Methods of Psychological Research

Scientific Method 1. Literature Review 2. Testable Hypothesis 3. Research Design 4. Statistical Analysis 5. Peer-reviewed Scientific Journal 6. Theory

Research Model 1. Identify a Problem 2. Develop a Hypothesis 3. Choose a Method 4. Collect Data 5. Analyze Data 6. Share Results

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Descriptive Research (observes and describes behavior and mental processes without manipulation) Natural Observation Survey Case Study

Natural Observation “You can see a lot by just looking” -watching and recording the behavior of organisms in their natural environment watching chimpanzees in the jungle, observing parent-child interactions or recording students’ self-seating patterns in the lunchrooms Keys: you must not make assumptions or inferences! You must not be noticed – unobtrusive measures   (+): (-):

Surveys looks at many cases in less depth - questions ask people to report their behavior, beliefs, or attitudes. (+): (-):

Survey Population – the whole group you want to study and describe Random Sample – a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion Stratified random sample – a sample of specific subgroups of the target population – everyone in the subgroups has an equal chance of inclusion

Surveys Asking Neutral Questions Self-administered questionnaires “Don’t you think that men who beat their wives should go to prison?” Self-administered questionnaires

Survey (+): lots of info, lots of people, lots of topics, quick, easy, cheaper (-): cannot explain causes of behavior!! Misleading / biased questions Choice of words Words mean different things to different people Subject bias – do people tell the truth? Socially proper responses. Say = Do? Not always! Answer choices? Sample – who did they sample? Voluntary response? Representative of population? Who is paying for the survey to be done? Manipulation of statistics

Case Study studying one or more individuals in depth. Information is usually obtained through interviews, questionnaires and tests. Unusual or exceptional situations Structured interviews – closed-ended questions Unstructured interviews – open-ended questions   (+): (-):

Experimentation most powerful method. Can usually draw definite conclusions about cause and effect. (+): (-):

Steps of an Experiment 1. ASK: v     Hypothesis. Must be worded in statement form – not a question   2.      IDENTIFY: v     the treatment that will be administered to the subjects and the behaviors of the subjects that will be used to measure the effects of the treatment v     Independent Variable v     Dependent Variable v     Operational Definition of the dependent variable (how will the dependent variable be measured)

Steps of an Experiment 3. CHOOSE: v     Define population that this hypothesis will be generalized to. v     Choose a sample group that will be representative of the larger population defined above – random selection is always encouraged   4.      ASSIGN: v     subjects assigned randomly to different groups: eliminate other potential biases and extraneous variables-intelligence, gender, age, economic level, personality, etc. v    Experiment group v     Control group

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Steps of an Experiment 5. MANIPULATE: v     Conduct the experiment. Be sure that all conditions between the experiment group and control group are identical – except for the independent variable. Anything that is not controlled for could be an extraneous variable. v     Be sure to take into account any and all ethial principles – confidentiality, informed consent and beneficence.

Steps of an Experiment 6. MEASURE: v     the effects of the independent variable (treatment) on the dependent variable. v     Results may be shown by listing, graphs, charts, tables, figures, and so forth. The method chosen for presenting the data and the statistical measures used will depend on the type of data involved.   7.      INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: v     the results and how they pertain to the hypothesis, should be discussed and explained in this section. The discussion should include whether the results prove or disprove the hypothesis, and whether the results differ from previous evidence. Any explanations of unexpected results or questions raised by the results about the hypothesis

Ethics Confidentiality Debriefing Benevolence – protection of participants Informed Consent Deception Withdrawl

Correlation When we notice that one trait or behavior accompanies another. Statistical relationship between the occurrence of two or more events.

Correlation CANNOT ASSUME CAUSE –N- EFFECT!! Why? Directionality 3rd Factor

Correlation A. Positive - direct relationship, two things increase together or decrease together. (watching violent TV shows and aggressive behavior) B. Negative - inverse relationship, as one increases the other decreases. (score low on self-esteem, usually score high on depression)

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Facebook usage linked to lower achievement in school What do you think?

Hawthorne Effect The change in behavior that occurs when people know they are being studied.