A research associate at UCLA falsified 20 interviews and their associated urine samples recently. In addition, he also pocketed $5,180 in project funds.
His punishment? The Office of Research Integrity has banned him for three years. He may not work on or serve on federal grants during that period.
To see a online article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, click here.
Obviously, this story is a case of scientific misconduct. Let it serve as a counterexample for you and your research.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Batch of Research Ideas
Here's the latest batch of research ideas from our students. Feel free to use them as inspiration for your own research. Also, these ideas show what our students are thinking about.
- Who stays married longer, couples who marry young or those who marry when older?
- Why is the percentage of African-American baseball players declining?
- What percentage of freshmen begin to experiment with illicit drugs?
- Is there a relationship between climate and GPA?
- What causes women to remain in abusive relationships?
- Are women less likely to be ticketed following a traffic stop?
- Are biracial sons reared by Caucasian mothers at greater risk of becoming criminals?
- Are Americans worried about contaminated food?
- Why is so much food thrown away by restaurants and not donated to the needy?
- Would students buy healthy snacks from vending machines if it was available?
- How many first mothers opt to breastfeed?
- What are the characteristics of people who sell on eBay?
- During which semester do students make the worst grades?
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Usability as a Career
In chapter 1 we write about careers and how the research methods course can be leveraged into getting a job or obtaining a promotion. One job we did not mention is that of usability professional.
Usability is a big deal in the age of the Internet, but like most things, it existed before the World Wide Web. However, the profusion of Web pages, computer applications, and new technological goodies like the Blackberry and the iPhone have made us more aware of usability.
The New York Times article "Technology's untanglers: They make it really work" inspired this entry. In that article are examples of usability experts collecting data from users in order to improve their experiences. One expert, Dr. Janice Redish, noted that the main skills she looks for in a usability professional are "solid observation and interview skills." Hmmm....sounds like chapter 10, no?
Just in case you are interested, the article reports that the average salary for a usability professional was $86,500 (in 2005, the latest year reported by the Usability Professionals' Association. Also, many companies are now creating high-ranking positions such as "Directory of Usability."
Usability is a big deal in the age of the Internet, but like most things, it existed before the World Wide Web. However, the profusion of Web pages, computer applications, and new technological goodies like the Blackberry and the iPhone have made us more aware of usability.
The New York Times article "Technology's untanglers: They make it really work" inspired this entry. In that article are examples of usability experts collecting data from users in order to improve their experiences. One expert, Dr. Janice Redish, noted that the main skills she looks for in a usability professional are "solid observation and interview skills." Hmmm....sounds like chapter 10, no?
Just in case you are interested, the article reports that the average salary for a usability professional was $86,500 (in 2005, the latest year reported by the Usability Professionals' Association. Also, many companies are now creating high-ranking positions such as "Directory of Usability."
Monday, July 2, 2007
Meow, researching the cats among us
Cats and humans have lived together for a long time. An abstract in Science (click here) reveals just how long that relationship has lasted and how successful it has been for both parties. A New York Times piece reviews the Science article.
Carlos A. Driscoll and his nine co-authors propose that all 600 million domestic cats in the world are the genetic descendants of five female cats from the Middle East who domesticated themselves about 10, 000 years ago. The domestic arrangement was beneficial to both cats and people. The fact that cats initiated the arrangement helps to explain, in part, why cats are so different from dogs.
The fact that cats are sedentary, our propensity to take our cats with us when we move, and the ease of identifying cat genes via their coats has revealed much about human population movements. See "Cats and commerce" in the November, 1977 Scientific American or "Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been" in the August, 1986 Natural History. Both those articles show how we can use our long relationship with cats to discover facts about ourselves (and them).
Carlos A. Driscoll and his nine co-authors propose that all 600 million domestic cats in the world are the genetic descendants of five female cats from the Middle East who domesticated themselves about 10, 000 years ago. The domestic arrangement was beneficial to both cats and people. The fact that cats initiated the arrangement helps to explain, in part, why cats are so different from dogs.
The fact that cats are sedentary, our propensity to take our cats with us when we move, and the ease of identifying cat genes via their coats has revealed much about human population movements. See "Cats and commerce" in the November, 1977 Scientific American or "Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been" in the August, 1986 Natural History. Both those articles show how we can use our long relationship with cats to discover facts about ourselves (and them).
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Edward Tufte
We briefly mention Edward Tufte in chapter 12. He deserves much more space because of his pioneering work in communicating information using graphs. A recent STANFORD Magazine article reviews his career.
