Evaluating a Study
Read and evaluate the “Replicating Milgram” study provided under course materials. Try to refer to and explain as many of the key concepts (listed below) that are relevant to the study. You may want to bold them in your essay. You are basically dissecting the Replicating Milgram study, breaking it down into the essential, methodological components listed below and discussing the strengths and limitations of these. This is meant to be a demonstration of your knowledge of the key terms and concepts that we have covered in the course thus far. You will mainly be drawing on Chapters 1-5 and 9. You will also be discussing the key ethical principles and standards raised by this study and be specific about which principles and standards that you are referencing. Describe the ways in which this study and the originalMilgram study violate or address these various standards and principles. Discuss the ethical Strengths and Limitations.
Midterms will be due March 17th and should be approximately 5-6 double-spaced pages in APA format. (Please write this as an essay, not a series of bullet points and keep quotations to a minimum.)
Key Concepts/Terms for use in the Midterm
Experimental approaches (9)
Non-experimental approaches (9)
Theories, hypotheses, and Predictions
Experimental research:
Operational Definitions (78-80)
Independent and Dependent Variables (82-83)
Artifacts and Biases: experimenter characteristics, demand characteristics
Delivering the Independent Variable (182-189)
Types of Variables: situational, instructional, subject variables (81-86)
mediator and moderator variables (179-180)
Manipulation checks-internal and external (pp. 189-192)
Type of Sample: Random selection and random assignment (pp. 87-91), convenience samples
Group designs: Between-subjects designs (pp. 92-97) Within-subjects research designs (pp. 98-104)
Factorial designs, ordering and sequence effects
Dependent Variable
(Obtrusive and Unobtrusive approaches)
Reactivity
Types of reliability (Test-retest, Internal Consistency-coefficient alpha, and Interrater)
Types of Validity (Internal, External, Construct, Statistical Conclusion)
Threats to Validity (History, Maturation, Testing, Instrumentation, Statistical Regression, Attrition)
Types of Realism (Mundane, Experimental, Psychological)
Ethics in Psychological Research:
Cost Benefit Analysis (51-56)
Deception (Types of Deception p. 52), Debriefing, Informed Consent (pp. 63-68), Confidentiality p. 64), Right to Withdraw, Confederates (p. 56), Institutional Approval (IRB) (59-63) Anonymity, Confidentiality
APA Ethics Code: Five General/Aspirational Principles-Beneficence/Nonmaleficence, Fidelity/Responsibility, Integrity, Justice, and Respect for the Rights of Others
Standard Principles
(Rely on Chapters 1-4 and 7-9 AND The APA Code of Ethics
Outline of steps in deconstructing and explicating the Replicating Milgram study:
1) Identify the theory or theories on which this study is based.
2) List hypotheses, and predictions in the study.
3) Identify and describe the operational definition(s) used in the study.
4) Describe and discuss the methodology and experimental design. Identify and describe variables that were studied. If this was an experimental study, what were the independent and dependent variables? What other types of variables were there, e.g. Situational or Subject Variables?
5) Discuss the validity and reliability of the study? Discuss Internal, External, and Construct Validity. Describe any threats to validity or reliability? Potential Confounds? Biases or Artifacts? Discuss types of realism exhibited in this study?
6) Discuss the ethics of the study. How were participants protected? What were the strengths and limitations of the ethics of the study? Cost-Benefit analysis?
7) Discuss the implications of the study for social psychological research and for the practical implications for everyday life.
