Did you know that one of the most popular studying habits of students – rereading and highlighting – is one of the most ineffective (Turner, 1992)? We designed all of the activities in this course around how a person actually learns.
Metacognitive Moments
Did you know that one of the most popular studying habits of students – rereading and highlighting – is one of the most ineffective (Turner, 1992)? We designed all of the activities in this course around how a person actually learns. So, start your brain and put it in gear.
Metacognition is thinking about thinking. In other words, it is awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes.
Throughout this course, you will be asked to pause and take a metacognitive moment. Based on research conducted at Harvard, known as Project Zero, (Links to an external site.) good thinkers are in the habit of observing, analyzing, and questioning.
To do this, you should:
Be open-minded;
Ask questions and identify your confusion;
Seek justification in support and to counter a claim;
Identify implications for the information;
Make connections with other things that you know; and
Observe patterns in your thinking.
There are no right or wrong answers, so do NOT spend time looking up the definition of research methods. The purpose of this activity is for you to think about what you already may or may not know about the topic of research methods and to give your instructor insight into your current understanding of research methods.
This is also your opportunity to ask any pre-existing questions you may have about something you know about research methods.
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Week 1:
For the first metacognitive activity define what “research methods” means to you, in your own words. Think about it in regards to your own discipline. You should write down whatever comes to mind.
Week 2:
Now that you have a better understanding of what research methods is, reflect on what you wrote at the beginning of this module.
How has your understanding changed?
Provide an example of how research methods applies in your discipline.
How might you be able to use what you learned in this course in your life, personally and/or professionally?
Do you have lingering questions or need clarification on anything that has been covered in this module? This is a great opportunity to ask, so be sure you do!?
Post your response in the discussion thread below. This conversation is between only you and your instructor.
DQ2 That Would Never Happen Today! Would It?
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS
After going through the materials above, identify an experiment that has been conducted in your field of study; it does not matter how recent it was. Provide a short summary of the experiment, including what was unethical and what was gained from the research.
Based on the basic ethical principles in the Belmont Report, what would you recommend changing in this study to bring it up to today’s ethical standards?
Would making these changes impact the knowledge gained? Why or why not?
In this course, our conversations will last for the duration of the module, which means two weeks. You are expected to be actively involved in the dialogue both weeks.
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM ET during the first week of the module. In addition, you are required to make 3 response posts on at least two different days following your initial post (i.e., you will need to be actively engaged in the discussion on three different days over the course of the two weeks). All response posts are due by Sunday of the second week at 11:59 PM ET.
All discussions combined are 25% of your final course grade.
The instructor will periodically post new questions to which you are required to respond to. It’s important that you return and engage regularly throughout the two weeks.
PSY305 RESEARCH METHODS
Module 2 Discussion
DQ1 Metacognitive Moments
Start this module off with your thoughts on Stanley Milgram’s research. You’ll need to watch the film, Experimenter (streamable via Amazon or Sundance Now; if you are a YouTube TV subscriber you can view it for free), or read his research article (Links to an external site.) first.
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Week 3:
Discuss why you think Milgram’s research might be considered a nonexperimental design based on your understanding of what constitutes experimental design.
Week 4:
Based on what you have learned in this module, define reliability and validity in your own words. Has your understanding of these two concepts changed? Do you have any lingering questions about these concepts?
DQ2 The Deception
Stanley Milgram, a Yale University social psychologist, conducted an experiment in 1963 that is considered to be one of the most famous unethical studies in social psychology. This experiment was a behavioral study of obedience that involved subjects “administering” electrical shocks at the behest of the experimenter to actors recruited by Milgram to participate in the study.
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS
For this activity, watch the movie, Experimenter (streamable via Amazon or Sundance Now), and the video above, which provides additional insight into why Stanley Milgram wanted to conduct the study and shows actual footage from the study when participants were administering the shocks.
Consider:
Do you think that the cost (i.e., the psychological harm) to the participants in the study was worth the knowledge we gained? Why or why not?
If we wanted to conduct Milgram’s study today, what would we need to change to meet today’s ethical standards?
How do you think the changes you outlined in response to the question above would impact the results of the study? Be sure to explain your reasoning.
When responding to your colleagues, pretend that you are a member of an Internal Review Board (IRB) that is reviewing the “revised” Milgram study (i.e., the one that is taking today’s ethical standards into consideration). You need to determine whether the “revised” study sufficiently meets the ethical standards. To do this, you should ask follow-up questions and make suggestions for any additional changes that are needed. Be sure that your responses is rooted in the ethical standards discussed in Module 1.
