CADV 352 Chapter 2 Notes PDF

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Download CADV 352 Chapter 2 Notes PDF

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CADV 352: Applied Social Development Chapter 2 Summary: Research Methods – Tools for Discovery Scientific Method, Hypotheses, and Questions  Following the scientific method, social development researchers use reliable and replicable techniques to collect and analyze data to answer their questions or test their theory‐based hypotheses. Research Methods: Correlations and Experiments  The correlational method involves computing associations between pairs of variables, varying from –1.0 to +1.0. Correlated variables are related to each other, but one does not necessarily cause the other.  A laboratory experiment permits a researcher to establish a causal association by manipulating the independent variable and assessing the effect on the dependent variable in a controlled setting. Researchers randomly assign participants to experimental and control groups.  One way to increase ecological validity is to conduct a laboratory analogue experiment, trying to duplicate in the laboratory features or events from everyday life.  Another way to increase ecological validity is to conduct a field experiment, deliberately producing a change in a real‐life setting and measuring the outcome.  In a natural experiment, the investigator measures the effect of a naturally occurring change. Interpreting the results is challenged by the fact that the researcher lacks control over the independent variable and other factors that could affect behavior.  Lab and field designs can be combined to permit the introduction of the independent variable in the field and measurement of the dependent variable in the lab, or the independent variable can be introduced in the lab and the dependent outcome is measured in the field.  The case study method takes an in‐depth look at a single child or a small group of children who often have some uncommon feature that makes them of special interest. Study of Change over Time  In the cross‐sectional method, researchers compare groups of children of different ages. This approach is economical, but it yields no information about change or causes of change. The longitudinal method overcomes these two drawbacks because the researcher examines the same children at different times in their lives. Longitudinal research has disadvantages that include high cost, loss of subjects, untested age‐cohort effects, and limited flexibility to incorporate new measures.  The cross‐sequential method combines features of cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies and enables researchers to compare groups of children of different ages, track individual children as they get older, and compare age cohorts. Sample Selection  Samples should be representative of the population of interest to the researcher. Stratified sampling can be used to ensure that subgroups of boys and girls or individuals from different ethnic or social class groups are represented in the same proportions as they exist in the population. Data Collection and Analysis  Self‐reports provide information about children's thoughts, attitudes, and feelings. In the experience sampling method, a beeper signals children to record their activities, thoughts, and emotions at random times.  The accuracy of reports from parents, siblings, teachers, or peers can be improved by focusing on recent events and using structured procedures such as daily diaries, phone calls, or other ecological momentary assessment methods.  A focus group allows children or adults to share their views about different aspects of children's social experience. This strategy is especially useful in the early stages of a research project or with a new cultural group.  Observations can occur in natural settings, such as a child's home, or in a laboratory. One limitation is that when children and parents know they are being watched, they act in more socially acceptable ways. To minimize such distortions, researchers try to observe unobtrusively for relatively long periods. A structured observation allows researchers to observe children performing in specific situations that occur infrequently in normal everyday life.  Researchers can record everything the participant does (a specimen record), record only particular events (event sampling), identify which behaviors of a predetermined set occurred during a particular time period (time sampling), or record events in order of occurrence (sequential observation).  Ethnographic data collection involves becoming a participant observer by spending time with community members and recording information about their activities and the setting.  To study infants, who cannot express their thoughts and preferences verbally, researchers use nonverbal responses such as visual preferences, habituation to stimuli, physical movement, and sucking patterns.  Psychophysiological assessments of heart rate, respiration rate, brain activity, and hormone levels are useful for obtaining information about children's responses to social situations and stress.  In qualitative studies, researchers search for meaningful themes in transcripts of interviews or participant observations. In quantitative studies, statistical analyses are performed to determine differences between groups of children or associations between variables. Multiple regression analysis is used to examine associations among a number of variables, and can also provide insights into the mechanisms (i.e., mediators) by which and conditions under which (i.e., moderators) two variables are associated with each other.

Ethics 

Ethical issues are a major consideration in research on children. Guidelines for ethical treatment include the right to assent and the right not to be harmed. To determine whether research procedures are ethical, costs to participants are carefully weighed against the potential benefits to the participants or society....