Research Methods Page
Professor Will Langston
 
[Syllabi]  [Notes]  [Homework]  [Lab Notes/Exercises]  [Resources]  [Links]

This Week in Research Methods Week of 5/28/12
  • Lecture
    • Holiday Monday
    • Finish factorial designs
    • Strong inference
    • Non-experimental designs
    • Combining approaches
    • Final exam Friday, 6/1/12--Open note
  • Lab
    • Analyze observation data
    • Paper due 5/29/12
    • Experiments lab
A note about dois: dois (digital object identifiers) link directly to articles. You can click the doi links on this page to go to a downloadable copy of the articles. However, you need to be on a computer in MTSU's domain to take advantage of the library's subscription to the journals. If you click dois at home, you will probably be asked to pay for each article. If you click a doi and it asks you to pay, look up the article in PsycInfo.
Syllabi
Purchase the book as an eBook or chapters (lots cheaper):
Chapter scoring (lower numbers mean higher priority, 1 = bare minimum):

1: score = 5
2: score = 1 (terms, propositional logic)
3: score = 5
4: score = 2 (ethics)
5: score = 3 (stats, if you remember it, no need to buy this)
6: score = 3 (stats, if you remember it, no need to buy this)
7: score = 2 (threats to internal validity)
8: score = 1 (experimental design)
9: score = 1 (factorial design, outcomes of a 2X2)
10: score = 3 (within subjects)
11: score = 4 (bias)
12: score = 3 (details of non-experimental designs)
13: score = 3 (single subject designs)
14: score = 2 (surveys)
15: score = 2 (writing)
16: score = 5

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Course Notes [Top]
Homework Homeworks/Quizzes:
  • Homework 1 (Ready after lab 5/17/12): Method and results draft due via email by the end of the day 5/21/12. Name the file LastnameMR.doc (or .docx depending on your version of Word). For example, mine would be LangstonMR.docx
  • Homeworks 2 and 3 (Ready after lab 5/15/12): Find an article over your assigned topic, read it, prepare an executive summary, and bring the whole thing to lab 5/21/12. Present to class during lab time.
  • Homework 4 (Ready after lab 5/21/12): Prepare an outline of the introduction section; due via email at the end of the day 5/23/12. Write the full opening and the full closing paragraph, put an outline of the literature review in between. If you write it (instead of doing an outline), it will be returned ungraded. Name the file LastnameIO.doc (or .docx depending on your version of Word). For example, mine would be LangstonIO.docx
  • Homeworks 5 and 6 (Ready after class 5/16/12): Complete IRB training and bring a copy of your training certificate to me.
  • Homework 7: Collect observation study data and have it in lab 5/29/12.
Recent quizzes are posted:
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Lab Notes/Exercises Writing papers
  • A paper format template (downloads a pdf sample one experiment paper for you to use for formatting, references, etc.)
  • The link to the APA style page (look at the tutorial for style and formatting tips)
Writing tips
Exercises  Sample posters/presentations
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Resources Project data and information
  • Project scales
    • MIItems.xls Eckblad, M., & Chapman, L. J. (1983). Magical ideation as an indicator of schizotypy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 215-225. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.51.2.215
    • SSSItems.xls Taken from Lalasz, C. B., & Weigel, D. J. (2011). Understanding the relationship between gender and extradyadic relations: The mediating role of sensation seeking on intentions to engage in sexual infidelity. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 1079-1083. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.01.029; scale from Stephenson, M. T., Hoyle, R. H., Palmgreen, P., & Slater, M. D. (2003). Brief measures of sensation seeking for screening and large scale surveys. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 72, 279–286. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2003.08.003
    • AEIItems.xls Gallagher, C., Kumar, V. K., & Pekala, R. J. (1994). The anomalous experiences inventory: Reliability and validity. The Journal of Parapsychology, 58, 402-428. Walk to the library to get it.
    • NEOItems.xls Taken from the IPIP website, http://ipip.ori.org, described in Goldberg, L. R., Johnson, J. A., Eber, H. W., Hogan, R., Ashton, M. C., Cloninger, C. R., & Gough, H. G. (2006). The international personality item pool and the future of public-domain personality measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 84-96. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2005.08.007
  • Project scales with scoring (DO NOT open these to complete the scales, we will do these in class
  • Project data
  • Method and results draft notes (completed 5/17/12)
  • Annotated bibliography and intro notes (bibliography completed 5/22/12; intro completed 5/21/12)
  • Notes for discussion sections (completed 5/21/12)
The sources below are numbered based on the annotated bibliography in the notes above.

