Research Methods & Design in Psychology Lecture 1 Introduction to Survey Research Lecturer: James Neill

Overview Purpose Goals Types Topics Advantages Disadvantages

Purposes of Research – Information gathering e.g., polls, customer satisfaction, attitudes

Purposes of Research – Theory testing and theory building e.g., social psychological theories often surveys do a bit of info gathering and a bit of theory testing

Survey Research Goals - Explanatory e.g., “What psychological issues are being faced by Asian Tsunami survivors?”

Survey Research Goals - Descriptives e.g., “Working conditions (hours, pay, etc.) of psychologists”

Survey Research Goals - Explanatory e.g., “Are extraverts happier?”

Survey Research Goals - Predictive e.g., “Does a couple’s length of time together prior to having children predict relationship satisfaction after having children?”

Control over extraneous variables Random assignment Types of Research - Experimental

Control over some extraneous variables Non-random assignment Types of Research – Quasi- experimental

Minimal control over extraneous variables Types of Research - Non- experimental

Surveys are widely used in non- experimental social science research Often use interviews or questionnaires Involve real-world samples Often quantitative, but can be qualitative Survey Research Characteristics

Common topics in survey research Demographics Attitudes and opinions Behaviours Motivation and personality Emotion, satisfaction, stress, etc.

Advantages of survey-based research Ecological validity Access to wide range of participants Potentially large amounts of data May be more ethical (than experiments)

Disadvantages of survey- based research Lack of control - less internal validity Self-report data only Potentially low compliance rates