Research Methods 1 Planning Research Year 9 Psychology

Research Methods Research Methods One section in each paper Split into 8 parts Planning Research Case Studies Observations Correlation Research Methods Interviews Maths in Psychology Experiments Questionnaires

Research Methods There are a number of techniques for gathering information about the human mind and behaviour. We will study these in more depth throughout the course Correlations Experiments Observations Case studies Questionnaires Interview

Planning Research Before we can begin looking at different types of research, we must look at how to plan research in psychology

Samples and Sampling Methods A decision needs to be made about which people will be involved in the research Whole population The whole population is identified The people we are interested in studying are identified. These are the target population Target population Sample Participants are chosen from the target population to take part in the research

Samples and Sampling Methods Target Population The group of people that we are interested in studying. The participants will be taken from this target population.

Samples and Sampling Methods The group of people, known as participants, that will take part in the research

Samples and Sampling Methods The way in which the sample is chosen from the target population.

Sampling Methods Random Opportunity Self-Selection

Random Sampling Everybody in the target population has an equal chance of being selected to take part. E.g. Placing names in a hat and drawing the names randomly E.g. Using a random name generator to select names electronically and randomly

Opportunity Sampling The participants selected to take part are people that happen to be around at the time of selection. E.g. People in a shopping centre at time of selection

Self-Selecting Sampling Participants volunteer to take part, normally in response to an advert in a newspaper. E.g. People reading a university newspaper may see the advert and volunteer to take part.

Evaluating sampling methods Each sampling method in psychology has clear strengths and weaknesses. Task Complete the description of each type of sampling method Arrange the cards into strengths and weaknesses of each sampling method HAVE YOUR ANSWERS CHECKED BEFORE STICKING!!

Random Sampling The sample isn’t influenced by the researcher’s wants and needs It allows for an unbiased sample to be chosen It’s difficult to identify the whole target population to randomly select from! It can be time consuming Ensures that all people have a fair chance of taking part

Opportunity Sampling It’s easy to carry out The sample is open to bias as people in one place are likely to share some characteristics The researcher could be biased in choosing certain people out of those that are available

Self-Selecting Sampling It’s easy and requires little work from the researcher You can assume consent as people have volunteered themselves People volunteering are likely to be outgoing and confident, causing bias

Large Samples The more people, the better! It becomes more representative and generalizable to the wider population

Small Samples There are not enough people to establish a consistent effect. This is not representative of the wider population and difficult to generalise from

A study looking at the effect of caffeine on reaction time Experimental Design Once you have a sample, you need to organise your participants in a way that makes sense for your experiment A study looking at the effect of caffeine on reaction time There are three ways in which participants can be organised

Repeated Measures Each participant takes part in every test Test 1 = NO CAFFEINE Test 2 = CAFFEINE

Independent Measures Different participants take part in each test. Each participant takes part in only one of the tests. Test 1 = NO CAFFEINE Test 2 = CAFFEINE

Matched-Pairs Measures Different participants take part in each test. Participants are matched across the two groups based on characteristics. E.g same IQ Test 1 = NO CAFFEINE Test 2 = CAFFEINE

Evaluating experimental designs Each experimental design has its pros and cons. It reduces the risk of individual differences between tests People might improve from one test to another due to practice Taking part in both tests might give away the aim of the research It’s quicker and easier to do REPEATED MEASURES

Evaluating experimental designs Each experimental design has its pros and cons. It reduces the risk of individual differences between tests It means people cannot improve due to practice effects People are unlikely to work out the aim from taking part in only one test It can be time consuming and difficult to find people with similar characteristics MATCHED-PAIRS

Evaluating experimental designs Each experimental design has its pros and cons. There is a risk of individual differences between the tests It means people cannot improve due to practice effects People are unlikely to work out the aim from taking part in only one test It can be quick and easy to do INDEPENDENT MEASURES

Variables INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE What is being changed? DEPENDENT VARIABLE What is being measured?

Identify the IV and DV in these examples Do girls talk more than boys? Does lack of sleep affect reaction time? Do higher temperature make tomatoes grow faster? Does age affect short term memory? Do higher prices mean less people travel on trains? Does TV affect people’s level of intelligence? Do rewards or punishments affect attainment on a quiz? Does noise level affect performance on essay writing? Do sweets have an impact on children’s attention span? Does snoozing have an impact on people’s time skills?

