Unit Two: Research Methods!

Todays Goals: I can describe how research is conducted in psychology! >>>On a sheet of notebook paper, write down what you know about the scientific method!

Your Thoughts On The Scientific Method

This Video Also Explains The Scientific Method Generate a Question Form a Hypothesis Test Your Hypothesis Analyze Results Draw Conclusions Replicate Form A New Question

Steps of the Research Method Generate a Question Before researching, you must come up with a QUESTION to answer Questions in psychology often come from personal EXPERIENCES

It is best to ask questions that involve BEHAVIORS, not CONSTRUCTS Construct – something that exists, but cannot be DIRECTLY MEASURED Examples: INTELLIGENCE, MOTIVATION

Our Experiment: NINESWAPCELLRING LAMPAPPLETABLESWAY WORMHOLDHORSEBANK BABYBIRDTREEHOUSE VIDEOHOURSCLOCKSWORD DESKCATBLUERED MANGOTEACHERKIWIORANGE BOOKCASEGRAPEDOG HOMEHOMEWORKSCHOOLFINDGLASSES

Form a Hypothesis Once you have a question, you must form an educated guess, or HYPOTHESIS, about the answer to the question Hypotheses are best written in IF-THEN form Example:

Test Your Hypothesis A hypothesis is no good on its own, you need to TEST your hypothesis to determine if it is correct Testing Method Examples:

Analyze Results After testing a hypothesis, you must look at the findings and search for PATTERNS and RELATIONSHIPS in the data Analyzing results often involves looking for a CORRELATION between variables

Draw Conclusions When results have been analyzed, psychologists draw conclusions to form THEORIES

Replication One experiment is not enough, results must be repeated, or REPLICATED Results should be THE SAME every time research is conducted

Form New Questions The researching process is not over after completing an experiment and replicating it Psychologists, like any scientists, are always asking NEW, more DETAILED questions about their research topics

Now with a partner… Write down how you would go about testing a hypothesis about HUMAN BEHAVIOR! I want you to apply the scientific method to psychology You have ten minutes to write down all of the steps for your groups question! Then I will call some groups to share their ideas

Todays Goal: I can explain what the survey method is I can explain the different ways to pick samples of populations I can determine if survey questions are good or bad

To Begin: Lets share some of our experiments that we applied the scientific method to! Don’t forget to put the hypothesis in IF- THEN form

The Survey Method Survey – research method in which people are asked to respond to a series of questions about a given topic Populations and Samples Target Population – the ENTIRE group you want to research about Example: Sample – the PART of the population that you actually send the survey to Example:

Selecting Samples If a sample does not represent its population, no conclusion can be made Random Sample – a sample in which members of a population are selected RANDOMLY Each person in the population has an EQUAL chance of being chosen Example:

Stratified sample – a sample in which EVERY GROUP in a population is represented PROPORTIONALLY Example:

A large STRATIFIED sample is likely to be a RANDOM sample

Convenience Sample – a sample that is chosen based on a specific quality that is convenient, such as LOCATION Example:

Generalizing Results After looking at the results of a survey, the goal is to use the SAMPLE to make conclusions about the POPULATION This process is known as GENERALIZING results for a population One of the largest obstacles when trying to generalize is BIAS

Bias Bias is a PREDISPOSITION to a certain point of view and comes in many forms Volunteer Bias – this is created when surveys are only completed by those who choose to do so Examples:

Nonresponse Bias – this is created when some individuals choose not to return a survey Examples:

Other Potential Biases:

Analyzing the Survey Method PROS CONS

Goals For Today: I can describe the different types of research methods I can compare and contrast the research methods and give examples of all of them

Methods Of Observations Survey Method (Yesterday) Testing Method Case Study Method Longitudinal Method Cross Sectional Method Naturalistic-Observation Method Laboratory-Observational Method

The Testing Method Psychologists sometimes use PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS to learn about human behavior Examples: Personality Test, IQ Test

Case Study Method A CASE STUDY is an in depth investigation of an individual or a small group Case studies learn about the people who are being studied by observing or speaking with them, interviewing people who know them, or look into their backgrounds and histories.

Although case studies can sometimes offer great insight, psychologists are cautious about generalizing from case studies, especially the case studies that CANNOT BE REPLICATED Since case studies are based on interviews, there tend to be GAPS OF INFORMATION and INNACCURACIES Examples:

Longitudinal Method The longitudinal method selects a group of participants and then observes them OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, OFTEN YEARS OR DECADES Longitudinal studies answer questions about development OVER TIME Usually the observations are conducted at INTERVALS These studies are TIME CONSUMING, EXPENSIVE and RISKY

Cross Sectional Method Cross sectional method are similar to longitudinal method but instead the select a SAMPLE THAT INCULDES PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT AGES. Information in cross sectional studies are LESS RELIABLE than information from LONGITUDINAL STUDIES Examples:

Naturalistic-Observation Method This method observes people in their NATURAL HABITATS While observing, psychologists do not INTERFERE with their subjects Examples: Food or SecurityFood or Security

Laboratory-Observation Method When observing someone in their natural habitat is not available, we then observe them in a lab B.F. Skinner and the rat box are a good example of a laboratory Psychologists use a lab to CONTROL the environment of a study EXAMPLES

Todays Goals: I can describe correlation graphically and determine by the correlation coefficient if it is a strong correlation I can describe what “correlation does not mean causation” means in terms of our experiments

To Begin Class WITHOUT NOTES… Write down all of the different methods of observations! Try to remember as many as you can. Then write down a few key words that relate to each method of observation

Correlation! All of our types of observations are great, but now we have to analyze our data that we put together from our observations. Correlation CORRELATION is a measure of how closely one thing is related to another. The stronger the correlation, the closer two things are related.

