What is Research?

JANE GOODALL Observed chimpanzees in Tanzania, Africa for more than 30 years She used the research method of naturalistic observation Collect information like most people do in everyday life-only more carefully and more systematically

PRE-RESEARCH DECISIONS Must ask a specific question about a limited topic or hypothesis The method or research depends on the research topic It does not matter what approach the data is collected, but decisions need to be made ahead of time

SAMPLES A sample is the small group of participants, out of the total number available, that a researcher studies

METHODS OF RESEARCH Surveys- research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a fixed set of questions Longitudinal study- research method in which data are collected about a group of participants over a number of years to access how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development.

EXPERIMENTS Hypothesis- an educated guess about the relationship between two variables Variable- any factor that is capable of change Experimental group- the group to which an independent variable is applied Control group- the group that is treated in the same way as the experimental group except that the experimental treatment (the independent variable is not applied.

ETHICAL ISSUES Ethics- the methods of conduct or standards for proper and responsible behavior Using animals in research has become an issue in recent years

Problems and Solutions in Research SECTION 2 Problems and Solutions in Research

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY Is a situation in which a researcher’s expectations influence that person’s own behavior, and thereby influence the participants behavior.

AVOIDING A SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY Single-blind experiment- is an experiment in which the participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment Double-blind experiment- is an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment By conducting this type of experiment the researcher can remain unbiased.

THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENT Stanley Milgram wanted to determine whether participants would administer painful shocks to others because an authority figure instructed them to do so He gathered 1000 participants The volunteers were paired with learners The volunteer would shock the learner when the learner made a mistake Milgram Experiment Video

THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENT The volunteers were told that with each mistake, the electrical shock would become stronger The volunteers did not realize the shocks were fake 65% of the volunteers pushed the shock button until it reached maximum severity Proved that ordinary individuals could easily inflict pain if orders were given by a respected authority

THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENT Was an excellent example of a single-blind experiment Swarthmore College conducted the same study 88% of undergraduates administered the highest level of shock Updated

THE PLACEBO EFFECT Is a change in a participant’s illness or behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect rather than from the actual treatment Psychiatric patients in two study groups were given a drug, after a six-week period the groups were evaluated

THE PLACEBO EFFECT 53% to 80% reported they benefited from the drugs The drugs administered were placebos The people reacted to their own expectations of how the drug given would affect them. Neither the researchers or the patients new they were placebos until after the experiment

SOURCE: Kasschau, Richard, A. Understanding Psychology. McGraw-Hill, Glencoe, New York, New York, 2008.