PSYCH 610 Manipulation Lecture Notes PDF

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PSYCH 610 MANIPULATION LECTURE NOTES Straightforward manipulation is when the manipulation is explained in instructions. The staged manipulation is when during the research an event is staged to see if the results will be altered. Also expectations was interesting to read. To know that the experiementer or even that participant can have certain expectations of the study and that those expectations can alter the research was shocking. The fact that there is so much that can alter a research really makes me think. Looks, stances, wording, ECT it's all so interesting. I noticed while working on assignments I look more deeply at case studies now to find imperfections or even get a more detailed idea of the study method used. So much knowledge this week. I really can't wait to finish up research on my proposal because all of what we have been studying will help me greatly to push for a better juvenile system here. My short term goal is to be on the committee to get a reformer juvenile justice system, and being knowledgeable on research and how to correctly do one is going to be used tremendously. However, other than manipulations I personally had a little hard time as well with the pretest and post test, only because they are similar with one another and they differ with the way they go in steps. " The pretest-posttest design immediately makes us focus on the change from pretest to posttest. This emphasis on change is incorporated into the analysis of the group difference" (Cozby, 2015 Pg. 165). In addition, the pretest is also necessary whenever there is a possibility that the individuals involved in the research are likely to drop out of the experiment, those are called attritions. "Although randomization is likely to produce equivalent groups, it is possible that, with small sample sizes, the groups will not be equal." (Cozby, 2015 Pg. 165) There are so many surveys out there and the ones that can catch the eye of very busy Americans is short, simple, and understanding. Longer surveys can bore people and they will rush through and not answer questions honestly. Ten quesion surveys are hard to set up for researchers. Trying to put all the information that is needed to answer your main hypothesis takes practice and talent in a short survey. The way an investigator ask the questions should be easy to read with no grammatical errors, negative wording, complexity, doublke barreled, and loaded so the participant is able to understand and answer honestly. There is no fine line with following the ethics of retaining participants for a study, they need to be respected, informed, and explain that they can pull out of the study at any time. I loved this week because I was always confused about how these studies are set up. I learned the different designs used in retrieving information for a survey, whether the experiment involves using a large population or a smaller more focused quesitionnaire. Independent group designs, post-test only, pre and post test, repeated measurements, between subjects, and within subjects. So interesting how organized an investor needs to be in order to retrieve good answers and response from their participants. A survey can be used to investigate the characteristics, behaviors, or opinions of a group of people. These research tools can be used to ask questions about demographic information about

characteristics such as sex, religion, ethnicity, and income. They can also collect information on experiences, opinions, and even hypothetical scenarios. For example, researchers might present people with a possible scenario and then ask them how they might respond in that situation. How do researchers go about collecting information using surveys? A survey can be administered in a couple of different ways. In one method known as a structured interview, the researcher asks each participant the questions. In the other method known as a questionnaire, the participant fills out the survey on his or her own. You have probably taken many different surveys in the past, although the questionnaire method tends to be the most common. Now that I look at surveys I tend to look at them in a different way as to see what their effect will be when the outcome ends up. Also how to analyze the data from them and if the questions are ones that will make the person taking the survey to overthink and will that be something that will make the data of the survey to come out differently. When you are dealing with researching and completing a study there are a lot of things that play into it so that your results will be accurate. Where I work we often use surveys to see what the students are liking and what is working out for them. Now with what I have learned in this class I can actually create a survey and know what may be right in it and what may not give an accurate answer. "A confounding variable is a variable that varies along with the independent variable; confounding occurs when the effects of the independent variable and an uncontrolled variable are intertwined so you cannot determine which of the variable is responsible for the observed effect." (Cozby, 2015 Pg. 162) in mores simple terms confounding variables are those that also have an effect on dependent variables. First example I can think of is age as the confounding variable and weight gain as dependent variable. the second example is age to sleep deprivation. One of the most confusing and interesting terms from this week’s literature is manipulated and non-manipulated variables. According to Cozby, (2015), “These designs—sometimes called IV × PV designs (i.e., independent variable by participant variable)—allow researchers to investigate how different types of individuals (i.e., participants) respond to the same manipulated variable” (p.208). It is clear that some variables require manipulation to in order to see if they are the cause of the change in behavior such as increased difficultly in math questions to see if the students are at level and decreased difficulty to adjust for a set demographic. Manipulating an independent variable such as adding or removing memorable images to test memory is one example of adjustment. Manipulating a dependent variable “the dependent variable in most experiments is one of three general types: self-report, behavioral, or physiological” (Cozby, 2015, p. 186). Dependent variables appear to be qualitative in nature with measures of behavior, emotion, and attitude but can be measured with tools that gather empirical data such as bio-metrics, heart rate, respiratory rate, EEG, f-MRI's which can turn emotional responses into usable data supported by science. Variable manipulation is vital to working with children in special education therefore I already utilize this method in my career and at home with my child with Asperger’s to refine therapy, teaching methods, and emotional imbalances in order to achieve greater academic and emotional success. Items that are confusing to me are how to select the exact variable and how to eliminate or reduce confounding variables from interfering with results. I would like to learn more about when to utilize controls and change variables for future research.

The most interesting points from this week’s chapters is the construction of surveys and determining questions that are concise, appropriate, and do not force participants in a specific direction. Some items to look out for when constructing survey questions are; negative wording, complexity, double-barreled, loaded, grammatically incorrect (Cozby, 2015). Complexity of questions should be considered with sensitivity, ceiling and floor effect forcing results to a specific direction. Easy questions leading results to higher levels of accuracy. On the contrary the harder questions showing greater deficits as the questions are too complex and not relevant to the demographic being studied. Every step of construction for the survey or study must be carefully planned out to prevent biased answers and inaccurate results. I will apply the lessons from the literature and furthered research of supporting articles in my work when applicable and in my daily life by analyzing survey’s I am requested to fill out to look for any inappropriate questions that can lead to a specific answer. It is unclear to me all of the different research design methods and how to prevent confounding variables. I would like to learn how to formulate the specific sample size that would hold relevance to a general demographic. Per Cozby & Bates (2015), behavioral measures are explicit perceptions of behaviors. As with self-reports, estimations of a nearly perpetual number of behaviors are conceivable. Some of the time, the analyst may record whether a given behavior happens for case, whether a person reacts to demands for offer assistance, makes a blunder on a test, or chooses to employ in one movement instead of another....