April 13, 2025

You are a graduate student in psychology conducting a research study on the potential benefits of mindfulness meditation in reducing stress levels among coll

Applied Sciences 0

Notes: 2 different questions, different course, used book references, too.

TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Title: Introduction to Research Methods: A Hands-On Approach

Author: Pajo, Bora

Publisher: SAGE Vantage

Year Published: 2023

Edition: 2nd ISBN: 19781544391724 (electronic) 9781544391700 (paperback)

Q.1 Chapter 4

You are a graduate student in psychology conducting a research study on the potential benefits of mindfulness meditation in reducing stress levels among college students. You believe that mindfulness meditation practices, if introduced regularly, can lead to decreased stress. You are conducting an experiment to test this hypothesis. Identify the following and discuss:

• What is your independent variable?

• What is your dependent variable?

• What is your null hypothesis?

• What is your alternative hypothesis?

• What are some ethical considerations related to conducting this study? How will you address any ethical considerations?

Q.2(write in 200 words or more) with references,APa style

John Gottman identified dangerous or damaging communication issues known as the “four horsemen of the apocalypse.” Identify and describe the four horsemen, which are problematic issues that affect communication. Provide examples of how you have used the four horsemen when communicating with others.

TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Title: The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationships In A Changing Society

Author: Theodore F. Cohen and Bryan Strong

Publisher: Cengage Learning

Year Published: 2021

Edition: 14th ISBN: 13: 9780357378229

Chapter4.pptx

Introduction to Research Methods: A Hands-on Approach, 2nd Edition Chapter 4: Quantitative Designs

Categorizations of Research Studies (1 of 7)

Decisions for designing a study:

Visualizing and conceptualizing.

Determining practical details.

Learning about possible errors.

LO 4.1: Describe the purpose of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.

Major decisions for designing a study.

Visualize and conceptualize the study.

Determine the practical details of the study.

Learn about the possible errors that could occur.

Finally, begin working.

Categorizations of Research Studies (2 of 7)

What is being accomplished?

Exploring relationships?

Describing a phenomenon?

Explaining an established relationship?

LO 4.1: Describe the purpose of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.

The first characteristic of research design involves what we are trying to accomplish in this study.

Exploring a new relationship between variables? Describing a phenomenon in detail? Explaining an established relationship?

Common distinctions of studies are based on trying to explore, explain, or describe something.

Categorizations of Research Studies (3 of 7)

Quantitative or Qualitative

Quantitative.

Large samples.

Clean measures.

Focus of design work.

Statistical analyses.

LO 4.1: Describe the purpose of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.

Quantitative.

Large samples; clean measures to test hypothesis; tests an established theory.

Intensive design work, less data analysis.

Statistical analyses.

Categorizations of Research Studies (4 of 7)

Quantitative or Qualitative

Qualitative.

Small samples.

In-depth exploration.

Focus of data analysis.

Test, audio, image, and object analyses.

LO 4.1: Describe the purpose of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.

Qualitative.

Small samples; in-depth explorations; tends to construct a new theory.

Less design work, more data analysis.

Text, audio, image, and object analyses.

Categorizations of Research Studies (5 of 7)

Exploratory Studies—Answering “What?”

Investigates new topics, threads, methods.

Initiators for larger, complex studies.

LO 4.1: Describe the purpose of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.

Exploratory studies are often used to investigate a new topic of research, a new thread of previously established relationships, a new methodology, a new instrument of data collection, or to gain a deeper understanding on a specific population.

Useful as initiators for larger, complex studies. Aim at investigating, exploring, or figuring out a new, innovative thread of knowledge.

Categorizations of Research Studies (6 of 7)

Descriptive Studies—Answering “How?”

Describing a phenomenon or understanding details.

Participants given flexibility to express feelings and situations.

LO 4.1: Describe the purpose of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.

Descriptive studies allow researchers to focus on describing a phenomenon or understanding the details about people’s experiences of a particular event.

Awareness of the difficulties that a specific group of people is experiencing may reveal possible ways of intervening to help the group in need.

Generally qualitative as it is often necessary to gather in-depth data and allow participants the flexibility of expressing their feelings and situations in detail.

Categorizations of Research Studies (7 of 7)

Explanatory Studies—Answering “Why?”

Reinforcing studies.

Seek to explain reasons behind established relationships.

