2.7 PUTTING IT...together

The Use of Multiple Research Methods

We began this discussion by noting that clinical scientists look for general laws that will help them understand, treat, and prevent psychological disorders. Various obstacles interfere with their progress, however. We have already observed some of them. The most fundamental are summarized here.

  1. Clinical scientists must respect the rights of both human and animal subjects. Ethical considerations greatly limit the kinds of investigations that clinical scientists can conduct.

  2. The causes of human functioning are very complex. Because human behavior generally results from multiple factors working together, it is difficult to pinpoint specific causes. So many factors can influence human functioning that it has actually been easier to unravel the secrets of energy and matter than to understand human sadness, stress, and anxiety.

  3. Human beings are changeable. Moods, behaviors, and thoughts fluctuate. Is the person under study today truly the same as he or she was yesterday? Variability in a single person, let alone from person to person, limits the kinds of conclusions researchers can draw about abnormal functioning.

  4. Human self-awareness may influence the results of clinical investigations. When human participants know they are being studied, that knowledge influences their behavior. They may try to respond as they think researchers expect them to or to present themselves in a favorable light. Similarly, the attention they receive from investigators may itself increase their optimism and improve their mood. It is a law of science that the very act of measuring an object distorts the object to some degree. Nowhere is this truer than in the study of human beings.

  5. Clinical investigators have a special link to their research participants. Clinical scientists, too, experience mood changes, troubling thoughts, and family problems. They may identify with the pain of the participants in their studies or have personal opinions about their problems. These feelings can bias an investigator’s attempts to understand abnormality.

BETWEEN THE LINES

Animal Research

Approximately 101 million animals are used in biomedical research each year. Fewer than 1 percent of them are dogs, cats, or primates.

(U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2014; Speaking of Research, 2011)

52

In short, human behavior is so complex that clinical scientists must use a range of methods to study it. Each method addresses some of the underlying problems, but no one approach overcomes them all. Case studies allow investigators to consider a broader range of causes, but experiments pinpoint causes more precisely. Similarly, correlational studies allow broad generalizations, but case studies are richer in detail. It is best to view each research method as part of a team of approaches that together may shed light on abnormal human functioning. When more than one method has been used to investigate a disorder, it is important to ask whether all the results seem to point in the same direction. If they do, clinical scientists are probably making progress toward understanding and treating that disorder. Conversely, if the various methods seem to produce conflicting results, the scientists must admit that knowledge in that particular area is still tentative.

Before accepting any research findings, however, students in the clinical field must review the details of these studies with a very critical eye. Were the variables properly controlled? Was the choice of participants representative, was the sample large enough to be meaningful, and has bias been eliminated? Are the investigator’s conclusions justified? How else might the results be interpreted? Only after asking these questions can we conclude that a truly informative investigation has taken place.

BETWEEN THE LINES

People Who Purchased This Participant Also Purchased …

Leave it to Amazon. More and more researchers are now finding study participants on Amazon Mechanical Turk, an Amazon site that helps investigators and prospective participants find each other. Researchers (known as Requesters) post their studies (online surveys, choice tasks, and the like) on this Internet marketplace, and participants (called Providers or Turkers) choose which studies they want to sign up for. Upon completion of the online study, participants receive payment (usually a small amount) via an Amazon.com gift certificate, and Amazon receives 10 percent of the participant’s reimbursement.

BETWEEN THE LINES

In Their Words

“If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”

Albert Einstein

SUMMING UP

  • WHAT DO CLINICAL RESEARCHERS DO? Researchers use the scientific method to uncover nomothetic principles of abnormal psychological functioning. They attempt to identify and examine relationships between variables and depend primarily on three methods of investigation: the case study, the correlational method, and the experimental method. pp. 30–31

  • THE CASE STUDY A case study is a detailed account of a person’s life and psychological problems. It can serve as a source of ideas about behavior, provide support for theories, challenge theories, clarify new treatment techniques, or offer an opportunity to study an unusual problem. Yet case studies may be reported by biased observers and rely on subjective evidence. In addition, they tend to have low internal validity and low external validity. pp. 32–34

  • THE CORRELATIONAL METHOD Correlational studies are used to systematically observe the degree to which events or characteristics vary together. This method allows researchers to draw broad conclusions about abnormality in the population at large.

    A correlation may have a positive or negative direction and may be high or low in magnitude. It can be calculated numerically and is expressed by the correlation coefficient (r). Researchers perform a statistical analysis to determine whether the correlation found in a study is truly characteristic of the larger population or due to chance. Correlational studies generally have high external validity but lack internal validity. Two widely used forms of the correlation method are epidemiological studies and longitudinal studies. pp. 35–40

  • THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD In experiments, researchers manipulate suspected causes to see whether expected effects will result. The variable that is manipulated is called the independent variable, and the variable that is expected to change as a result is called the dependent variable.

    53

    Confounds are variables other than the independent variable that are also acting on the dependent variable. To minimize their possible influence, experimenters use control groups, random assignment, and blind designs. The findings of experiments, like those of correlational studies, must be analyzed statistically. pp. 40–44

  • ALTERNATIVE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS Clinical experimenters must often settle for experimental designs that are less than ideal, including the quasi-experiment, the natural experiment, the analogue experiment, and the single-subject experiment. pp. 44–49

  • PROTECTING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS Each research facility has an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that has the power and responsibility to protect the rights and safety of human participants in all studies conducted at that facility. Members of the IRB review each study during the planning stages and can require changes in the proposed study before granting approval for the undertaking. If the required changes are not made, the IRB has the authority to disapprove the study. Among the important participant rights that the IRB protects is the right of informed consent, an acceptable risk/benefit balance, and privacy (confidentiality or anonymity). pp. 49–51

  • THE USE OF MULTIPLE RESEARCH METHODS Because research participants have rights that must be respected, because the origins of behavior are complex, because behavior varies, and because the very act of observing an individual’s behavior influences that behavior, it can be difficult to assess the findings of clinical research. Also, researchers must take into account their own biases as well as a study’s unintended impact on participants’ usual behavior. To help address such obstacles, clinical investigators must use multiple research approaches. pp. 51–52

Visit LaunchPad

www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/comerabpsych9e to access the e-book, new interactive case studies, videos, activities, LearningCurve quizzing, as well as study aids including flashcards, FAQs, and research exercises.