Psychology

 Form a Research Question  Form a hypothesis (educated guess)  Test the hypothesis  Analyze results  Draw conclusions  Can the experiment be replicated?  What new questions do the results of this experiment raise?

 Surveys  Observational Research  Cross-sectional Methods  Naturalistic-Observation Methods  Laboratory-Observation Methods (c orrelational research )  Experimental Research (cause/effect)

Why use surveys? To find out attitudes, opinions, & behaviors of large number of people How? Questionnaires Interviewing orally Which would provide the most accurate results? Why?

1. Determine what you want to know. Should Coginchaug High School let students wear hats? 2. Identify the target population. (target population - the whole group you want to study/describe) students and staff

3. Select a sample of the target population. (sample: part of the target population) survey 100 students and 10 staff 4. Determine what type of sample.  random sample – individuals selected by chance (if big enough…represents the whole) pick names out of hat /lottery  stratified sample – subgroups of population represented proportionally pick 3 students from each advisory & 1 teacher from each department

 Volunteer Bias Bias: predisposition to a certain point of view despite facts Volunteer bias: people who volunteer may have a different outlook than those who don’t  Can you learn the preferences of all by studying a group of some?  What factors can interfere?  Gender  Region  Socio-economic background