Applied Research Methods BE
Lecture 1: Introduction
Why and how of research
Humans as scientists:
- Humans are scientists by nature (we want to understand/predict)
- But humans are bad scientists by nature (e.g., illogical reasoning, over-generalisation)
- Social-scientific research and use of methodology helps to prevent errors
- Social-scientific research: the systematic observation of social phenomena, with the
aim of finding and understanding the patterns they contain
o To observe objectively, to reason logically and to draw verifiable conclusions
What is the purpose of research?
- Systematic way of investigating the world around us
- Fundamental research: expand scientific knowledge
- Applied research: evaluate the impact of (social) interventions
o Applied research can also contribute to scientific knowledge
o E.g., change to environment leads to behavioural change?
How do you conduct research?
- Two pillars of science:
o Logic/ theory
, o Observation/ empiricism
Research cycle:
- Research has a cyclic character: ‘the wheel of science’
- Deduction = theory hypothesis observations accept or reject hypothesis
o Making hypotheses from theories that already exists
- Induction = observations find pattern conclusion develop theory
o Making new theories based on the observations you found
Science is a collective effort:
- Research communication is key for the progress of science
o Sharing findings/ research articles
- We make new theories based on what we learned from others (a spiral)
Research cycle:
- Cycle can be seen in a journal article
1. Research problem: what is it about
2. Research question: what do you want to know?
o With specific research question and hypothesis: what is the exact question
and what is the anticipated outcome?
, 3. Method: how can you find this out?
4. Results: what did you find?
o Was the hypothesis confirmed?
5. Discussion: what does this mean?
Social-scientific research:
- Descriptive research: researchers know too little about the research topic; aim of the
research is to better understand the topic and develop methods for subsequent study
o E.g., how happy are the Dutch people?
o Result: insight in one variable
- Explorative research: researchers seek not only to describe, but to investigate
correlations, similarities, and differences
o E.g., is happiness related to wealth?
o Result: insight into relationships between different variables
- Explanatory/ experimental research: researchers have definite expectations about
similarities and differences that might be found and want to test them
o E.g., do people become happier when you give them money?
o Result: insight into causal relationships
Decision about research methods:
- Type of research question informs the research method and how you use it!
- Research methods can be used for multiple purposes
- What do you want to know?
o Descriptive, explorative, explanatory
- And how do you use these research methods?
- Example of how a research method can fit with different research questions:
o You can use eye-tracking to describe behaviour
E.g., how do people look at pictures of faces?
o You can use eye-tracking to explore relations between variables
E.g., are there gender differences in how people look at faces?
o You can also use eye-tracking to test (or explain) your hypotheses
E.g., do participants primed with food smells first look at a person’s
mouth?
, Ideal research process uses triangulation:
- Combination of various research methods to investigate the same research question
- Triangulation = from three viewpoints
Example of mindfulness:
- Research question: does mindfulness benefit well-being at the police?
- Focus group to explore interrelations and develop hypotheses
o Mindfulness is associated with work stress and perspective taking of
colleagues and civilians
- Mindfulness intervention to test hypotheses
o Mindfulness decreased work stress and increased perspective taking of
colleagues and civilians
Research ethics:
- Some ethical issues in doing research:
Voluntary participation – researchers are not allowed to force people to cooperate
No injuries/ harm – researchers are not allowed to damage participants (physically,
emotionally, or psychologically)
Stopping without consequences – participants are allowed to quit without
explanation
Anonymity and confidentiality – researchers must guarantee anonymity wherever
possible
Reimbursement – rewards need to be proportional to effort/ exposure
Debriefing – researchers must explain what they did
- Integrity towards scientific community (e.g., no fraude)
Analysis and reporting – researchers must be honest and open
Institutional review boards – researchers must answer to a supervisory committee
that monitors the ethical side of research
o E.g., Ethics Committee Social Science
Professional codes – researchers must abide to an ethical code
o E.g., the professional code of the Netherlands Institute of Psychologists (NIP)
Methods Selection Framework
Methods Selection Framework:
- Helps to make an informed decision about the research method
Lecture 1: Introduction
Why and how of research
Humans as scientists:
- Humans are scientists by nature (we want to understand/predict)
- But humans are bad scientists by nature (e.g., illogical reasoning, over-generalisation)
- Social-scientific research and use of methodology helps to prevent errors
- Social-scientific research: the systematic observation of social phenomena, with the
aim of finding and understanding the patterns they contain
o To observe objectively, to reason logically and to draw verifiable conclusions
What is the purpose of research?
