Psych 101 - Introduction to Psychology - Lecture 2

RESEARCH METHODS IN

PSYCHOLOGY

www.whatispsychology.biz

RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Psychologists employ different research methods depending on the subject matter.

Common research methods include:ObservationCase studies Self-report measures and surveysCorrelational studiesExperimental studies


OBSERVATION Psychologists frequently observe

behaviour and events as they occur in their natural settings.

Scientific observation is made in a systematic and objective manner, with careful record keeping.

The primary goal of observational methods is to describe behaviour as fully and as accurately as possible.


OBSERVATION In order to observe behaviour in the real

world, psychologists may employ one of two methods:

1) Naturalistic observation (observation without intervention) Involves observing behaviour in normal,

everyday settings in an unobtrusive mannerThe observer acts as a passive recorder of

events and tries to be as inconspicuous as possible

E.g. Observing the activities of children on a playground from a distance.


OBSERVATION 2) Participant observation (observation

with intervention)Psychologists using this method observe

people’s behaviour while actively participating in the situation they are observing.

E.g. joining a cult or sorority to observe the daily activities of its members.



OBSERVATION In participant observation, the observer

may be: disguised - participants are not aware

that they are being observed; or

undisguised – participants know that they are being studied

CASE STUDY

A case study is a research design in which one person or a small number of people are studied in depth, usually over an extended period of time.

Case studies are ideal for studying rare phenomena and may be a useful tool when studying new research topics.

These studies often involve collecting evidence from a wide variety of sources such as observations, interviews, documents and artifacts.


QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS

A questionnaire is a structured pencil-and-paper interview, consisting of standardized written questions.

Questionnaires are also called self-report measures.

They are easy to administer and can be used to collect data from a large group of people fairly quickly.

On the other hand, respondents may not answer questions truthfully: they may provide socially desirable responses and minimize negative attitudes and traits.


QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS The questionnaire is the primary

research instrument used in surveys. Surveys involve the administration of a

questionnaire to a large sample of people who are representative of the wider population being studied.

They are often used in the study of public opinion, and to assess knowledge, beliefs

and attitudes.


CORRELATIONAL STUDIES In correlational studies, researchers

examine the extent to which two variables are associated.

Correlation is a mathematical way of determining the relationship between two sets of scores.

Correlations can be positive, negative or zero.

A positive correlation means that as the value of one variable changes, the other also changes in the same direction. E.g. As level of education increases, income

also increases (or vice versa)www.whatispsychology.biz

CORRELATIONAL STUDIES A negative correlation means that as the

value of one variable changes, the other changes in the opposite direction.E.g. As self-esteem increases, social anxiety

decreases. A correlation of zero means that the

variables are not related.E.g. A person’s weight might tell us nothing

about their acting ability.


CORRELATIONAL STUDIES Correlations reveal the existence and extent

of relationships but do not necessarily indicate what causes what.

CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION

The only research design that allows researchers to make statements about cause and effect is the experiment.


EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS An experiment is a careful and controlled

study of cause and effect through manipulation of the conditions to which participants are exposed.

In a correlational study, researchers simply measure preexisting differences among participants (e.g. weight, aggression) but in an experiment, they manipulate variables to see whether these manipulations produce differences in participants’ behaviour.


EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS An experiment consists of two key

components: 1) Random assignment of participants to

conditions

Participants are randomly assigned to either the experimental group (which receives the manipulation) or the control group (which does not)

NB: random assignment means that each participant has an equal chance of being selected for either group.www.whatispsychology.biz

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS2) Manipulation of an independent variable:

The variable that is manipulated is called the independent variable (IV).

The dependent variable (DV) is the one which the researcher measures to see if the manipulation had an effect.


EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS Example: Researchers want to determine if Drug X is

effective in treating anxiety. IV: the presence vs absence of the drug DV: level of anxiety

Researchers randomly assign half of the participants to the experimental group, which receives Drug X, and the other half to the control group, which does not receive the drug.

After an appropriate length of time, researchers then measure the level of anxiety of participants in both groups to see if the drug caused a difference.


X

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS Researchers must ensure that the

experimental and control groups are treated equally in all respects, except for the manipulation of the IV.

If not, there will be no way of telling if changes in the DV were caused by changes in the IV or some other variable.E.g. If persons who received Drug X also

received regular psychotherapy sessions, changes in their anxiety levels might be due to these sessions and not to the drug.


Technology

Psych 101 - Introduction to Psychology - Lecture 2