Remember: You need a citation for every statement of fact. If you took it from somewhere and you fail to cite it, that's plagiarism. Everything you cite needs to go into the reference list so that someone could find it.

Articles and sources:

Target article:

Auton, H. R., Pope, J., & Seeger, G. (2003). It isn’t that strange: Paranormal belief and personality traits. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 711-720. doi:10.2224/sbp.2003.31.7.711

Section 1: Measuring personality

a. Sensation seeking:

N/A

b. NEO:

1. Grumm, M., & von Collani, G. (2007). Measuring big-five personality dimensions with the implicit association test--Implicit personality traits or self-esteem? Personality and Inividual Differences, 43, 2205-2217. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.06.032

2. Rammstedt, B., & John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the big five inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 203-212. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.02.001

3. Romero, E., Villar, P., Gomex-Fraguela, J. A., & Lopez-Romero, L. (2012). Measuring personality traits with ultra-short scales: A study of the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) in a Spanish sample. Personality and Individual Differences, in press, doi:10.1016/j.paid.2012.03.035

4. Piedmont, R. L., & Weinstein, H. P. (1993). A psychometric evaluation of the new NEO-PIR facet scales for agreeableness and conscientiousness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 60, 302-318. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa6002_8

5. Dunkley, D. M., Blankstein, K. R., Zuroff, D. C, Lecce, S., & Hiu, D. (2006). Neediness and connectedness and the five-factor model of personality. European Journal of Personality, 20, 123-136. doi:10.1002/per.578

Section 2: Measuring belief

6. Tobacyk, J., & Milford, G. (1983). Belief in paranormal phenomena: Assessment instrument development and implications for personality functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 1029-1037. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.44.5.1029

7. Wierzbicki, M. (1985) Reasoning errors and belief in the Paranormal. The Journal of Social Psychology, 125, 489-494.  No doi; available in PsycInfo as pdf full text.

8. Houran, J., Irwin, H. J., & Lange, R. (2001). Clinical relevance of the two-factor rasch version of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 371-382. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00143-4

9. Sa, W. C., West, R. F., & Stanovich, K. E. (1999). The domain specificity and generality of belief bias: Searching for a generalizable critical thinking skill. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 497-510. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.91.3.497

Section 3: Belief and personality

10.  Auton, H. R., Pope, J., & Seeger, G. (2003). It isn’t that strange: Paranormal belief and personality traits. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 711-720. doi:10.2224/sbp.2003.31.7.711

11. Rattet, S. L., & Bursik, K. (2001). Investigating the personality correlates of paranormal belief and precognitive experience. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 433-444. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00148-3

12. Smith, C. L., Johnson, J. L., & Hathaway, W. (2009). Personality contributes to belief in paranormal phenomena. Individual Differences Research, 7, 85-96. No doi; available in PsycInfo as full text.

13. Repeat 6

14. Swami, V., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Shafi, M. (2010). Psychology in outerspace: Personality, individual difference, and demographic predictors of beliefs about extraterrestrial life. European Psychologist, 15, 220-228. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000023

15. Groth-Marnat, G., & Pegden, J. A. (1998). Personality correlates of paranormal belief: Locus of control and sensation seeking. Social Behavior and Personality, 26, 291-296. doi:10.2224/sbp.1998.26.3.291

16. Williams, E., Francis, L. J., & Robbins, M. (2007). Personality and paranormal belief: A study among adolescents. Pastoral Psychology, 56, 9-14. doi:10.1007/s11089-007-0094-x
IRB resources  
Sample exams    Finding scales and measures
  • Check out the various volumes of the Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures in the Reserve Room. These books list over 6,000 test instruments with references. You can read the blurb for the latest volume here.
Evaluating sources [Top]
Links Correlation research, the media, and the importance of thinking
Here are some links to media reports on the link between psychosis and marijuana use. Note the uneven treatment of caveats about correlation research, and the presentation of alternative explanations:
And a critical analysis:
What this shows is not that there is or isn't a link (you would need to look closely at the original research to determine that; there may be a link). What this shows is that when you see a study reported, you need to look for yourself and not take the report at face value.

Research methods and experiments Undergraduate research support
  • MTSU Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Activity grants (URECA) (The link is to the undergraduate research center website; you'll need to click the URECA link.)
  • MTSU McNair Scholars Program
Bargh's Rant About Replication
 Science and skepticism
Note: These are presented for informational purposes. I don't endorse everything here, and unbridled skepticism is as silly as unbridled acceptance. That said, dig in.  
? (Ideas?) Fun with skepticism and science    [Top]
 
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