Psychology Research Questions Essay
This week is a broad overview of the different types of research questions that scientists can use. For this assignment, prepare a paper to briefly assess the three different types of research questions that scientists typically ask. Then, provide a research question about a topic of interest that fits within each of these three categories (one descriptive, one associative/correlational, and one causal/experimental question).
For example, if you want to examine when and where people smoke during the workday at your office, this would be a more descriptive question. You might also want to examine whether or not the frequency of smoke breaks throughout the day impacts employees’ productivity – or their ability to get the job done; this is more of an associative research question. Finally, you might want to determine if there is a causal relationship between smoking and the incidence of lung cancer. Here, you would need to perform carefully controlled experimental research with white mice in a laboratory setting to determine whether or not there is a higher rate of lung cancer among mice exposed to cigarette smoke than those who are not. In case you are curious, if you check the warning labels on cigarette boxes, they used to warn that there is an association between smoking and lung cancer. However, with the overwhelming abundance of conclusive scientific evidence based on carefully controlled scientific data, the warning labels now state that smoking causes cancer. This is a good reason to quit smoking immediately if you haven’t done so already!
In your three examples of research questions, be sure to describe the types of conclusions that can be drawn when asking these questions, discuss the differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches to research, and where each research question fits within this dichotomy.
Length: 4-6 pages, not including title and reference pages
References: Include a minimum of 3 scholarly resources.
The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course.
Descriptive-The first type of question to ask is the most basic, and it is one where you are seeking to describe a variable or quantify the average value of the variable. With a descriptive research question, you are not looking to assess or determine relationships between variables (Gravetter & Foranzo, 2018).
Associative-The second type of research question is one that examines the relationship between two variables without implying any sort of cause and effect connection. With an associative research question, you are beginning to assess or quantify the relationship between two variables numerically. You are not just describing it as you would if you were asking more of a descriptive question (as in the example provided above).
Cause and Effect-The third and final type of research question that scientists ask is whether or not there is a cause and effect relationship between two variables. In other words, does eating ice cream cause people to commit murder? Does taking a 5 to 10-minute break every hour increase your ability to focus and get the work done?
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