Types of Research

1. Types of Research What is Research? Please play this slideshow and take notes on the provided worksheet

2. General Categories of Research • Field: Observational or Experimental • In school/facility • Student subjects/participants (Elementary or high school) • Out of school/facility • Environment • Laboratory: Experimental • Research facilities • Classroom Laboratories • Clinical: Observational or Experimental • Hospital or research facility • Computational: Observational or Experimental • Surveys • Computer Science studies • Review studies Students collecting data during a field study. http://www.posiva.fi/en/final_disposal/research_and_development/environmental_research#.WbKpeU0VB9A

3. Fields/Topic Areas of Research • Social Sciences • Behavioral • “Hard” Sciences • Traditional Experimental sciences • Cause & Effect relationships • Engineering • Solving problems • Designing new materials • Theoretical Sciences • Predictions • Mathematics • Physics • Computational Students conducting research in a laboratory setting, using a microscope https://cdn.shutterstock.com http://www.ukm.my/jkkp/research/

4. Specific Methods of Research

5. Review Studies Analysis of the results of several published research articles to draw new conclusions • Also called “Literature review”, “Systemic review” or “meta-analysis” • Meta-analysis: statistical analysis of the results • Criteria required in order to find eligible articles: Example: Only articles with the following: • 2012-2016 • keyword “breast cancer” • used personal interviews to collect data • females ages 21-35 • no family history of breast cancer

6. Descriptive Research The researcher is only observing and collecting data, and there is no manipulation of the environment 1. Naturalistic Observations Observing natural behaviors Examples: “How do the roadways affect the pH of the nearby soil?” “How does low tide affect the movement of periwinkles?” 2. Case Studies Analysis of one specific person, place, or thing Examples: “What time of day are deer more likely to cross the Taconic Parkway?” “How is the new traffic light on Main Street affecting traffic jams?” 3. Surveys/Questionnaires Using the answer to questions to gather information “How do high school students feel about DACA?” “What do parents know about childhood vaccinations?”

7. Correlational Research Observational comparison of two groups that are not randomly selected • Also called “Case-Control” • May not show causation (cause-effect relationship), only shows correlation Examples: • “The relationship between smoking and lung cancer” (you can’t force people to smoke) • “Are women who have abortions more likely to develop cervical cancer?” (you can’t force people to have abortions)

8. Correlational Research This graph seems to indicate that Autism and Organic Food Sales have a direct relationship; as one increases, so does the other. However, does that mean that Organic Food consumption increases Autism rates?

9. Quasi-Experimental Research Manipulation of a variable occurs, but not randomly • Also called “Semi-Experimental” Examples: • “Will 5th graders exposed to music before a class perform better on a test than those who are not played music?” (Difficult to randomly determine which 5th graders will receive the intervention- have to divide by class) • “How do the side-effects of a new medication compare to the previous medication?” (control group is not random-must have already taken medication)

10. Experimental Research Random manipulation of variable(s) and true control groups Must have these 5 characteristics: • Predictions- 1 or more hypotheses • Variables- comparing 2 categories of the independent variable (male vs. female or comparing different age groups) • Subjects- randomly assigned and unbiased (blind) • Hypothesis Testing- detailed procedures with the ability to be duplicated (describing brand and version of tools used, listing specific dates and times of data collection) • Controls- regulation of variables and consideration of potential flaws & problems (failing to calibrate instruments, bias of human experimenters and/or subjects, floor/ceiling effect of testing)

11. What type of research should I do?

12. Consider Time & Money Available to You • Will you have the entire/most of the summer available to spend on research? • NO: consider field or computational studies • YES: anything is possible! • Can you commute to and from a research facility? (consider transportation fees, distance & time) • NO: consider field or computational studies • YES: highly recommend pursuing a laboratory or clinical study! WPHS student Shakira Uculmana presenting her research at the MSKCC HOPP summer program https://www.mskcc.org/blog/26-high-school-students-present-their-research-poster-session

13. Human Subjects (Including Clinical studies) • Do you want to work with humans directly (face-to-face interaction)? • NO: many options available, see below • YES: consider a field study working within the school, usually during the school day(You will probably NOT be able to work in a laboratory/research facility or hospital) • Are you interested in working with data or analyzing data involving humans, but having no direct contact? • NO: If human interaction required-consider field study in school. If not, many options available • YES: consider laboratory studies or computational studiesSurveys; Data mining; meta-analysis Human research being conducted in a controlled environment. https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2017/irb-5-things-to-know

