Research Methods PSYC E-15 Todd J. Farchione, Ph.D. Tommy Chou, M.A.

Foundations of Psychology Rene Descartes Rationalism Francis Bacon Empiricism

Research Methods and Experimental Design

Research Design: A Continuum of Structure Less StructuredMore Structured Naturalistic Observation Covert non-participation Overt non-participation Covert participation Overt participation Case Study Eclectic Clinical Observational Psychometric Archival Survey Questionnaire Interview Non-reactive Archival Physical Traces Experiment Classical experiment Factorial design Quasi-experimental Single-subject design Idiographic/nomothetic QL Idiographic QL Nomothetic QT Nomothetic QT Greater structure in the research method generally yields greater precision in psychological measurement. Without intrusion into the daily activities of the participants, naturalistic observation can be employed in a case study, the survey, and quasi-experimental design Report Formats N/ANarrative styleAPA posterAPA article

Naturalistic Observation: Experimenter Participation and Disclosure

Experimental research To qualify as an experiment, a study should have the following characteristics 1.Independent variable must be under control of the researcher 2.Sample of participants (subjects) must be chosen at random 3.Research participants must be assigned randomly to conditions

Research Methods (Pros/ Cons) Naturalistic Observation ▫Time consuming ▫No control over variables ▫Relatively cost effective Case Studies ▫Non-scientific ▫Case-specific; more reasonable to consider minor variables Surveys ▫Possible to collect data from a large N ▫Participant report; indirect data collection Experiments ▫High control ▫Less relevant to real-world situations and variations

Operationalization: What does love mean? Which definitions are operational? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think. 1.When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love. Rebecca—age 8 2.When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth. Billy—age 4 3.Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. Karl—age 5 4.Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy—age 6 5.Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired. Terri—age 4 6.Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny—age 7 7.Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby—age 7