He was unable to find a publisher for his first book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, so he started his own publishing company, Graphics Press. Today, he estimates that he has sold over 1.4 million copies of his books.
One of Tufte's contributions to our vocabularies is the word, chartjunk, the unnecessary elements often found in graphics.
In our classes (and in chapter 12), we emphasize the skills involved in creating effective and elegant graphs. Dr. Tufte also teaches a one-day course in presenting data and information, and it's half price for students.
He was unable to find a publisher for his first book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, so he started his own publishing company, Graphics Press. Today, he estimates that he has sold over 1.4 million copies of his books.
One of Tufte's contributions to our vocabularies is the word, chartjunk, the unnecessary elements often found in graphics.
In our classes (and in chapter 12), we emphasize the skills involved in creating effective and elegant graphs. Dr. Tufte also teaches a one-day course in presenting data and information, and it's half price for students.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Narrative Psychology and Methodology
Another New York Times article nicely illustrates the interplay of qualitative and quantitative research in exploring a complex psychological topic: whether or not personality can be explored via first-person accounts. This is, of course, a throwback to some of the earliest ideas in scientific psychology.
The research summarized in the article and further elaborated upon below re-opens many questions asked by early psychologists. However, the methodological lessons learned since psychology's early days are fully understood by these researchers.
Thus, McAdams et al. (2006) (see full references below) find that narrative accounts of one's life show evidence of continuity. In other words, they check to be sure that the phenomenon they are studying is reliable over time. McAdams and his co-workers report on research in which college students write detailed accounts about their lives three times (initially, at three months, and at three years). They found continuity for "narrative complexity, and...emotional tone."
Similarly, McLean and Pasupathi (2006) find that extraverts were more likely to engage in collaborative narration. They test an independent variable (extraversion/introversion) and find that it predicts an effect under two separate conditions. McLean and Pasupathi report on two studies, the first on self-defining memories and the second on everyday narration. Their hypothesis, that extraverts were more likely to engage in collaborative narration was supported by both studies.
Adler et al. (2006) show that depressive thinking and concern over contamination each independently predicted depression. They, too, examine independent variables (self-thoughts about depression and contamination) and find that each predicted depression. Adler and his collaborators used the CAVE (the Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations) to evaluate 70 life interviews from midlife adults. They found that depressogenic attributional style and themes of contamination each independently predict depression and low satisfaction with life.
Kross et al. (2005) attempt to look at the difference between rumination and adaptive reflection. Here, the independent variable was created by dividing participants into two groups depending on whether they asked themselves 'Why' questions. Those who did ask themselves 'Why' experienced cooler emotional reactions when thinking about past memories. In two experiments, the authors attempt to "disentangle" rumination from adaptive reflection. Their results suggest that individuals who ask 'Why?' were more able to re-experience emotional experiences in a cooler manner and without reliving the experience.
Finally, Libby et al. (2005) examine first-person and third-person memories of emotional events. They find that change is more likely to accompany third-person retrospective accounts. Again, they used participants' self-selection of first- or third- person accounts to create groups. Libby and her colleagues studied first-person vs. third person memory perspectives in five separate studies (looking at motivation, goals, instructions, and self-esteem). They found that third-person perspectives were more likely to produce judgments of self-change in the context of looking for change. However, third-person judgments were less likely to produce judgments for self-change in contexts looking for continuity.
For further reading:
Adler, J. M., Kissel, E. C., & McAdams, D. P. (2006). Emerging from the CAVE: Attributional style and the narrative study of identity in midlife adults. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 30, 39-51.
Kross, E., Ayduk, O., & Mischel, W. (2005). When asking 'Why' does not hurt: Distinguishing rumination from reflective processing of negative emotions. Psychological Science, 16, 709-715.
Libby, L. K., Eibach, R. P., & Gilovich, T. (2005). Here's looking at me: The effect of memory perspective on assessments of personal change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 50-62.
McAdams, D. P., Bauer, J. J., Sakaeda, A. R., Aniyidoho, N. A., Machado, M. A., Magrino-Failla, K., White, K. W., & Pals, J. L. (2006). Continuity and change in the life story: A longitudinal study of autobiographical memories in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality, 74, 1371-1400.
McLean, K. C., & Pasupathi, M. (2006). Collaborative narration of the past and extraversion, Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 1219-1231.