LO 4.1: Describe the purpose of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.

Explanatory studies are reinforcing studies. They focus on explaining the reasons behind a phenomenon, relationship, or event.

Seek to explain the reasons behind an already known and/or established relationship.

May be quantitative or qualitative depending on the researcher, but are usually quantitative.

Cross-Sectional Versus Longitudinal Studies (1 of 3)

Cross-Sectional Studies

Collects data only once.

One point of time and without follow-up.

Useful for large numbers of participants.

Difficult to establish cause-effect.

LO 4.2: Compare and contrast cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

Cross-sectional is the name for studies that collect data only once, a simple snapshot of data collected at one point in time.

For example, collecting information from participants who have purchased an expensive car in the last year.

Refers to one shot of data collection, without any follow-up questions; useful when collecting data from a large number of participants.

Difficult to establish any cause-effect relationships because all the variables are collected at the same time.

Cross-Sectional Versus Longitudinal Studies (2 of 3)

Longitudinal Studies

Collects data at different times.

Accurate, minimizes errors.

Different data collection points are called waves.

LO 4.2: Compare and contrast cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

Longitudinal studies collect data at different points in time, which helps the data to be more accurate and avoid or minimize errors like inaccurate responses.

For example, we may want to know the long-term effects of a specific medication given to children.

These different data collection points are called waves. The first data collection is often called base wave or wave I, typically continuing with wave II, wave III, and so on.

Desirable for various topics as they are known for their accuracy.

Cross-Sectional Versus Longitudinal Studies (3 of 3)

Longitudinal Studies

Types of studies include:

Panel.

Trend.

Cohort.

LO 4.2: Compare and contrast cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

Types of longitudinal studies:

Panel studies follow and accumulate data from the same participants over a period of time.

Trend studies collect data at different points in time from different participants of the same population.

Cohort studies follows the same cohort of people over time. Includes a broader definition (such as being born, married, or giving birth in the same year) and are not the same persons.

Causality in Research (1 of 4)

Important to determine the relationship to be studied.

Researchers often attempt to establish casual relationships.

One or more variables cause change in another.

LO 4.3: Explain the differences between nomothetic research and idiographic research.

An important feature of design is determining the type of relationship the study will investigate.

Researchers often attempt to establish a causal relationship between variables of interest, which refers to attempts to determine that one or more variables (the independent variables) have caused the changes in another variable (the dependent variable).

Causality in Research (2 of 4)

Nomothetic Research

Aims to arrive at casual relationships easily applied to populations at large.

Often quantitative due to the scope.

LO 4.3: Explain the differences between nomothetic research and idiographic research.

Nomothetic research aims at arriving at causal relationships that are easily applied to the population at large. Often quantitative because of its large scope.

Such as establishing that people with a higher education level will likely earn a higher salary.

Causality in Research (3 of 4)

Nomothetic Research

Three criteria to establish nomothetic causality:

Correlation.

Time order.

Non-spuriousness.

LO 4.3: Explain the differences between nomothetic research and idiographic research.

To establish nomothetic causality, a research study needs to establish three criteria:

Correlation: variables we are studying are related to each other; the changes in our independent variable should go hand in hand with changes in the dependent variable.

Time order: determines the actual order of changes from one variable to another; changes in the independent variable happen first in time and are accompanied by changes in the dependent variable happening later in time.

Non-spuriousness: A spurious relationship is explained away by a third variable that may have not been considered. Claiming nomothetic causality requires a non-spurious relationship.

Causality in Research (4 of 4)

Idiographic Research

Attempts to explain entire realm of influences.

Qualitative in nature.

Time consuming.

Fuels later nomothetic research.

LO 4.3: Explain the differences between nomothetic research and idiographic research.

Idiographic research attempts to explain the entire realm of influences and every possible detail that has influenced a particular phenomenon or event for an individual. Often qualitative in nature.

It is time-consuming because it can investigate only one individual or event at a time because of its depth in truly capturing the information.

Fuels later nomothetic research, but it is an important tool used to investigate a problem at an individual level before generalizing society at large.

Experimental Designs (1 of 8)

Studies that include experiments and analyze results.

Classic experimental design requires:

Experimental and control groups.

Random assignment.

Pre- and posttesting.

LO 4.4: Discuss each type of experimental design and its advantages and disadvantages.