- Systematic way of investigating the world around us
- Fundamental research: expand scientific knowledge
- Applied research: evaluate the impact of (social) interventions
o Applied research can also contribute to scientific knowledge
o E.g., change to environment leads to behavioural change?
How do you conduct research?
- Two pillars of science:
o Logic/ theory
, o Observation/ empiricism
Research cycle:
- Research has a cyclic character: ‘the wheel of science’
- Deduction = theory hypothesis observations accept or reject hypothesis
o Making hypotheses from theories that already exists
- Induction = observations find pattern conclusion develop theory
o Making new theories based on the observations you found
Science is a collective effort:
- Research communication is key for the progress of science
o Sharing findings/ research articles
- We make new theories based on what we learned from others (a spiral)
Research cycle:
- Cycle can be seen in a journal article
1. Research problem: what is it about
2. Research question: what do you want to know?
o With specific research question and hypothesis: what is the exact question
and what is the anticipated outcome?
, 3. Method: how can you find this out?
4. Results: what did you find?
o Was the hypothesis confirmed?
5. Discussion: what does this mean?
Social-scientific research:
- Descriptive research: researchers know too little about the research topic; aim of the
research is to better understand the topic and develop methods for subsequent study
o E.g., how happy are the Dutch people?
o Result: insight in one variable
- Explorative research: researchers seek not only to describe, but to investigate
correlations, similarities, and differences
o E.g., is happiness related to wealth?
o Result: insight into relationships between different variables
- Explanatory/ experimental research: researchers have definite expectations about
similarities and differences that might be found and want to test them
o E.g., do people become happier when you give them money?
o Result: insight into causal relationships
Decision about research methods:
- Type of research question informs the research method and how you use it!
- Research methods can be used for multiple purposes
- What do you want to know?
o Descriptive, explorative, explanatory
- And how do you use these research methods?
- Example of how a research method can fit with different research questions:
o You can use eye-tracking to describe behaviour
E.g., how do people look at pictures of faces?
o You can use eye-tracking to explore relations between variables
E.g., are there gender differences in how people look at faces?
o You can also use eye-tracking to test (or explain) your hypotheses
E.g., do participants primed with food smells first look at a person’s
mouth?
, Ideal research process uses triangulation:
- Combination of various research methods to investigate the same research question
- Triangulation = from three viewpoints
Example of mindfulness:
- Research question: does mindfulness benefit well-being at the police?
- Focus group to explore interrelations and develop hypotheses
o Mindfulness is associated with work stress and perspective taking of
colleagues and civilians
- Mindfulness intervention to test hypotheses
o Mindfulness decreased work stress and increased perspective taking of
colleagues and civilians
Research ethics:
- Some ethical issues in doing research:
Voluntary participation – researchers are not allowed to force people to cooperate
No injuries/ harm – researchers are not allowed to damage participants (physically,
emotionally, or psychologically)
Stopping without consequences – participants are allowed to quit without
explanation
Anonymity and confidentiality – researchers must guarantee anonymity wherever
possible
Reimbursement – rewards need to be proportional to effort/ exposure
Debriefing – researchers must explain what they did
- Integrity towards scientific community (e.g., no fraude)
Analysis and reporting – researchers must be honest and open
Institutional review boards – researchers must answer to a supervisory committee
that monitors the ethical side of research
o E.g., Ethics Committee Social Science
Professional codes – researchers must abide to an ethical code
o E.g., the professional code of the Netherlands Institute of Psychologists (NIP)
Methods Selection Framework
Methods Selection Framework:
- Helps to make an informed decision about the research method
