Module 3: Research in Psychology Learning Objectives What is the scientific method? How do psychologist use theory and research to answer questions of interest? What research methods do psychologist use? How do psychologist establish cause-and- effect relationships in research studies? Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

The Scientific Method The approach used by psychologists to systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behaviour and other phenomena of interest

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Scientific Method: Developing Explanations  Research Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest  Theories Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest  Hypothesis A prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested  Operationalization The process of translating a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed

Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Scientific Method

Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Descriptive Research An approach used to systematically investigate a person, group, or patterns of behaviour There are several types used in Psychological Research:  Archival research Use of existing data in order to test a hypothesis Case study An in-depth, intensive investigation of an individual or small group of people

Descriptive Research Survey research A sample of people are asked a series of questions about their behaviour, thoughts, and attitudes in order to represent a larger population Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Descriptive Research Naturalistic observation Observation of naturally occurring behaviour without intervention * observer effect – the experimenter inadvertently being seen by the observed thereby influencing their behaviour * observer bias – tendency for an experimenter to be sensitive to supporting data Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Correlation Research Correlational Research The relationship between two sets of variables is examined to determine whether they are associated, or “correlated” Correlation does not mean “causation” Ranges from +1 to -1

Correlation Research Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Experimental Research The relationship between two (or more) variables is investigated by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Experimental Research What is necessary to do Experimental Research? Experimental Research requires the responses of at least two groups to be compared. These two groups are called: – Experimental Group – Control Group Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Experimental Research – Experimental Group: A group participating in an experiment that receives a treatment – Control Group A group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment  In some experiments there can be more than one experimental group and/or more than one control group Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Experimental Research Variable Behaviour, event, or other characteristic that can change or vary in some way Independent variable The variable that is manipulated by the experiment Dependent variable The variable that is measured and is expected to change as a result of changes caused by the experimenter’s manipulation of the independent variable Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Experimental Research: Final Step Random assignment to condition Participants are assigned to different experimental groups or “conditions” on the basis of chance and chance alone Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

The following slide presents the process of Random Assignment The research task is to create both a control group and a experiment group which is chosen from a population of Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Original Group Main Population Being Studied Control Group Experimental Group They will receive the treatment Random assignment completed! Let the experiment begin!

Experimental Research: Final Step Replication Repetition of findings using other procedures in other setting Significant outcome Use of statistical procedures in order to determine whether or not differences between groups are large enough to be significant Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Experimental Research: In Action! Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Research Strategy Recap Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Recap/Evaluate/Rethink: Module 3 1. What research methods do psychologists use? 2. An explanation for a phenomenon of interest is known as a _____ Copyright © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.