Appunti di esame psicometria

Characteristics of a good research question

A good research question must clearly define the field of research, establishing constraints and limits, and must provide a precise direction. When I have established the objectives of the study, I will have to specify which methodology will be used, which variables are involved, and which population I refer to. The objectives are achieved through the application of an approach or set of rules; the objectives underlying the development of the methodology, together with the assumptions, must be clear before collecting the data. The hypotheses are a step after the objectives; they are more specific and serve to express and define how the objectives will be empirically verified. The protocol that describes in detail how the data will be collected and how the observations and/or experimental treatments will be performed contributes to good research. It must be detailed enough both for the ethics committee and for the possibility of replicating research by other researchers in the same way.

Characteristics and types of non-empirical methods and scientific method

When we talk about non-empirical methods, we are talking about logic or authority and do not involve data collection. In the case of the use of empirical data in a correct way, we speak of a scientific method that provides for the respect of rules, the collection of data in an objective way, characterized by a language, precisely, scientific, which goes beyond the personalistic and subjective aspect that, on the other hand, characterizes the non-empirical method. The scientific method aims at the generalizability of the data collected and, therefore, we speak of facts when in a given situation anyone can reach the same conclusion, with a causal relationship. When we make statements, we must be sure that we have evidence of the consistency of our statements. It is different when we speak of opinions that instead represent personal beliefs or impressions not based on empirical evidence.

Units of analysis in research

What are the units of analysis or cases or subjects in a research? These are the generic term to indicate the object on which the characteristic of interest is detected. The units of analysis can therefore be both people (participants, patients, ...) and animals, geographical entities, or temporal entities, or anything on which a variable property can be detected (or any attribute or characteristic, physical or psychic, which assumes different values or categories, if subject to observation).

Fundamental principles of the ethics of scientific dissemination

In order for the research to be carried out, the protocol must be examined and approved by the ethics committee that evaluates the well-being of people, including in the field of research. The fundamental principles are to, first of all, not harm, and therefore also to be competent (skills, knowledge, and limit of researchers), intact (do not lie about one's competence and training to carry out research, do not choose the data based on one's convenience), and have social responsibility (compliance with the rules in respect of people and animals, promotion of knowledge for a greater well-being of society and of the person).

Steps to carry out a bibliographic search

It is necessary to access the "advanced search" section located on the site chosen to perform the search. It is important to identify several keywords related to our research object and link them with the word AND so that the system can find the documents that contain all the keywords entered in the search bar, in the abstracts, to narrow the field of research to some documents that are more salient and specific to our topic. In the event that the results obtained were few, it is good to delete some less relevant keywords; vice versa, if too few add some or request a search only in the title. Once the abstract is understood, through the university credentials, it is possible to download the entire document.

External validity of research

What does the external validity of a research consist of and the precautions to ensure it? It concerns both the representativeness of the research result with respect to the population of interest and the replicability of the result (it constitutes an empirical confirmation of the validity of the results; however, there may be cases in which the particular historical contingency of the moment in which the study is carried out is no longer present, and the study loses its replicability). For the generalization of the results to be possible, it is important that there is a representative sample of the population. Moreover, together with external validity, I must take into account the ecological validity (a subtype of external validity) which investigates the behavior that people implement in the context of the study that corresponds to the behavior implemented in everyday life.

Parts of a scientific article

List and describe the parts that make up a scientific article...