1. Research Process Identify questions of interest & review literature
Discover related studies, questions that have already been asked
Develop a testable hypothesis
Operationally define all variables

2. Research Process Select a research method and collect the data
Analyze the data & accept or reject hypotheses
Publish, replicate, and seek scientific review
Build a Theory

3. Experimental Research
Hypothesis: guess about a relationship
Independent variable (IV)
What is the researcher changing about participants’ experience?
Dependent variable (DV)
What variable should change as a result of IV?
Operational definition: exact way to measure a variable; what it is
Design
Experimental group: gets manipulation (IV)
Control Group: gets nothing or placebo; comparison group

4. Experimental Research
Random Selection/Sampling: choose participants for the study randomly throughout the population
Population: entire group of people of interest
Sample: small segment of population that you can actually study
Random Assignment: use chance to put into experimental or control group

5. Experiment!

6. Nonexperimental Research
Descriptive Research: what is happening
Correlative Research: what is related
Correlation does not equal causation
Direction, third variable
Example: visit grandma & called to teach
Biological Research: Nervous system, brain, physiology

7. Nonexperimental Research
Epidemiological: rate in a population
Public opinion: what people think
Archives: records
Naturalistic observation: no interference
Case studies: small #, rare event
Surveys: questions paper/phone/computer
Brain studies: MRI, fMRI, lesioning

8. Research Safeguards Experimenter effect (bias): leading
Ethnocentrism: single culture interpreting
Sample bias: sample doesn’t represent population
Participant bias: tries to do it “correctly”
Observer bias: missing important details
Single blind: researcher knows condition
Double blind: no one knows condition

9. Research Situations Confounds: changing 2 variables at once
Example: diet and exercise
Mediators: explain the relationship
Example: Social support -> needs met -> better health
Moderators: change the relationship
Example: Age difference in physical revenge

10. Identifying Research Terms
Independent Variable (IV)
Variable that is manipulated
Dependent Variable (DV)
Variable that is measured
Experimental Condition
What is changed, the participants’ experience
Control Condition
Control group gets nothing or a placebo
Experimental Research
Has a manipulation
Correlative Research
Just measuring, not manipulating

11. A researcher wanted to find out if math book A produced higher math scores than book B. What is the dependent variable?
1) The math book
2) Math scores
3) The researcher
4) The participants

12. Which of the following types of research requires both a manipulation and random assignment?
1) Descriptive
2) Public opinion
3) Experiment
4) Naturalistic observation

13. What is an example of ethnocentrism from the experiment activity?

14. A researcher gave participants varying amounts of a new "memory" drug and then gave them a story to read and measured their scores on a quiz.
1) What is the independent variable? How can you tell?
2) What is the dependent variable? How can you tell?

15. Ethics Informed Consent: understand & agree
Voluntary Participation: can stop anytime
Confidentiality: protect info, report group
Risk-Benefit Analysis: risk to participant is worth the benefit to science
Deception / Debriefing: if you lie about the purpose of a study, you explain