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM ET during the first week of the module. In addition, you are required to make 3 response posts on at least two different days following your initial post (i.e., you will need to be actively engaged in the discussion on three different days over the course of the two weeks). All response posts are due by Sunday of the second week at 11:59 PM ET.
PSY305 RESEARCH METHODS
Module 3 Discussion
DQ1 Metacognitive Moments
Now that you are halfway through the course, think about how you defined research methods at the very beginning of this course. ?It may help for you to go back and look at what you wrote.
Do you have lingering questions or need clarification on anything that has been covered in this module? This is a great opportunity to ask, so be sure you do!
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Week 5:
Summarize what you used to think research methods was at the beginning of the course and think about how your ideas about research methods have changed as a result of what you have learned in this course. Be sure to explain how you have evolved to this new understanding of what research methods is and how it applies to your discipline.
Week 6:
Think about the different data collection strategies covered in this module.
Are any of the data collection strategies commonly used in your field?
Identify a data collection strategy that is not commonly used in your field. Discuss either why it is not a good fit or make a brief case as to why professionals in your field should start using it.
How might you be able to use what you learned in this module in your life, personally and/or professionally?
DQ2 Immortal Life
Watch the video on ethical data collection (Links to an external site.) and read the following about Henrietta Lacks:
Henrietta’s Dance (Links to an external site.)
Review of Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Links to an external site.)
Taking the Least of You (Links to an external site.)
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS
First, let’s start with a question based on your opinion. Consider this:
“Most Americans have their tissue on file somewhere. In 1999 the RAND Corporation published a report that more than 307 million tissue samples from more than 178 million people were stored in the United States. This number, the report said, was increasing by more than 20 million samples each year. These samples come from routine medical tests, operations, clinical trials and research donations.” (See the New York Times article)
What do you think the repercussions would be if scientists were required to inform and get consent? Would restricting this impede scientific advancements and perhaps harm the public good?
After reading and viewing the materials on Henrietta Lacks, answer the following questions:
At the time of the incident (prior to the Belmont Report), was there an ethical breach in the medical care that Henrietta Lacks received?
Was there an ethical breach by the researchers who received Henrietta Lacks cells?
If this happened today:
What kind of “harm” may have been done to Henrietta or her family by the researchers (intentionally or unintentionally)?
Is there an ethical consequence for the Lacks family that we should be concerned about?
Identify other examples, beyond those in the video, of how data is being collected and used and the potential ethical standards that may be violated. How do you recommend that these situations are handled?
PSY305 RESEARCH METHODS
Module 4 Discussion
DQ1 Metacognitive Moments
During Module 3, we discussed sampling techniques and data collection. Think about how you can use this information in your daily life, both personally and professionally.
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Week 7:
Provide an example of how you are using a more critical lens when presented with information. Share the questions that you are asking because of what you now know about sampling techniques and data collection.
Week 8:
Now that you have a better understanding of what research methods is, reflect on what you wrote at the beginning of and midway through this course. How has your understanding changed? Provide an example of how research methods apply in your discipline. How might you be able to use what you learned in this course in your life, personally and professionally?
All Metacognitive Moments combined are 5% of your final course grade.
DQ2 Whose Responsibility Is It?
Watch the video and read the two articles about the ethical issues that can and do arise in research that is publicly shared. The last link is to a website called “Retraction Watch.” This website consists of a searchable database on research in all disciplines that has been retracted due to fraud (fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism), as well as other types of ethical misconduct.
What A Massive Database of Retracted Papers Reveals about Science Publishing’s ‘Death Penalty’ (Links to an external site.)
Viewpoint: Why So Many Scientific Studies Are Flawed and Poorly Understood (Links to an external site.)
Retraction Watch (Links to an external site.)
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS
Let’s start this discussion with your opinion. If publishing research results is a form of advertising, as mentioned in the video, does the responsibility of researchers end once they have published their findings?
Using the Reaction Watch database, identify a study that has been retracted within your discipline recently. Summarize the ethical misconduct – in other words, why the study was retracted. What was the potential harm that the findings could have or resulted in? ?Did the author(s) face any consequences?
When responding to your peers, discuss your concerns with their studies and the potential implications. Discuss how we can prevent faulty studies from being published, or should we not interfere and leave it up to the consumers who are potentially going to utilize those findings? Who is at fault, the researcher or the consumer?
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