Optimizing Research Output: How Can Psychological Research Methods Be Improved?

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Miller ◽  
Rolf Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Research Output ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Modeling Techniques ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
The Many

Recent evidence suggests that research practices in psychology and many other disciplines are far less effective than previously assumed, which has led to what has been called a “crisis of confidence” in psychological research (e.g., Pashler & Wagenmakers 2012). In response to the perceived crisis, standard research practices have come under intense scrutiny, and various changes have been suggested to improve them. The burgeoning field of metascience seeks to use standard quantitative data-gathering and modeling techniques to understand the reasons for inefficiency, to assess the likely effects of suggested changes, and ultimately to tell psychologists how to do better science. We review the pros and cons of suggested changes, highlighting the many complex research trade-offs that must be addressed to identify better methods. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Psychology Within and Without the State

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Clark Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The World ◽  
Psychological Similarity

Psychological research in small-scale societies is crucial for what it stands to tell us about human psychological diversity. However, people in these communities, typically Indigenous communities in the global South, have been underrepresented and sometimes misrepresented in psychological research. Here I discuss the promises and pitfalls of psychological research in these communities, reviewing why they have been of interest to social scientists and how cross-cultural comparisons have been used to test psychological hypotheses. I consider factors that may be undertheorized in our research, such as political and economic marginalization, and how these might influence our data and conclusions. I argue that more just and accurate representation of people from small-scale communities around the world will provide us with a fuller picture of human psychological similarity and diversity, and it will help us to better understand how this diversity is shaped by historical and social processes. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Design and Control of Drones

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark W. Mueller ◽  
Seung Jae Lee ◽  
Raffaello D’Andrea
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Motion Planning ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Active Research ◽  
And Control

The design and control of drones remain areas of active research, and here we review recent progress in this field. In this article, we discuss the design objectives and related physical scaling laws, focusing on energy consumption, agility and speed, and survivability and robustness. We divide the control of such vehicles into low-level stabilization and higher-level planning such as motion planning, and we argue that a highly relevant problem is the integration of sensing with control and planning. Lastly, we describe some vehicle morphologies and the trade-offs that they represent. We specifically compare multicopters with winged designs and consider the effects of multivehicle teams. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, Volume 5 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Personal Values Across Cultures

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilach Sagiv ◽  
Shalom H. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Personal Values ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Value Differences ◽  
Many Instruments ◽  
Value Priorities ◽  
The Many ◽  
Basic Personal Values

Values play an outsized role in the visions, critiques, and discussions of politics, religion, education, and family life. Despite all the attention values receive in everyday discourse, their systematic study took hold in mainstream psychology only in the 1990s. This review discusses the nature of values and presents the main contemporary value theories, focusing on the theory of basic personal values. We review evidence for the content and the structure of conflict and compatibility among values found across cultures. We discuss the assumptions underlying the many instruments developed to measure values. We then consider the origins of value priorities and their stability or change over time. The remainder of the review presents the evidence for the ways personal values relate to personality traits, subjective well-being, and the implications of value differences for religiosity, prejudice, pro- and antisocial behavior, political and environmental behavior, and creativity, concluding with a discussion of mechanisms that link values to behavior. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Analysis and Control of Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gioele Zardini ◽  
Nicolas Lanzetti ◽  
Marco Pavone ◽  
Emilio Frazzoli
Keyword(s):  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Demand Systems ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Autonomous Mobility ◽  
And Control

Challenged by urbanization and increasing travel needs, existing transportation systems need new mobility paradigms. In this article, we present the emerging concept of autonomous mobility-on-demand, whereby centrally orchestrated fleets of autonomous vehicles provide mobility service to customers. We provide a comprehensive review of methods and tools to model and solve problems related to autonomous mobility-on-demand systems. Specifically, we first identify problem settings for their analysis and control, from both operational and planning perspectives. We then review modeling aspects, including transportation networks, transportation demand, congestion, operational constraints, and interactions with existing infrastructure. Thereafter, we provide a systematic analysis of existing solution methods and performance metrics, highlighting trends and trade-offs. Finally, we present various directions for further research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, Volume 5 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Sensory and Cognitive Ecology of Bats

