Software and technology

Overview Why is it important for psychology students to know about the role of technology in research? What are the main types of research software you should know about? What are some online resources that can facilitate conducting research?

Rationale Psychology students must be able to communicate with other scientists, and different disciplines use different technologies Young people: Better with technology, learn it faster, can set yourself up for doing really innovative research now and 10-20 years from now Skills in Research Methods = Job Security Having even heard of a particular software program may turn an interview into a job; knowing what you’re doing makes you a valued member of a team

Common Statistical Software SPSS: graphical user interface (drop down menus), does not require coding syntax, can do simple and many complex tasks, rigid, used in psychology PSPP: Open-access (free) SPSS-like program SAS: Used in many other departments, especially in medicine and public health, requires coding in syntax (no drop down menus), think SPSS on steroids STATA: Similar to SAS, fewer steroids, prettier output R: Similar to SAS and STATA but open-access (free) ArcGIS: Maps and geographic data

Other Common Software Internet Explorer: Best web browser for 3 reasons Excel: Graphs, lists of numbers, repetitive calculations and tasks, text manipulation EndNote: Referencing software, can import citations from Google Scholar, and output into APA style or any other format

Online Studies - Recruitment SONA Psychology Research Websites Psychological Research on the Net Lists most recent studies at the top http://psych.hanover.edu/research/exponnet.html Online Social Psychology Studies http://www.socialpsychology.org/expts.htm Mechanical Turk ($) https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome

Online Studies - Recruitment ResearchMatch Available to >130 institutions -- now Tulane! >100,000 volunteers Can specify demographics (e.g., age, race, location, BMI), health history (e.g., 350 with HIV, >10,000 with depression, 170 with prostate cancer, 31,000 “healthy”) https://www.researchmatch.org Other sources of targeted recruitment Discussion forums, listservs, health education or interest websites

Online Studies - Implementation Low-tech: Email Surveymonkey ($) Free for 10 questions and <100 responses More sophisticated plans at $25+/month Qualtrics ($$) – free to Tulane REDCap ($$$) – free to LA CaTS (including Tulane?) Custom website ($$$$) – can provide feedback Need not involve a standard computer: phone call, text message, Fitbit, whatever Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)