The research summarized in the article and further elaborated upon below re-opens many questions asked by early psychologists. However, the methodological lessons learned since psychology's early days are fully understood by these researchers.
Thus, McAdams et al. (2006) (see full references below) find that narrative accounts of one's life show evidence of continuity. In other words, they check to be sure that the phenomenon they are studying is reliable over time. McAdams and his co-workers report on research in which college students write detailed accounts about their lives three times (initially, at three months, and at three years). They found continuity for "narrative complexity, and...emotional tone."
Similarly, McLean and Pasupathi (2006) find that extraverts were more likely to engage in collaborative narration. They test an independent variable (extraversion/introversion) and find that it predicts an effect under two separate conditions. McLean and Pasupathi report on two studies, the first on self-defining memories and the second on everyday narration. Their hypothesis, that extraverts were more likely to engage in collaborative narration was supported by both studies.
Adler et al. (2006) show that depressive thinking and concern over contamination each independently predicted depression. They, too, examine independent variables (self-thoughts about depression and contamination) and find that each predicted depression. Adler and his collaborators used the CAVE (the Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations) to evaluate 70 life interviews from midlife adults. They found that depressogenic attributional style and themes of contamination each independently predict depression and low satisfaction with life.
Kross et al. (2005) attempt to look at the difference between rumination and adaptive reflection. Here, the independent variable was created by dividing participants into two groups depending on whether they asked themselves 'Why' questions. Those who did ask themselves 'Why' experienced cooler emotional reactions when thinking about past memories. In two experiments, the authors attempt to "disentangle" rumination from adaptive reflection. Their results suggest that individuals who ask 'Why?' were more able to re-experience emotional experiences in a cooler manner and without reliving the experience.
Finally, Libby et al. (2005) examine first-person and third-person memories of emotional events. They find that change is more likely to accompany third-person retrospective accounts. Again, they used participants' self-selection of first- or third- person accounts to create groups. Libby and her colleagues studied first-person vs. third person memory perspectives in five separate studies (looking at motivation, goals, instructions, and self-esteem). They found that third-person perspectives were more likely to produce judgments of self-change in the context of looking for change. However, third-person judgments were less likely to produce judgments for self-change in contexts looking for continuity.
For further reading:
Adler, J. M., Kissel, E. C., & McAdams, D. P. (2006). Emerging from the CAVE: Attributional style and the narrative study of identity in midlife adults. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 30, 39-51.
Kross, E., Ayduk, O., & Mischel, W. (2005). When asking 'Why' does not hurt: Distinguishing rumination from reflective processing of negative emotions. Psychological Science, 16, 709-715.
Libby, L. K., Eibach, R. P., & Gilovich, T. (2005). Here's looking at me: The effect of memory perspective on assessments of personal change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 50-62.
McAdams, D. P., Bauer, J. J., Sakaeda, A. R., Aniyidoho, N. A., Machado, M. A., Magrino-Failla, K., White, K. W., & Pals, J. L. (2006). Continuity and change in the life story: A longitudinal study of autobiographical memories in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality, 74, 1371-1400.
McLean, K. C., & Pasupathi, M. (2006). Collaborative narration of the past and extraversion, Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 1219-1231.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Two new Einstein biographies reviewed
In chapter 1, Science, we discuss Albert Einstein and his scientific works. His research illustrates the relationship between theory and experimentation (Einstein being primarily a theorist).
The books reviewed in the New York Times offer fresh insight into how Einstein formulated his theories. They also shed light on his personal life.
One of the points we raise in chapter 1 is the human element in scientific theorizing and in empirical data collection. Scientists are more similar to their fellow humans than they are different. The two biographies reviewed show Einstein's scientific side and his human side.
The books are:
Isaacson, W. (2007). Einstein: His life and universe. New York: Simon & Schuster. (First chapter)
Neffe, J. (2007). Einstein: A biography. (S. Frisch, Trans.). New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. (Original work published 2005) (First chapter)
The books reviewed in the New York Times offer fresh insight into how Einstein formulated his theories. They also shed light on his personal life.
One of the points we raise in chapter 1 is the human element in scientific theorizing and in empirical data collection. Scientists are more similar to their fellow humans than they are different. The two biographies reviewed show Einstein's scientific side and his human side.
The books are:
Isaacson, W. (2007). Einstein: His life and universe. New York: Simon & Schuster. (First chapter)
Neffe, J. (2007). Einstein: A biography. (S. Frisch, Trans.). New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. (Original work published 2005) (First chapter)
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