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Page ◽  
Hannah M. ter Hofstede
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Information Filtering ◽  
Sensory Ecology ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Cognitive Ecology ◽  
Trade Offs

We see stunning morphological diversity across the animal world. Less conspicuous but equally fascinating are the sensory and cognitive adaptations that determine animals’ interactions with their environments and each other. We discuss the development of the fields of sensory and cognitive ecology and the importance of integrating these fields to understand the evolution of adaptive behaviors. Bats, with their extraordinarily high ecological diversity, are ideal animals for this purpose. An explosion in recent research allows for better understanding of the molecular, genetic, neural, and behavioral bases for sensory ecology and cognition in bats. We give examples of studies that illuminate connections between sensory and cognitive features of information filtering, evolutionary trade-offs in sensory and cognitive processing, and multimodal sensing and integration. By investigating the selective pressures underlying information acquisition, processing, and use in bats, we aim to illuminate patterns and processes driving sensory and cognitive evolution. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Volume 52 is November 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Solid-Binding Proteins: Bridging Synthesis, Assembly, and Function in Hybrid and Hierarchical Materials Fabrication

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthik Pushpavanam ◽  
Jinrong Ma ◽  
Yifeng Cai ◽  
Nada Y. Naser ◽  
François Baneyx
Keyword(s):  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Inorganic Materials ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Materials Synthesis ◽  
Hierarchical Materials ◽  
The Many ◽  
And Function

There is considerable interest in the development of hybrid organic–inorganic materials because of the potential for harvesting the unique capabilities that each system has to offer. Proteins are an especially attractive organic component owing to the high amount of chemical information encoded in their amino acid sequence, their amenability to molecular and computational (re)design, and the many structures and functions they specify. Genetic installation of solid-binding peptides (SBPs) within protein frameworks affords control over the position and orientation of adhesive and morphogenetic segments, and a path toward predictive synthesis and assembly of functional materials and devices, all while harnessing the built-in properties of the host scaffold. Here, we review the current understanding of the mechanisms through which SBPs bind to technologically relevant interfaces, with an emphasis on the variables that influence the process, and highlight the last decade of progress in the use of solid-binding proteins for hybrid and hierarchical materials synthesis. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Volume 12 is June 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Phosphorus Acquisition and Utilization in Plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Lambers
Keyword(s):  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Kinetic Properties ◽  
P Availability ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Unit Leaf ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Tremendous Progress ◽  
Molecular Aspects

Tremendous progress has been made on molecular aspects of plant phosphorus (P) nutrition, often without heeding information provided by soil scientists, ecophysiologists, and crop physiologists. This review suggests ways to integrate information from different disciplines. When soil P availability is very low, P-mobilizing strategies are more effective than mycorrhizal strategies. Soil parameters largely determine how much P roots can acquire from P-impoverished soil, and kinetic properties of P transporters are less important. Changes in the expression of P transporters avoid P toxicity. Plants vary widely in photosynthetic P-use efficiency, photosynthesis per unit leaf P. The challenge is to discover what the trade-offs are of different patterns of investment in P fractions. Less investment may save P, but are costs incurred? Are these costs acceptable for crops? These questions can be resolved only by the concerted action of scientists working at both molecular and physiological levels, rather than pursuing these problems independently. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Plant Biology, Volume 73 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The Alignment of Natural and Sexual Selection

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Locke Rowe ◽  
Howard D. Rundle
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Population History ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
Mean Fitness ◽  
The Many ◽  
Natural And Sexual Selection ◽  
Natural Selection Theory

