Introduction to Research Methods

CRIJ 3378.05
APA Standards and Conceptualization and Measurement
Ghady Hbeilini
Research Topics
 AQ
What are the three ethical standards based on the Belmont Report?
Last Week
• Controversial Experiments
• Milgram; Zimbardo; Tuskegee
• The Belmont Report
• Three ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, justice
• The Institutional Review Board
• Protection of Human Subjects
• Common Rule; Code of Ethics
• Ethical Principles
• Protecting Research Participants and Special Populations
Objectives
• Describe APA guidelines for citations,
references, and research
• Describe the main components of an APA-
based research paper
• Define and differentiate between
conceptualization, operationalization, and
an indicator
• Identify the different single questions and
response choices
• Describe the methods of making
observations and their advantages
 The American Psychological Association (APA) is a
scientific and professional organization that
represents psychologists in the United States

It is used mainly by social scientists in social science

The American research

Psychological Goal: To promote the advancement,

Association communication, and application of psychological

science and knowledge to benefit society and
improve lives

APA is the style of documentation of sources used

by the APA. This form of writing research papers is
used mainly in the social sciences.
Guidelines for References

REFERENCE GUIDE REFERENCE EXAMPLE G REFERENCE EXAMPLES

UIDE
 Title page Abstract Keywords

Research Introduction Literature Review

Methods
• Data
• Variables

Paper Layout • Analytic Strategy

Discussion and Footnotes and

References
Conclusion Appendices
Conceptualization
• Concept: A mental image that summarizes a set
of similar observations, feelings, or ideas

• Conceptualization
• The process of specifying what we mean by
a term.

• In deductive research, conceptualization

helps translate portions of an abstract
theory into testable hypotheses involving
specific variables.

• In inductive research, conceptualization is

an important part of the process used to
make sense of related observations.
Operationalization

• Operationalization: The process of

specifying the operations that will indicate
the value of a variable for each case.
• Operational definition: The set of rules
and operations used to find the value of
cases on a variable.
• Indicator: The question or other operation
used to indicate the value of cases on a
variable.
The Process
Conceptualize
Identify a set of common
observations into a concept, and
define the specific term
Terrorism
Operationalize
Specify the operations that will
indicate the value of a variable
Assassination, bombing, cyber
attacks
Indicate
Question indicating the value of
cases for each variable
How many terrorist attacks have
there been within the last year?
What are the recent methods
that terrorists have been using?
Question Construction
• Closed-ended (fixed-choice) questions: Survey
questions providing preformulated response
choices for the respondent to circle or check.
• Compared to other campuses with which you are
familiar, this campus’s use of alcohol is ... (Mark one)
_____ Greater than [that of] other campuses
_____ Less than [that of] other campuses
_____ About the same as [that of] other campuses

• Open-ended questions: Survey questions to

which the respondent replies in his or her own
words, either by writing or by talking.
• Questions that have not previously been used
in surveys, questions that are asked of new
groups, and questions without explicit
response choices, to which respondents write
in their answers—are preferable when the
range of responses cannot adequately be
anticipated
Making Observations

Systemic social observation (SSO): A careful method of

observing phenomena.

Unobtrusive measures: Measures that allow researchers

to collect data about individuals or groups without their
direct knowledge or participation.
Contact
information
• Ghady Hbeilini
• gxh040@shsu.edu
• Office hours: Mon. 2:00-3:00 pm;
Wed. 2:00-3:00 pm; or by
appointment