ABSTRACT
Psychological research usually starts with a search of the literature to become familiar with previous studies. The researcher recognizes an issue that needs further investigation, which can then be formalized in the form of a research question, and later, a hypothesis. The next stage involves evaluating which research method is the most appropriate to answer the question. Designing a valid, practical experiment is the next step. This chapter considers a special type of trap into which many seasoned as well as new researchers fall. It is a trap basically caused by imperfect logic that has been manifested in either faulty design, faulty operationalization of terms, faulty measurement, or faulty interpretation of results. Most of these flaws are impossible to fix after the fact. If it is a problem with an interpretation of results, sometimes alternative explanations may be pointed out that better explain the data.
