Psychological Research Methods Essay

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Research practices depend on clearly defined guidelines. Those guidelines include general suggestions for how to conduct research effectively, how to apply research to clinical practice, and also how to maximize research reliability and validity. The scientist-practitioner model has become the “framework for many training programs in clinical psychology,” (Belar & Perry, 1992, p. 71). However, it is also important to pay attention to specific statistical analyses due to the potential for misinterpreting data. Cortina (1993) points out the significance of coefficient alpha, noting that proper interpretations of alpha enhance research validity and reliability. Alpha can often be misunderstood, particularly in the realm of scientist-practitioner and other types of applied research. It is not just misinterpretation of the alpha coefficient that can stymie research validity in the social sciences. Measurement errors, attenuation, and related biases can also impede research validity (Schmidt & Hunter, 1996).

Another core area of concern in applied psychology research is whether to use broad versus narrow constructs in research design, and also the efficacy of core self-evaluations (Judge & Kammeyer-Meller, 2012). Depending on the area of applied research, such as intelligence testing or job skills testing, researchers can determine what type of construct to use. Yet research does not only guide practice; psychological research also informs theory.

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As Bacharach (1989) points out, researchers also need ground rules for how to interpolate data results in ways that can reinforce existing theories, challenge them, or propose new theories for newly observed phenomenon. A review of literature on best practices in psychological research reveals ways to improve research design and application to ensure validity and reliability.

Belar & Perry (1992) present the findings of the National Conference on Scientist-Practitioner Education and Training for the Professional Practice of Psychology, addressing mainly the topic of the scientist-practitioner model in general, its relevance for applied psychology, and especially its merits for informing best practices in fields like human resources and other industrial-organizational (I-O) fields. Exposing the core of professional practice points, Belar & Perry (1992) do not necessarily focus on specific issues impacting research reliability and validity so much as they outline the merits of the scientist-practitioner framework and how it can be used and improved. Because many industrial-organizational psychologists will rely on the scientist-practitioner model, it is important to keep the core nine points the authors outline in mind, while also paying attention to research on specific research issues like those related to statistical analysis.

For example, Cortina (1993) and Schmidt & Hunter (1996) reflect on specific statistical analytical biases.....

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