14. Additional Considerations w/Human Subjects • Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval required! • School IRB: requires written abstract & introduction of paper, reference list, research plan, copies of all tests/surveys and/or forms. Timeline: 1-2 weeks • University IRB: Requires much paperwork. Very time consuming (6+months). Mentor should already have IRB approval before you become involved. • Student researchers must obtain IRB training to work with humans and/or data at a research institute (takes weeks-months, lots of paperwork) • Written consent needed from ALL participants (Human Consent Forms) • Clear explanation of what you are asking participants to do and what you are using data for • Minors (<18) require written parental consent • No minors can take online surveys! • All names and identifiable information should be excluded from report (best not to require it) • Student researchers & minors are prohibited from working directly with vulnerable or “at-risk” populations (examples: autistics, prisoners, addicts, disabled) • Humans lie and are lazy!Carefully consider appropriate recruitment of participants. How will you encourage them to participate w/out bias? How will you reduce the chances they could be lying?

15. Animal Research • Do you want to work directly with vertebrate animals? • NO: many possibilities • YES: you MUST work in a laboratory/research facility • Are you interested in working with invertebrate animals? • NO: see above; no animals- lots of possibilities • YES: lots of possibilitiesLaboratory- fruit flies; Field (outside)- bees, horseshoe crabs, macroinvertebrates; Field (school)- cockroaches, fruit flies (need teacher assistance) Mice (above) and fruit flies (below) in laboratory experiments http://www.nature.com/news/male-researchers-stress-out-rodents-1.15106 https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/02/university-training-package-shows-how-best-study-fruit-flies

16. Additional Considerations w/Vertebrate Animal Research • Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) Approval needed for all vertebrate animal research • MUST be obtained from a facility (lengthy process, mentor should already have it!) • Animals must not be harmed or killed for the sole purpose of your experiment (it’s ok if they are killed for a different reason) • Euthanization must be conducted appropriately • No animals can be harmed or killed by a student researcher • Student researchers must have the proper training to work with vertebrate animals (training sessions may take weeks-months, lots of paperwork) Lab mice homes commonly found in many laboratorieshttp://www.clemenscagecovers.com/

17. Studies Involving Tissues, DNA, Potentially Hazardous Material or Chemicals • All Require paperwork, training, and supervision (can not be completed at home) • Tissue Studies: • Studies involving the use of animal tissue that was collected from either a dead or living organism. • Examples: studies analyzing brains, blood, cells • Very common type of laboratory research Chemical experiments require training and safe practices http://www.m-chemicals.com/

18. Environmental Research • Requires special equipment and/or training • May be difficult to obtain/costly • Mentor may train you or you may need to take a course • Requires working independently • Parent/guardian/mentor supervision sometimes required • Mentor is less involved- more work for student • Often requires working outside • Weather dependent • Dress appropriately • Data collection must be very specific • Written AND electronic (ask Oscar!) • Record EVERYTHING! • Requires lots of planning ahead and preparation • HIGHLY RECOMMEND! (Mrs. Fleming’s opinion) • Fun! • Flexibility in hours! • Very hands-on! • Not many other research students do it! (niche) • Helping the environment! Student researcher collecting data on freshwater ecology http://web.mst.edu/~niyogid/

19. Laboratory Research • MUST have a mentor with laboratory facilities • Use family/friend connections • Apply to a research program (STAR at NYMC, HOPP at MSKCC, etc.) • Find on your own via emails & phone calls (Mrs. Fleming can help!) • Usually need to spend 2 summers working • Usually need to spend most of the entire summer working • Lots of paperwork and/or training involved • HIGHLY RECOMMEND! (Mrs. Fleming’s opinion) • Very rewarding emotionally! • You will learn SOOOOO much! • Job opportunities! • Looks AWESOME on college applications! • Much potential for winning/acknowledgement of research! Student conducting laboratory research at MSKCC https://www.mskcc.org/education-training/high-school-college/hopp-summer-student

20. Engineering/Theoretical Science • You need a GREAT mentor! (Mrs. Fleming isn’t too helpful in this field) • Does not always follow the “traditional” Science Research process • Can take many different approaches Student researcher working on an engineering project at MIT http://www.eecs.mit.edu/academics-admissions/undergraduate-programs

21. Please submit completed NOTES worksheet by 3:00pm on the due date that is provided for you Thank you for your attention!