1. Research Methods - Descriptive
Case studies
Examines one individual in depth
Provides fruitful ideas
Cannot be used to generalize
Naturalistic observations
Records behavior in natural environment
Describes but does not explain behavior
Can be revealing
Surveys and interviews
Examines many cases in less depth
Wording effect
Random sampling
Utilizes random sampling of population for best results
Objective and systematic observation and description

2. Indicate whether each of the following statements describes a positive correlation or a negative correlation.
1. The more children and youth used various media, the less happy they were with their lives (Kaiser, 2010).
2. The more sexual content teens saw on TV, the more likely they were to have sex (Collins et al., 2004).
3. The longer children were breast-fed, the greater their later academic achievement (Horwood & Ferguson, 1998).
4. The more income rose among a sample of poor families, the fewer symptoms of mental illness their children experienced (Costello et al., 2003).
ANSWERS: 1. negative, 2. positive, 3. positive, 4. negative

3. Experimentation
With experiments, researchers can focus on the possible effects of one or more factors in several ways.
Manipulating the factors of interest to determine their effects
Holding constant (“controlling”) other factors
Experimental group
Control group
IV = what you manipulate/change
DV = what you measure / result
Experimental group in an experiment: Group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.
Control group in an experiment: Group not exposed to the treatment; the control group serves as a comparison with the experimental group for judging the effect of the treatment.

4. Experimentation Double-blind procedure: Eliminating bias
Neither those in the study nor those collecting the data know which group is receiving the treatment.
Placebo effect
Effect involves results caused by expectations alone.

5. Match the term on the left with the description on the right.
Double-blind procedure a. helps researchers generalize from a small set of survey responses to a large population.
Random sampling b. helps minimize preexisting differences between experimental and control groups.
Random assignment c. controls for the placebo effect; neither researchers nor participants know who receives the real treatment.
ANSWERS: 1. c, 2. a, 3. b

6. Why, when testing a new drug to control blood pressure, would we learn more about its effectiveness from giving it to half the participants in a group of 1000 than to all 1000 participants?
ANSWER: We learn more about the drug’s effectiveness when we can compare the results of those who took the drug (the experimental group) with the results of those who did not (the control group). If we gave the drug to all 1000 participants, we would have no way of knowing whether the drug is serving as a placebo or is actually medically effective.

7. How are human research participants protected?
ANSWER: Researchers using human participants should obtain informed consent, protect them from harm and discomfort, treat personal information confidentially, and fully debrief them after their participation. Ethical principles have been developed by international psychological organizations, and most universities also have ethics committees that safeguard participants’ well-being.