An experimental design is a study that includes an experiment and then analyzes the results.

Classic Experimental Design

Experimental design refers to the presence of a test, experiment, intervention, or some form of manipulation happening at the time of data collection.

Three requirements must be fulfilled in order to conduct an experimental design:

(1) the presence of a control group and an experimental group, (2) randomly assigning participants to the control and experimental groups, and (3) collecting data before and after the experiment, also known as pre- and posttesting.

Experimental Designs (2 of 8)

Experimental Designs (3 of 8)

Experimental and control groups.

Experimental groups undergo some form of experimentation.

Control groups control for confounding or disturbing variables.

LO 4.4: Discuss each type of experimental design and its advantages and disadvantages.

Experimental and Control Groups

The experimental group is undergoing some form of experimentation, such as training, taking a test or a drug, or some other form of intervention.

The control group do everything the participants in the experimental group do, but are not given any test, drug, intervention, or manipulation, although they may be told that they are.

The control group controls for confounding or disturbing variables, giving researchers confidence that findings are accurate and the outcome was a consequence of the experiment rather than extraneous reasons.

Experimental Designs (4 of 8)

Random assignment.

Minimizes potential of characteristics as the determining factor.

Researcher is usually aware of groups.

Participants unaware.

Double-blind studies: both unaware.

LO 4.4: Discuss each type of experimental design and its advantages and disadvantages.

Random Assignment

When ready to collect data, first one should randomly place the participants into the experimental group and the control group.

Minimizes the potential of characteristics to be the determining factor.

Random select can be accomplished in a number of ways including drawing numbers or using a computer number generator.

The researcher is usually aware of which group participants are assigned, whereas the participants are not aware. In instances where neither is aware, the studies are known as double-blind studies.

Experimental Designs (5 of 8)

Pre- and posttesting.

Testing can aid in figuring out results.

Pretest and posttest must be the same.

LO 4.4: Discuss each type of experimental design and its advantages and disadvantages.

Pre- and Posttesting

Researchers need to pretest the participants and posttest them to figure out the actual results of our study, otherwise they may not notice any changes.

The pretest and the posttest cannot be different or it may manipulate the outcome.

Experimental Designs (6 of 8)

Solomon Four-Group Experimental Design

Protects study from pretest bias.

Uses two experimental and two control groups.

Only one set takes pretest.

LO 4.4: Discuss each type of experimental design and its advantages and disadvantages.

Solomon Four-Group Experimental Design

The Solomon four-group experimental design is a type of experimental design that helps to minimize measurement errors.

Protects the study from the biases of pretest.

Uses two experimental groups and two control groups.

One experimental and one control group take the pretest, the other two groups are subjected only to the intervention or the placebo and do not take the pretest.

The differences in results can clearly show whether the pretest is influencing the results of the study.

Experimental Designs (7 of 8)

Quasi-Experimental Designs

Relaxed from classic requirements.

Common designs:

Randomized or non-randomized.

Posttest only or pretest and posttest.

Various combinations.

LO 4.4: Discuss each type of experimental design and its advantages and disadvantages.

Quasi-Experimental Designs

Quasi-experimental designs conduct some form of intervention, testing, modification, or manipulation and examine the results.

These studies are more relaxed in terms of experimental design requirements such as randomly selecting participants for the control and the experimental groups, or conducting a pretest and a posttest.

Common quasi-experimental designs:

Randomized One-Group Posttest-Only.

Randomized Posttest-Only Control Group.

Non-Random Posttest-Only Control Group.

Non-Random Pretest Posttest Control Group.

Non-Random One-Group Pretest Posttest.

Experimental Designs (8 of 8)

Non-Experimental or Pre-Experimental Designs

Do not include manipulation.

Crucial for exploring something innovative.

Common designs:

Non-Random Cross-Sectional Survey.

Longitudinal Cohort Study.

LO 4.4: Discuss each type of experimental design and its advantages and disadvantages.

Non-Experimental or Pre-Experimental Designs

Non-experimental designs do not include any manipulation, such as training, intervention, or drug taking.

Crucial for researchers who are exploring something innovative and will then move into conducting experiments later.

Common designs include the Non-Random Cross-Sectional Survey and the Longitudinal Cohort Study.

The term pre-experimental implies that these types of studies are conducted before the researcher establishes the need for an experiment.

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