Hypotheses = Variables When planning research, it is important to come up with a hypothesis and establish what exactly you want to test and how you will test it. Step 1 for writing a hypotheses Identify what you will be manipulating in your research, and what you will be measuring

Hypotheses = Variables Step 1 for writing a hypotheses A study looking at the effect of caffeine on reaction time INDEPENDENT VARIABLE What am I changing? Amount of caffeine DEPENDENT VARIABLE What am I measuring? Reaction time

Hypotheses = Variables Step 1 for writing a hypotheses INDEPENDENT VARIABLE What is being changed? Identify the variables DEPENDENT VARIABLE What is being measured?

Hypotheses = Variables Step 2 for writing a hypotheses Put your variables into a statement a little like this:   This experiment is looking at the effect of _________ (the IV) on _________ (the DV)

Write a hypothesis for each of these examples Do girls talk more than boys? Does lack of sleep affect reaction time? Do higher temperature make tomatoes grow faster? Does age affect short term memory? Do higher prices mean less people travel on trains? Does TV affect people’s level of intelligence? Do rewards or punishments affect attainment on a quiz? Does noise level affect performance on essay writing? Do sweets have an impact on children’s attention span? Does snoozing have an impact on people’s time skills?

Hypotheses = Variables Step 3 for writing a hypotheses Is your hypothesis directional or non-directional? You are saying there will be a difference and identifying exactly what it will be You are saying there will be a difference, but not saying what it will be Directional One-tailed Non-directional Two-tailed

Hypotheses = Variables Step 3 for writing a hypotheses Is your hypothesis directional or non-directional? The more caffeine you have, the better your reaction time There will be an effect of caffeine on reaction times Directional One-tailed Non-directional Two-tailed

Hypotheses = Variables Step 4 for writing a hypotheses Write out your prediction (directional or non-directional), explicitly using the IV and DV identified in step 1 There will be a difference in reaction time based on how much caffeine is consumed Dependent variable Independent variable

Identify whether the hypotheses you wrote are directional, or non-directional. Write down what the opposite would be Do girls talk more than boys? Does lack of sleep affect reaction time? Do higher temperature make tomatoes grow faster? Does age affect short term memory? Do higher prices mean less people travel on trains? Does TV affect people’s level of intelligence? Do rewards or punishments affect attainment on a quiz? Does noise level affect performance on essay writing? Do sweets have an impact on children’s attention span? Does snoozing have an impact on people’s time skills?

A study looking at the effect of caffeine on reaction time Extraneous Variables The dependent and independent variables are what the researcher wants to investigate. Sometimes, there are factors other than the thing the researcher is changing (IV) that influence what we are measuring (DV). These are called extraneous variables. A study looking at the effect of caffeine on reaction time How much sleep did the participant get? Does the participant have any disabilities slowing their reactions? Are some participants of an older age, where reaction times are likely to be slower?

Situational variables Participant variables Demand characteristics Extraneous Variables It’s possible to sort extraneous variables into 4 categories: Situational variables Participant variables Demand characteristics Order effects

What extraneous variables may these pictures be describing?

Situational Variables Things in the environment that could influence the dependent variable

Participant Variables Things about the participant that could impact on the dependent variable

Demand Characteristics These occur when the participant works out what the researcher wants to find out and changes their behavior accordingly.

Order Effects These occur when participants all complete the activities in the same order. There may be something about the order of activities that affects participant behaviour. Practice Effects Fatigue Participants might get better at tasks over time due to practice. E.g. if participants are doing timed puzzles after different amounts of coffee, they may get better at the puzzles in each test! This means it would be nothing to do with the coffee, just the practice. In studies that include multiple tests for the same participants, they are likely to get tired (or bored) which could affect their performance.

Controlling extraneous variables Obviously, extraneous variables are very bad for research, and so researchers try to minimise the influence they have by controlling the variables.

Controlling Situational Variables Researchers will ensure that the procedure, environment, time of day etc. is kept the same for all participants taking part Standardised Procedure Ensuring the study is exactly the same for all participants

Controlling Participant Variables Researchers may be reduce the effect of participant variables, such as differing IQ, personality, stage of development etc. by ensuring that participants taking part are as closely matched as possible. Experimental Design Using a repeated measures of matched-pairs design can reduce the differences between participants in each test of the experiment

Controlling Demand Characteristics It can be hard to prevent participants from guessing the aim of the research, especially as some methods are a little unethical! DECEPTION SINGLE-BLIND RESEARCH Misleading participants into thinking the research is looking at something else. E.g. saying the study is looking at memory, when really it is looking at decision making. Using a researcher that doesn’t know the aim of the study means they are unlikely to influence the participants in any way

Controlling Order Effects Things like practice effects and fatigue/boredom are quite easy to control. COUNTERBALANCING EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Splitting participants into groups that do all the tasks, but in different orders Independent measures design means that participants only have to take part in one test 1 2 AB : BA