Psychological Research Strategies Module 2

Why is Research Important? Gives us a reliable, systematic way to consider our questions Helps us to draw logical, supported conclusions “Not all will conduct research, but all have to evaluate its relevance”

Research Methods Example research topic: Does listening to music through headphones affect studying? What does common sense say?

Observation Benefit: simplest scientific technique Problem: bias Two Types of bias: Researcher bias – observation may be influenced by what they want/expect to discover Participant bias – may respond a certain way because: know they’re being observed believe they know what the researcher wants

What do you see?

Ways to reduce bias: Researcher – finding ways to rely less on observers’ opinion (example: checklists) Participant – using naturalistic observation – naturally occurring settings

Case Studies one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles Problems: bias can’t always apply results of one study to other situations Sometimes necessary for ethical reasons Example: Genie

Surveys Goal: discover the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a sample of people using questionnaires or interviews Benefits: efficient, can reach large crowds Problems: bias in wording, social desirability Age Interviews!

Surveys For results to be relevant to the population: Random sample – every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected Adequate number of participants – determined by mathematical formulas; larger samples = more relevant results

Correlational Study Reveals the extent to which two variables are related to each other Examples: Is there a relationship between… diet and health? training techniques and success in sports? studying and better grades?

Uses of Correlational Studies notcause-and-effect does not prove that a cause-and-effect relationship exists onlyrelated tell you only that variables are related, not why they are related So why use them? predictions Useful for making predictions – the stronger the correlation, the more accurate your prediction

Correlation Positive Correlation – both variables increase or decrease together Examples: height & weight, studying effectiveness & frequency of wearing headphones Perfect Positive CorrelationModerate Positive Correlation

Correlation Negative Correlation – one variable increases while the other decreases Example: hours spent watching TV & GPA, studying effectiveness & frequency of wearing headphones Perfect Negative CorrelationModerate Negative Correlation

Correlation Zero Correlation – no relationship between the variables Example: the number of carrots you eat per day and your shoe size

Experiments only cause-and-effect Purpose: only method that allows you to establish a cause-and-effect relationship

Hypotheses and Operational Definitions 1 st step: form a hypothesis – testable prediction of the experiment’s outcome

Independent and Dependent Variables Two variables of a hypothesis: 1. Independent variable (IV): the variable that should cause something to happen 2. Dependent variable (DV): the variable that should show the effect (or outcome) of the IV

IV & DV Example “Students who listen to music during class will have higher average grades at the end of the quarter.” What are the independent and dependent variables? IV = listening to music during class DV = participants' average end-of-quarter grades

Groups & Random Assignment Most experiments have two groups: Experimental group – exposed to the IV (music) Control group – not exposed to the IV (no music) Critical feature: people placed in groups by random assignment – assigning by chance

Controlling Your Experiment (Testing only what you want to test) Control for experiments by: Blind procedure - participants don’t know hypothesis until after data is collected Double-blind procedure – the people collecting the data & participants don’t know the expected outcome Placebo – nonactive substance or condition that is given instead of a drug or active agent (all drug studies)

Ethics: Human Research 4 Ethical Principles Guiding Human Research: 1. Informed consent – about nature of research & risks 2. Right to be protected from harm and discomfort 3. Right to confidentiality – can’t release data about individual participants 4. Right to debriefing – full explanation of research when involvement is done

Ethics: Animal Research Must have: 1. clean housing 2. adequate ventilation 3. appropriate food 4. be well-cared for