PSY 201 Discussion Research Study Design
PSY 201 Discussion Research Study Design

Consider the following scenario: You are designing a research study to determine the effects of a new medication to treat bipolar disorder in children. Would you choose to conduct a correlational study or an experimental study? In addition, would you choose a cross-sectional or a longitudinal design? In explaining your choices, be sure to discuss (a) the pros and cons of the research designs you selected and (b) how they would affect the conclusions you are able to draw from your specific study. Finally, discuss what steps you would take to ensure compliance with APA ethical standards for conducting research with children.

DQ2 Nature-Nurture Debate

The nature-nurture debate is a long standing issue in Developmental psychology.

Explain what is meant by the “nature-nurture” debate.

Choose one aspect of your own development (physical, social, cognitive, personality) and explain how it was influenced by nature, nurture, or both.

Locate and read a scholarly research study article that examines how nature, nurture, or both contribute to some aspect of child development. Summarize the research findings and discuss what you found most interesting about the results. Include the APA article reference.

Our first distinction is whether the study is analytic or non-analytic. A non-analytic or descriptive study does not try to quantify the relationship but tries to give us a picture of what is happening in a population, e.g., the prevalence, incidence, or experience of a group. Descriptive studies include case reports, case-series, qualitative studies and surveys (cross-sectional) studies, which measure the frequency of several factors, and hence the size of the problem. They may sometimes also include analytic work (comparing factors “” see below).

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PSY 201 Discussion Research Study Design
PSY 201 Discussion Research Study Design

An analytic study attempts to quantify the relationship between two factors, that is, the effect of an intervention (I) or exposure (E) on an outcome (O). To quantify the effect we will need to know the rate of outcomes in a comparison (C) group as well as the intervention or exposed group. Whether the researcher actively changes a factor or imposes uses an intervention determines whether the study is considered to be observational (passive involvement of researcher), or experimental (active involvement of researcher).

In experimental studies, the researcher manipulates the exposure, that is he or she allocates subjects to the intervention or exposure group. Experimental studies, or randomised controlled trials (RCTs), are similar to experiments in other areas of science. That is, subjects are allocated to two or more groups to receive an intervention or exposure and then followed up under carefully controlled conditions. Such studies controlled trials, particularly if randomised and blinded, have the potential to control for most of the biases that can occur in scientific studies but whether this actually occurs depends on the quality of the study design and implementation.

In analytic observational studies, the researcher simply measures the exposure or treatments of the groups. Analytical observational studies include case””control studies, cohort studies and some population (cross-sectional) studies. These studies all include matched groups of subjects and assess of associations between exposures and outcomes.

Observational studies investigate and record exposures (such as interventions or risk factors) and observe outcomes (such as disease) as they occur. Such studies may be purely descriptive or more analytical.

We should finally note that studies can incorporate several design elements. For example, a the control arm of a randomised trial may also be used as a cohort study; and the baseline measures of a cohort study may be used as a cross-sectional study.