Evaluating Psychological Research
How to Spot Good Scientific Experiments in Human Behavior
We see "Scientists Discover Key to Mental Health" & other new research findings daily. Here's how to tell the difference between good & bad psychological research.
It can be difficult to distinguish between valuable psychological research and bad science experiments. These 6 questions will help you determine the difference.
How to Spot Good Scientific Experiments in Human Behavior
1. Were the study participants humans or animals? The most valuable studies include human participants (as opposed to rats, mice, or monkeys) because they’re the most applicable to the rest of the population. Note that a study that involves rats isn’t a bad science experiment; it’s just not as applicable to humans as the studies that involve human beings. Discovering who the study participants were is a valuable way to spot good scientific experiments in human behavior.
2. What kind of humans are the participants? Take the “Scientists Discover Key to Mental Health” example: if you want to apply this psychological research to you, then find out who the study participants were. Are they similar to your age, gender, and ethnic background? Do they have similar education levels, income levels, and health concerns? These characteristics affect the outcomes of psychological research studies, which means those outcomes aren’t necessarily applicable to everyone. Again, the fact that the participants aren’t similar to you doesn’t mean that it’s a bad science experiment. It just means that psychological research finding may not apply directly to you.
3. How many subjects participated? The more study participants there are, the more applicable the research findings are to the general public. The most valuable psychological research involves randomized, controlled, clinical trials of thousands of people. Finding out how many subjects participated and in what country can help you determine if the psychological research applies to you.
4. Where was the research done? Large hospitals, medical schools, and universities may be better equipped to handle psychological research than, say, small medical clinics or private psychologists. Determining where the research took place can be a valuable way to spot good scientific experiments in human behavior.
5. Who paid for the research? If private organizations fund the research, ask yourself what they stand to gain. Note that private funding does not automatically mean the research results will be skewed or that it’s bad science. However, if the federal government or a large foundation contributes to the research study, it offers some objective assessment that the experiment is valuable.
6. Who is reporting the psychological research? Seeing a report that “Scientists Discover Key to Mental Health” on the front page of the National Enquirer is a little different than seeing it on the cover of Time. Where did they find the research findings, and do they have trained science or health reporters? When you hear or read new psychological research, note the details. Generally, the more information that’s provided, the better the science experiment is.
Types of Psychological Research
- Causal research or cause-and-effect research is common in psychology. For instance, is good mental health caused by being raised in a two-parent family? That’s a difficult causal relationship to measure, but it would be fascinating to research!
- Descriptive research involves describing what already exists. For instance, psychological research could use a survey to determine if people with good mental health exercise regularly.
- Relational research seeks to uncover the relationship between two or more variables, such as good mental health and age. Correlations are often citied; an example would be that mental health increases as we get older (this is a true research finding, by the way!).
If you found Evaluating Psychological Research: How to Spot Good Scientific Experiments in Human Behavior interesting, you might try:
- New Research on Eating Disorders (an example of a skewed study)
- Detecting Psychological Disorders
Partial Souce: "Understanding Risk: What do Those Headlines Really Mean?" National Institute on Aging.