Sexual selection has the potential to decrease mean fitness in a population through an array of costs to nonsexual fitness. These costs may be offset when sexual selection favors individuals with high nonsexual fitness, causing the alignment of sexual and natural selection. We review the many laboratory experiments that have manipulated mating systems aimed at quantifying the net effects of sexual selection on mean fitness. These must be interpreted in light of population history and the diversity of ways manipulations have altered sexual interactions, sexual conflict, and sexual and natural selection. Theory and data suggest a net benefit is more likely when sexually concordant genetic variation is enhanced and that ecological context can mediate the relative importance of these different effects. Comparative studies have independently examined the consequences of sexual selection for population/species persistence. These provide little indication of a benefit, and interpreting these higher-level responses is challenging. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Volume 52 is November 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Geologically Diverse Pluto and Charon: Implications for the Dwarf Planets of the Kuiper Belt

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Moore ◽  
William B. McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Kuiper Belt ◽  
Internal Heat ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Dwarf Planets ◽  
Subsurface Ocean ◽  
Extensional Tectonic ◽  
Climate Evolution ◽  
The Many

Pluto and Charon are strikingly diverse in their range of geologies, surface compositions, and crater retention ages. This is despite the two having similar densities and presumed bulk compositions. Much of Pluto's surface reflects surface-atmosphere interactions and the mobilization of volatile ices by insolation. Abundant evidence, including past and present N2 ice glacial activity, implies that Pluto has undergone substantial climate evolution. An ancient impact basin contains a massive, convectively overturning N2 ice reservoir, whose position and surrounding tectonics suggest a subsurface ocean. Aligned blades of methane ice hundreds of meters tall, found only at high altitude, likely cover much of Pluto's low latitudes and may be a consequence of obliquity variation driven volatile migration. Multikilometer-high possible cryovolcanic constructs and apparent fissure eruptions indicate relatively late endogenic activity on Pluto. Pluto's range of surface ages is extreme, whereas Charon's surface, while old, displays a large resurfaced plain and globally engirdling extensional tectonic network attesting to earlier endogenic vigor. ▪ The vast N2 ice sheet Sputnik Planitia controls Pluto's atmosphere and climate, comparable in importance with the role of Greenland and Antarctica on the climate of Earth. ▪ Spectacular evidence for erosion such as now-unoccupied glacial valley networks implies a vigorous early climate, and more widespread N2 ice glaciation, on Pluto. ▪ Geological activity on both bodies requires or required sustained internal heat release and suggests a past (Charon) or present (Pluto) ammoniated, subsurface ocean. ▪ The varieties of geologic experience witnessed on Pluto and Charon should play out among the many and varied dwarf planets of the Kuiper belt Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Volume 49 is May 28, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Global Programs of Research

2011 ◽  
pp. 33-58
Author(s):  
Detmar W. Straub ◽  
Karen D. Loch
Keyword(s):  
Program Implementation ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Domain Experts ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Stage 4 ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Second Period

This is the second part of a two-part chapter that describes and analyzes a program of research (PR) in international IT studies that began in the fall of 1992. The first part spans the years 1992 through 2000 and discusses the concept of a PR, the inception of our PR, and its maturation in terms of theory and methodology, research team dynamics, and program implementation. Part II focuses on the time frame of 2000 to 2004. The work undertaken during this second period is distinctive in two areas: the examination in detail of the full range of all constructs in the final research model; and grantsmanship, which was essential to the life of the PR. Specifically, a multi-year NSF grant funded the core of in-depth work undertaken between 2000 and 2003. A second NSF grant permitted us to work with domain experts from around the world to push the stream of research forward. In Part II, we also offer a retrospective analysis, based on our experience, on the PR effort. Pros and cons are articulated and then extrapolated into practical lessons learned that will be useful to others in similar undertakings. We offer guidelines for initiating and maintaining programs of research, highlighting the inevitable trade-offs that occur when high administrative work loads and intensive data gathering in the global setting, often involving long periods of time abroad, have to be balanced with the ability to carry out the research at all and the rarity of the data. Finally, we look forward to what we term Stage 4—the period of redirection—which is the bridge to the next program of research.

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