The research process Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

Announcements This is the final lecture Wednesday (optional) – Review Q&A, help with posters, etc. Labs this week Poster presentations Turn in group ratings sheets Turn in results and reference section for group project

Course Review: The Research Process Get an idea Presenting your work  A set of skills leading to knowledge  A way of thinking  A way of life?

The Research Process  Get an idea – Often the hardest part – No firm rules for how to do this – Observations – Past research – Review the literature

The Research Process Review the literature What has already been done? What variables have people looked at What hasn’t been looked at How are other experiments in the area done? What methods are used To measure the dependent variable To manipulate the independent variable To control extraneous variables

 Formulate a testable hypothesis – What is a hypothesis? – A predicted relationship between variables – What does it mean to be testable? – Must be falsifiable – Must be able to measure (and manipulate for experiments) the variables – Directly – Indirectly – Operational definitions The Research Process

Design the research – What method? – Experiment,Survey, Small N designs, Developmental designs, … – What kind of comparisons are used –Control groups –Baseline conditions – What are your variables? –How many levels of your Independent variable(s) –How do you measure your dependent vairable(s) The Research Process

Collect Data May include pilot research Who do you test? What’s your population Your sample Your sampling method The Research Process

Analyze the data Variables and variability Descriptive statistics (summarizing) Means, standard deviations Graphs, tables Inferential statistics (drawing conclusions) What kind of analysis is appropriate for your design T-tests ANOVA Between or within versions The Research Process

Interpret the results Reject or fail to reject null hypotheses Statistical vs. theoretical significance Support or refute the theory (or revise) Generalizability of the results The Research Process

Present the results Getting the research “out there” Conference presentations Posters Talks Written reports APA style Supports clarity The Research Process

Repeat Each set of results leads to more research questions Refine the theory Test a refined theory Test alternative explanations The Research Process

Reviewing for the final exam Thursday Dec. 16 1:00-2:50 It is cumulative, covers the entire course. The majority is on new material (roughly 65%), the rest is material covered on Exams 1 & 2.

Reviewing for the final exam  Scientific method  Getting ideas  Developing (good) theories  Reviewing the literature  Psychological Science  Ethics  Basic methodologies  APA style  Underlying reasons for the organization  Parts of a manuscript Variables Sampling Control Experimental Designs Vocabulary Single factor designs Between & Within Factorial designs First 2/3 of the course

Reviewing for the final exam Non experimental methods Survey, correlational, quasi-experimental, developmental, & small-N designs Statistics Descriptive Inferential Presentations Papers, Posters, & Talks Final 1/3 of the course

Labs this week Poster presentations Turn in group ratings sheets Turn in results and reference section for group project