Basic Research Methodologies Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

Announcements Exam 1: Sept 17 (a week from Wednesday)

An example Claim: People perform best with 8 hours of sleep a night. How might we go about trying to test this claim? How should we test it (what methods)? What are the things (variables) of interest? What is the hypothesized relationship between these variables?

General research approaches Descriptive: Describe variables as they exist Observational Survey Case studies Correlational - measures two (or more) variables in order to describe the relationship between them Experimental: Systematic manipulation and observation of non-naturally occurring events

Observational methods The researcher observes and systematically records the behavior of individuals Naturalistic observation Participant observation Contrived observation

Naturalistic observation Observation and description of behaviors within a natural setting It is generally used with naturally occurring and ongoing phenomena with little experimenter intervention

Naturalistic Observation Can be difficult to do well A lot of work is often needed to develop coding systems of behavioral categories Need to be careful not to influence the behaviors as a result of being observed

Naturalistic Observation Can be difficult to do well Good for behaviors that don’t occur (as well) in more controlled settings Walking example e.g. Goffman observations of people walking on sidewalk, they make/understand subtle cues to indicate to which side they intend to pass one another to avoid collision.

Naturalistic Observation Can be difficult to do well Good for behaviors that don’t occur (as well) in more controlled settings Often a first step in the research project helps to identify what some of the important variables are then the next step is to move into more controlled settings for further tests

Participant Observation The researcher engages in the same behaviors as those being observed May allow observation of behaviors not normally accessible to outside observation Internal perspective from direct participation But could lead to loss of objectivity Potential for contamination by observer

Contrived observation The observer sets up the situation that is observed Observations of one or more specific variables made in a precisely defined setting Much less global than naturalistic observations Often takes less time However, since it isn’t a natural setting, the behavior may be changed

Observational methods Advantages may see patterns of behaviors that are very complex and realized on in particular settings often very useful when little is known about the subject of study may learn about something that never would have thought of looking at in an experiment

Observational methods Disadvantages Causality is a problem Threats to internal validity because of lack of control Every confound is a threat Lots of alternative explanations Directionality of the relationship isn’t known Sometimes the results are not reproducible

Survey methods Widely used methodology Can collect a lot of data those annoying things in the mail and by phone US Census Can collect a lot of data Lots of participants in a short amount of time Can collect subjective information Done correctly, can be a very difficult method constructing good questions, rating scales, etc. Doesn’t provide clear cause-effect patterns

Case Histories Intensive study of a single person, a very traditional method Get a very detailed description Fits well with clinical work Typically an interesting (and often rare) case The man who mistook his wife for a hat NA (fencing accident, amnesia)

Case Histories This view has a number of disadvantages There may be poor generalizabilty There are typically a number of possible confounds and alternative explanations

Correlational Methods Measure two (or more) variables for each individual to see if the variables are related Used for: Predictions Reliability and Validity Evaluating theories Problems: Can’t make casual claims

Causal claims We’d like to say: To be able to do this: variable X causes variable Y To be able to do this: The causal variable must come first There must be co-variation between the two variables Need to eliminate plausible alternative explanations

Causal claims Directionality Problem: Third variable problem: Airplanes and coffee spills Happy people sleep well or is it that sleeping well when you’re happy? Third variable problem: Do Storks bring babies? A study reported a strong positive correlation between number of babies and stork sightings

Theory 1: Storks deliver babies

Theory 2: underlying third variable

The experimental method Manipulating and controlling variables in laboratory experiments Must have a comparison At least two groups (often more) that get compared One groups serves as a control for the other group Variables Independent variable - the variable that is manipulated Dependent variable - the variable that is measured Control variables - held constant for all participants in the experiment Experimental control will be discussed in more detail in a later lecture. It includes keeping the value of a variable constant for all conditions as well as allowing the variable to vary randomly (and hopefully equally across the experimental conditions)

The experimental method Advantages Precise control possible Precise measurement possible Theory testing possible Can make causal claims The ability to make causal claims comes from the use of control: Holding variables constant Selecting the levels of the independent variable Random assignment to conditions

The experimental method Disadvantages Artificial situations may restrict generalization to “real world” Complex behaviors may be difficult to measure The ability to make causal claims comes from the use of control: Holding variables constant Selecting the levels of the independent variable Random assignment to conditions

Next time Ethics in research Read chapter 3