Developmental Psychology

2.4 Interpreting Study Results It is practically impossible to prove that there is a relationship between variables or that the A variable caused the B variable to change. Although those are impossible to prove, it is possible to show that a correlation exists between variables. What is meant by correlation is that multiple variables usually are related will change in the same way. There are three different types of correlations; positive, negative, or no correlation. Let’s explore which each one means. • Positive Correlation : The variables change in the same direction • Negative Correlation : The variables change in the opposite direction • No Correlation : This means that there is no relationship between the variables. Even if there are correlations, this does not mean that there will be a causation between the variables. A causation is only applied when one of the variables produces a change in another variable. An example would be if someone was selling ice cream on a beach and then suddenly there was a shark attack multiple times, then it could be positively correlated because the numbers may simultaneously increase. Keep in mind that eating the ice cream did not cause the sharks to attack, so both events occur at the same time, without causing change to either variable. 2.5 Ethics in Research Lot of other research does not include human use, meaning that humans are not used for research as much in other sciences like they are in psychology. In using human beings, there could be the possibility for ethical issues. There are two main topics related to ethics that are vitally important to understand and remember. One is called informed consent and the other is about privacy. • Informed Consent : This is where the researcher or person conducting the research must explain to all the participants, all aspects of the research and/or treatment, including the risks and benefits. • Privacy : This is where the research subjects and/or patients need to know that any information that is gathered about them, for research will remain confidential. One term that is rarely heard in research is deception . This is where researchers do not tell their subjects the complete truth about the study that is about to be conducted. Researchers do not do this because they do not want the subjects to alter their behavior. In order to decrease the bias of telling he complete truth, some researchers will deceive their research subjects. This can unfortunately cause some ethical issues. Something that may seem shocking to some is that sometimes in order to preserve the integrity of the research/study/experiment, deceiving is sometimes a necessary thing. After a study is completed, participants will go through the debriefing process. This is where the research subjects will be told how they were deceived and why they were deceived. Usually participants will receive a final copy of the study results which is also used and stored.

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