guidelines below need to be considered:
– Informed consent of the parents or guardians is required regarding the
use of minors as subjects
– Researchers do not present themselves as diagnosticians or counselors
in reporting results to parents, nor do they report information given by
children in confidence
– Children may never be coerced into participation in any study
– Any form of remuneration for the child’s services does not affect the
application of these ethical principles
 Case Study
Surveyed Asian and Pacific Islander high school students
regarding their sexual practices. Individuals unaffiliated with
school proctored the survey. The school district notified
parents of the survey and gave them the opportunity to sign
a form denying permission for their children to participate.
Students could also decline participation, and the names of
the students completing the survey were not recorded.
Respondents were instructed to skip items they preferred
not to answer.

What aspects of the study cause concern?

 Question
• Identify and Discuss a research study that
would present ethical problems if done
with children but not if done with adults.
 Confidentiality
• Personally identifying information will be
minimized
• Access to data and all records will be
restricted to those with Legitimate
Interest
• Anonymous vs. Confidential
Participation
 Three Levels of IRB Review
• Exempted Review
– Secondary Data
– Surveys, Interviews, Public Observations, Educational Tests
– Educational Settings
• Expedited Review
– Studies involving minimal risk
– Studies involving children, prisoners, pregnant women,
mentally disabled, in-vitro fertilization, “other vulnerable
populations”
– blood samples, other biological specimens collected without
invasion
– “collection of data from voice, video, digital, or image
recordings made for research purposes”
• Full Review
• ALL RESEARCH SHOULD BE REVIEWED.
 Question
• Sometimes the design of a study makes
necessary the use of concealment or
deception.
– Discuss how you feel about using
concealment and/or deception.
– Can you suggest a circumstance when
deception might be justified?
 Deception in Research
• Psychologists do not conduct a study involving
deception unless they have determined that the use
of deceptive techniques is justified by the study’s
value and that equally effective alternative
procedures are not feasible
• Never deceive participants about significant aspects
that would affect their willingness to participate, such
as physical risks, discomfort, or unpleasant emotional
experience.
• Any deception used must be explained to participants
as early as is feasible, preferably at the end of
participation, but no later than the conclusion of the
research
 Debriefing
• Provide prompt opportunity for participants to
obtain appropriate info about the nature,
results, and conclusion
– Correct any misconceptions
– If a delay is justified reduce the risk of harm
• The psychologist must take reasonable
measures to honor all commitments made to
research participants
• the experimenter is duty-bound to make
certain that the debriefing returns them to
their "pre-experimental state."
 Question
• Are there any research questions that
should not be investigated in schools? If
so, give an example and explain why you
feel it is inappropriate.
 Havasupai Issue
• What happened to the Havasupai?
• Why are the questions the researchers
asked offensive to some Havasupai?
• Do you think the researchers behaved in
an ethical manner?
• What are the future consequences of the
researchers’ actions?
 Questions
• Suppose a researcher wants to keep a
class of third-grade children in from recess
to administer and attitude-towards-school
scale. The purpose is to help teachers
understand their students’ attitudes and
how they might affect students’
achievements.
– Is there a potential for harm in this case?
– Would it be wise to seek informed consent
from parents?
• Why? Why not?
• A researcher interviewed adolescents on
their possible us of marijuana (with their
informed consent). During the course of
the interviews, some participants named
other individuals who use marijuana but
had not provided informed consent.
– Does this raise ethical concerns?
– What, if anything, can the researcher do to
protect the other individuals?
• Suppose one of your instructors asked
you to be a participant in a research
project but did not tell you the purpose
of the research.
– Would you ask for information on these
points before deciding whether to
participate?
– Would you feel pressured to participate?