{"id":12494,"date":"2019-11-27T11:18:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T02:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/?p=12494"},"modified":"2019-11-29T09:54:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-29T00:54:13","slug":"lets-stop-the-research-methods-madness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2019\/11\/27\/lets-stop-the-research-methods-madness\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s STOP the research methods madness!"},"content":{"rendered":"

“What was the research method of (x’s) study?” Along with, “Is this a good EE question…”, it’s the most common question IB Psych teachers ask. But we shouldn’t have to and we need to put an end to the research methods madness.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why? Well, let me count the ways (or if you’d rather just read some exam tips, scroll to the bottom).<\/p>\n

Firstly, not every study fits neatly into our definitions of “research methods.” In fact, I’d say at a rough guess that less than half of the studies I use in my course nicely fit into the definition of a specific research method. Numerous studies use multiple methods. Many cross boundaries or don’t fit. And this is why you get the recurring, “what method…” question from teachers.<\/p>\n

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Lamm et al.’s study comparing Cameroonian kids with German kids employed several different methods, highlighting our outdated approach to teaching “research methods” in IB Psychology.<\/p><\/div>\n

Let’s take Lamm et al.’s cross-cultural study on kids and the marshmallow test I wrote about this week as an example (read more here<\/a>). In fact, it was this study that inspired this post. They compared two different cultural groups so it could be considered quasi or a natural experiment (and don’t get me started on the lack of difference between those two methods), they used questionnaires and interviews to understand the parenting values of the different cultures and they calculated correlation coefficients between these values and the kids ability to wait for the second treat. So what was the <\/em>“research method” employed here? It doesn’t bloody well matter.<\/p>\n

“So if it doesn’t matter, Travis, why are you getting your undies in a bunch?” I hear you ask. Because the reality is that when it comes to teaching research methodology, studies like this one get ignored because they don’t fit nicely into our boxes. This means kids miss out on a chance to study and learn about how psychologists actually\u00a0<\/em>use research methodology in real studies.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n