Identify a problem to be studied. This may come in the form of a question of certain behavior or an issue or query that stems from previously established theories.
Develop a hypothesis. A hypothesis is simply a predictive answer to the question that was identified previously.
Create a method of collecting data. This depends entirely on the question and hypothesis. In developmental psychology, this may include observation, longitudinal, cross-sectional, interview, survey, or even neuroscience research.
Analyze the data. This depends on the data collected. The data can be either qualitative data (as the type collected from observations, interviews, or written responses and come in the form of words) or quantitative data (as collected from surveys, specific measures and always come in the form of numbers like a score on a test). This is done to see whether the data supports the hypothesis or not.
Make inferences. Depending on the results of the data collection, the researchers draw conclusions from the results.
Have it peer reviewed. Whether the hypothesis was supported or not, the researcher then submits the write-up of the research to a pertinent journal to be peer-reviewed (researchers in a similar field will read the research and decide on the merits of the research).
From your readings (Chapter 2, Research Methods), remember that development psychologists use different research methods and designs to learn about human development. These include observation, interviews, longitudinal design, cross-sectional design, and surveys. Choose one (1) of the research methods you learned about and discuss the following:
Identify a hypothetical problem related to lifespan development that you think would be interesting to study. (Remember, you are not performing any research.)
What method would you use to research this problem, and why did you choose it?
How is this method used to perform research?
What are the benefits of this method for your pretend research?
What are the problems or challenges with this method?
What are the ethical concerns that come from this method?
What can the researcher do to limit the ethical issues that can arise from research?
Submission
Please submit a Word document with answers to each of the questions above. For each question asked, please respond with at least a paragraph. Integrate these paragraphs into a full paper with an introduction and concluding paragraph. Include a minimum of one scholarly source. All sources must be cited properly both in text and on your reference page. Reference pages are are separate from the body of the paper.
This assignment uses Turnitin.
Evaluation
Your concept paper will be graded using the attached rubric below. Please review it prior to submission. This assignment is due by Sunday at
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