A series of high profile, unethical research studies led to the institution of Institutional Review Boards (IRB). The role of the IRB is to oversee all research that uses human subjects. The materials below include documentaries of the more infamous research studies as well as information and links to UT Tyler IRB materials.

In class, you learn about the problem of predatory journals that use the model of Pay to Publish rather than publishing articles based on the quality of the research content itself. Several hoax papers have been submitted to predatory journals to see if they can be published. One example of this is provided below. The "journal article," written by Gerry Louis, was submitted and accepted to a predatory journal in 2018. The article has a scientific sounding title, but is actually a made up study that attempts to identify differences in bottom-wiping technique based on political orientation. Below is the published article itself as well as a newspaper article written by Louis describing his experience.

One of the most challenges parts of research methods is the operationalization process. Defining concepts is a process that sounds deceivingly easy. The problems is that we often take for granted that other people understand what we mean when we talk about a concept, even though the concept itself is subjective and everyone may picture it a little differently. I have created two videos for you to help you with this process. The first video will help you turn a vague concept into a well-defined real-world measurement. The second video shows you how to determine the level of measurement of a question using a flow chart decision process.

Below are other YouTube videos that can help you with the operationalization process. The first two videos will help you identify and operationalize the independent and dependent variable (IV & DV) from a hypothesis. The second focus on levels of measurement. You can also find more information about IV & DVs on the Department of Health and Human Services website.

The videos below relate to the experimental design process. I have created a video that explains the design maps for experimental designs we discuss in class. I also cover the threats to validity and how those relate to the experimental designs. I have also provided you with additional videos on those concepts if you would like more information about experimental designs and/or internal validity.

The videos below discuss sampling methodologies and how to obtain participants for a research study.

An important component of sampling procedure are the unit of analyses. The videos below explain what a unit of analysis is and a common logical fallacy known as the ecological fallacy. The ecological fallacy occurs when our unit of analysis does not correspond with the conclusions we are generating from our study.

The videos below will help you design clear and reliable survey questions and questionnaires. The videos on the left provide examples of badly worded questions and describe how to create good survey questions.

This set of videos describes how to use Qualtrics to create a survey and gather responses. QualtricsXM is an online survey distribution system. UT Tyler has a campus license so access is free for all students. Student users must have their access approved by the Office of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness before they are allowed to distribute surveys.

When constructing graphs and charts, it is important to consider the best method of construction to help communicate your findings easily and quickly to the reader. The University of Leicester's has a guide for the presentation of numerical data. Mentioned in that guide are supplemental guides that cover bar charts, histograms, and pie charts more specifically. All four of those guides are provided below. I have also provided you with YouTube videos that explain how to create charts and graphs in Microsoft Excel.