Snow Day!

Hi there,
So since we aren't having class today, there are some things I wanted to pass along to you.

Qualitative Research
This week we are reading about Qualitative research. I ask that you all download the slides "Qualitative Research" and read them. They're basically an outline for what I was going to cover today. The information is from both Chapter 6 in your book as well as the separate booklet you're reading for Friday. There are a few studies I reference in the slides- This is a link to the Watson & Rayner study of Little Albert. It's an interesting study to read for the historical stuff, also for ethical issues. It's written in a very qualitative tradition.

Here's a link to William James' discussion of stream of consciousness. A great piece of writing about what it is like, subjectively, to be conscious. Optional to read, but if you're a true psychology nerd, you should find at least the historical importance of the piece exciting.

Incidentally, here is a link to Classics in the History of Psychology- a great website with a lot of historical papers and texts on there, from which I got the above two links. Very fun to browse around.

As you have read in your book, a coding system is a method of classification that researchers create and use to measure behaviors in qualitative studies such as observations. Here is a video about John Gottman's "Love Lab" at the University of Washington, where researchers use coding systems in their observations of couple's behaviors while talking and arguing. Gottman's research has led to some pretty strong support for particular kinds of behaviors which predict healthy relationships vs. divorce.

Friday's Quiz
Assuming weather forecasts are correct, we will be back in class on Friday and I'm still planning on giving the quiz. So if you have any questions, please ask. Remember, the quiz questions will be pulled directly from the questions at the end of your chapters in your textbook. Please see the quiz guide to know which questions to study.

Also, for Friday, please collect some qualitative data. Ask two different people this question: What does it feel like to fall in love? Write down verbatim what they say. Please ask in person (like a quick face to face interview), rather than via email, text, or social media. Do not give them any prompts other than the question itself. You may also say "tell me more about that" if you want to prod them to say more. But do not change the wording of the question and do try to write down their answer as word for word as possible.

Article Summary
I was going to lead you through doing a peer review for your Article Summary assignment today. Since we aren't doing that, here is the handout I was going to give- you could either arrange for someone you know to go through this for you or pair up with someone in class to do this outside of class time. Unfortunately we won't have time on Friday to do this in class. If you have any questions at all about the article summary, we can talk about it in class on Friday and I'm also available to meet after class if anyone needs help. I'm sorry this assignment isn't getting the attention it deserves, but I hope the sample paper in the reader also helps you understand what I'm expecting in terms of level and depth of content.

First Group Assignment: Proposal and References
Also, I was going to hand out your proposal and references assignment, but I will provide a link to it here for download. It will be due on January 27th (next Friday). Most of you formed groups last week, and those of you still on the fence will make final decisions in class on Friday. It's already time (can you believe it!) to start making decisions on what topic you are going to focus on as a group, and what method you will use to study it. You'll also need to use your amazing PsycARTICLES skills to find background research on the topic. The reason you need to find background research on the topic you'll be conducting your study on is so that you can learn what is already known on the topic, and so that you can provide some of that information in the eventual introduction of your final paper. As you are seeing in the journal articles you've been reading for class, the introduction section contains what we call a 'literature review'. This is exactly what it sounds like: a review of the other research in the area, and the relation of the current study to that previous research. It explains the basis for the study's hypothesis and the reason why the author had this hypothesis. It provides more information to the reader about the topic and justification for the researcher's interest.

For example, one student did a study a couple of years ago on the relationship between dog owners' time they spend with their pet and their pet's behavior problems. The student found studies that were related to the topic such as an article about how a closer bond with a pet can reduce one's perceptions of the pet's behavior problems, and to justify the importance of her study, she also found an article about how many people who give pets up at a shelter often do so because of cited behavior problems. When she did find a correlation in her study, she was able to, in her discussion, present the implications on how spending time with a pet might reduce the number of pets brought to shelters, and that perhaps the amount of time people have to spend with a pet should be taken into account in adoptions from shelters. The research you use in your introduction can be related to but does not necessarily have to be the exact topic you're studying as well.

Whew, I think that's it. Stay warm!

Melissa