Introduction to Research and Ethics

How do you know what you know? And how do you know that what you believe to be true is really true? Many of us might just say that we know what we know because of what we have experienced in life. People are naturally inquisitive, so they often come up with questions about things they see or hear, and they often develop ideas or hypotheses about why things are the way they are. Sometimes we just have a gut feeling about certain things based on phenomena we have observed. However, if we are to be objective, one way of finding out if we are accurate in our beliefs is to conduct research. Consider the types of headlines that you might read in the popular media:

• Diet of fish ‘can prevent’ teen violence^[1]
• Social isolation may have a negative effect on intellectual abilities^[2]

Each of these statements is biased in one way or another. Both contain a direct claim that the writer wishes the audience to accept; however, there is some problem with design, methodology, or analysis making it possible to account for the findings by considering other variables or even a rival hypothesis. It is possible the research findings were reported incorrectly. Statements like the ones above should only be made if there were empirical research studies to back up the results or findings. Results from the studies need to be conveyed in an objective manner. Furthermore, only a specific type of experimental research design should be used before making these statements.

This issue is important in abnormal psychology. Is the will to live a consequence or predictor of depression? ^[3] We may think we know the answer based on our life experiences or based on our clinical practice, but what we think we know about mental health and where mental disorder comes from should be verified and clarified in rigorous research studies.

The scientific approach led to major advances in understanding and treating mental disorders. The essence of the scientific method is objectivity. It expresses the idea that the claims, methods, and results of science are not, or should not be, influenced by particular perspectives, value commitments, community bias, or personal interests, to name a few relevant factors. In addition, researchers must always be open to alternative explanations that could account for their findings. Many researchers have a personal interest in what they are studying and they become involved in the pursuit of knowledge in areas that relate to experiences in their own lives, particularly in the field of mental health. Clinical psychologists may wonder whether a particular kind of experience led to an individual’s symptoms, whether a certain treatment will be effective to treat the symptoms of a disorder, or they may speculate about the role of genetic predispositions. In either case, when conducting research, however, they do not let their personal biases get in the way of collecting the data or interpreting the findings. The ideal approach to answering these questions involves a progression through a set of steps in which psychological researchers propose a hypothesis, conduct a study, and collect and analyze the data. 

In this section, we will take a closer look at how to examine research and the main types of studies used: descriptive, experimental, and correlational. We will also learn more about what researchers can and cannot do in regards to studying abnormal behavior and examine how forensic issues, such as pleading insanity, relate to our understanding of mental illness.