Types of Correlation: If two variables have a POSITIVE correlation, then as one variable goes up, the other tends to go up. We would say that SALARIES and NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT are positively correlated.

If two variables have a NEGATIVE correlation, then as one variable goes up, the other tends to go down. We would say that IMMUNE SYSTEMS ABILITY TO FUNCTION and STRESS are negatively correlated

What Does Correlation Look Like? Correlation can be given as a number, r, called the correlation COEFFICENT that is between ZERO and ONE. The larger r is (either close to POSITIVE ONE or close to NEGATIVE ONE), the stronger the correlation. The closer r is to 0, the smaller the correlation. A correlation coefficient of 0 means that there is NO RELATIONSHIP between the two variables.

When looking at an x-y graph, two variables that are correlated will form a LINEAR pattern.

Why Do We Care About Correlation? When performing observations, unlike experiments, we CANNOT come to conclusions about one variable CAUSING another variable to change. A correlation between two variables is the closest thing psychologists have to confirming that two variables are related if they cannot design an experiment to test the cause-effect relationship.

We must be extremely CAREFUL when looking at data because CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION. It is possible that there is a cause and effect relationship, BUT, there could be an extra VARIABLE that is causing the correlation we see. Example(s): INCREASED SALES OF ICE CREAM LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN MURDERS. THEREFORE ICE CREAM COMSUMPTION CAUSES MURDERS

The Experimental Method An experiment is a research method in which participants go through a specific treatment in order for the researcher to investigate a specific cause and effect relationship.

Variable: FACTORS THAT CAN VARY OR CHANGE Independent Variable: THE FACTOR THAT RESEARCHERS MANIPULATE SO THAT THEY CAN DETERMINE ITS EFFECT. Dependent Variable: DEPENDS ON SOMETHING, THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE Experimental Group: MEMBERS OF THE EXPERIMENT THAT RECEIVE THE TREATMENT

Control Group: MEMBERS OF THE EXPERIMENT THAT DO NOT RECEIVE THE TREATMENT Controlled Experiment: EXPERIMENTS THAT USE CONTROL GROUPS AS WELL AS EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS

Describe a possible psychology experiment below. Then, define and give an example from that experiment of each of the following terms: variable, independent variable, dependent variable, experimental group, control group, controlled experiment. Example: Does eating breakfast really boost academic performance?

Other Experimental Variations and Concepts The Placebo Effect A placebo is a substance or treatment that has no effect other than the participants’ belief in it. Example: Penn and Teller Placebo EffectPenn and Teller Placebo Effect

Single-Blind Studies In a single-blind study, the PARTICIPANT does not know if they are in the control group or the experimental group. Single-blind studies eliminate effects of participant bias based on which group they are in.

Double-Blind Studies In a double-blind study, neither the PARTICIPANTS nor the EXPERIMENTERS knows which participants are in which groups. Double blind studies eliminate bias in both the participant and the researcher. These are commonly found in drug testing. The Food and Drug Administration requires double- blind studies to prove that a medicine is effective.

Todays Goals: I can understand the ethical debates that surface in psychology I can form my own opinions on what I think is ethical and unethical

Ethics are standards for PROPER and RESPONSIBLE behavior. By following ethical practices in research, psychologists try to: Promote dignity of the individual Maintain scientific integrity Foster human welfare Lessen harm and human suffering

Research With People Many possible studies could REVEAL very useful information, but it would be unethical to perform such experiments Example: A psychologist might wonder about the effects of being separated from a parent soon after birth. However, one could not go out and force children to separate from their families and then see how they respond. Milgram’s Obedience Experiment

Alternative Research: In place of these unethical studies, psychologists can seek out people who already meet the qualifications they are looking for. For example, they could look through records and find children separated at a young age from their parents. Disadvantages of this alternative approach:

Two Ethical Standards Confidentiality Psychologists much keep records of research participants and clients a SECRET Confidentiality would only be broken if the psychologist was trying to protect another’s SAFETY (ex. if a client said they were going to kill someone)

Applebees Example

Informed Consent Participants must sign a form giving INFORMED CONSENT to be in an experiment Participants verify that they understand the experiment and WANT to participate

While psychologists try to be straight forward and honest, sometimes it is necessary to DECEIVE participants in order to achieve results The special conditions required to be able to use deception are: When psychologists believe BENEFITS of the research outweigh potential HARM When psychologists believe individuals would have been willing to participate if they had understood the benefits of the research When participants receive an explanation for the study after it has occurred

Animal Research Many studies that are not permissible on humans have been conducted using ANIMALS Animal research provides great insight into topics like the BRAIN and mental disorders Animals are only used when there is NO ALTERNATIVE and psychologists believe that benefits outweigh the harm

Ethics In Using Data Psychologists are responsible for ACCURATELY reporting all of their data and not simply discarding data that does not support their original hypothesis