steps in psychological research Scientific method is a series of systematic and orderly steps Review answers what they thought makes the study in the clip scientific for homework.

We have learnt that Behaviour is any observable action made by a living person or animal. It can be seen and measured Psychology research aims to describe, predict, control and explain thoughts, feelings and behaviour It collects empirical evidence that needs to be reliable This is a review of what was covered last lesson, and todays lesson focuses on scientific method.

LEARNING objectives Understand the 7 steps in psychological research using the scientific method Understand the role of the Independent Variable (IV) and the Dependent Variable (DV) Present the 7 steps in a flow chart Will go through the learning objectives for the lesson. Students may write this down if they want to and check whether they meet the objectives at the end of the lesson.

The scientific method It provides step-by-step, general directions to help us work through problems In order to describe behaviour, psychologists need to observe it and gather data (from participants), then they can determine the underlying cause of the behaviour To gather this data they need to carry out scientific (empirical) investigations. In the other sciences these are generally referred to as experiments where the researcher changes conditions (variables) to see the affect it will have Research in psychology can be experimental or can be naturally occurring and merely observed Research psychologists working all over the world use the same method - WHY? Students will take notes. We will revisit why use scientific methods?

THE 7 Steps STEP 7 Report the research findings Prepare a report Formulate a hypothesis A hypothesis is a testable prediction of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics The relationship between the Independent Variable and the Dependent Variable Independent Variable This is the variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher to determine if it has an affect on another variable. e.g. amount of sleep, amount of alcohol, type of music Dependent Variable This is the variable that is observed or measured. It is the behaviour or response that the researcher is interested in e.g. number of errors made, level of relaxation STEP 7 Report the research findings Prepare a report Includes details of background information, the method, the findings and how they were reported See the blank report handout STEP 6 Interpret the data What do the results mean? Make conclusions about the results How valid and reliable are the results? STEP 1 Identify the research problem What is your problem or topic of interest? Use research to find out more – has this already been researched? Become familiar with your topic of research interest Refine your ideas and propose a question STEP 5 Analyse the data Summarise, organiseraw data in a logical way Put in tables and graphs using averages STEP 3 Design a method How will the hypothesis be best tested? Which participants will be used? The responses from participants form the data Experiment, Observation, Survey, Interviews, Rating Scales STEP 4 Collect the data Plan participants Plan collection techniques – what is best suited to research question? Is it questionnaires, observations, tests, interviews, physiological recordings Raw data at this stage as it has not been analysed Students take notes and follow the flow chart on page 21 Figure 1.14 as we go through slide. Hypotheses:examples: The effect of family size on happiness, H: if people come from smaller families then they will be happier overall. Violence on TV and children’s play, H: aggression levels in children’s play will increase if the amount of time spent watching violence on TV is high – this will be done on whiteboard. Participants. Who are they? They are a sample of the population – you are a sample of the year 11 population in SA. You are representative of the population of interest – therefore not biased. We will go through variables in greater detail on the following slides.

VARIABLES Students watch video – can take notes.

The Independent Variable The variable (or change) that you are purposely changing in the experiment EASILY REMEMBERED – It is what I change – the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE Independent variables sit on the X-axis when plotting graphs Students take notes. Here I will use whiteboard to illustrate. Will use the example used in the flowchart on page 21 of textbook. Tell students we will be covering these in greater detail in Week 2.

The Dependent Variable The variable that changes as a result of the Independent variable Measured in some from during the experiment Dependent variable goes high on the axis known as Y when plotting graphs Students take notes. Here I will use whiteboard to illustrate. Will use the example used in the flowchart on page 21 of textbook. We will then go through some examples:  A group of college students were given a short course in speed-reading. The instructor was curious if a monetary incentive would influence performance on a reading test taken at the end of the course.  Half the students were offered $5 for obtaining a certain level of performance on the test, the other half were not offered money – which is the IV and DV?  A social psychologist thinks that people are more likely to conform to a large crowd than to a single person.  To test this hypothesis, the social psychologist had either one person or five persons stand on a busy walking path on campus and look up.  The psychologist stood nearby and counted the number of people passing by who also looked up. IV and DV?

activity In groups of 4 select one of the research questions on page 23, Activity 1.8. Make a poster to outline the steps that could be used to conduct scientific research on the topic. Present as a flowchart (see page 21 Figure 1.14) If students are not in groups set them up in groups of four and give instructions. They may use the blank report given to fill on a stick on poster or they may choose another way of presenting flowchart – the choice is theirs. Students are to follow the flowchart on page 21. Each group given 1 A2 piece of card, 7 pieces of A4 coloured paper, glue, scissors and coloured markers. Students will be given 30 minutes to complete the task and they will be displayed in the classroom.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT? What is the purpose of using a scientific method? What is the dependent and independent variable? What are the 7 steps to Psychological research? Here I will ask students where they sit with the points one at a time – green light – ok, amber light – need some assistance, red light – more explanation needed. Students are not required to give the answers, rather indicate whether they understand and would be ok to answer the questions based on what they have learnt in the lesson. If they indicate they would not be able to, I will give further explanation and indicate where to find the information.

HOMEWORK Revision: Formative test next week