EXP PSY - M3

• Nonexperimental research is the label given to a study when a researcher cannot control, manipulate or alter the predictor variable or subjects, but instead, relies on interpretation, observation or interactions to come to a conclusion
• Nonexperimental research


  Research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable. Researchers simply measure variables as they naturally occur (in the lab or real world)
• Nonexperimental approaches do not create levels of an independent variable nor randomly assign subjects to these levels. They are used where experiments are not ethical or possible, or where we want to test hypotheses in realistic conditions
• Nonexperimental research, defined as any kind of quantitative or qualitative research that is not an experiment, is the predominate kind of research design used in the social sciences
• Experimental research is appropriate when the researcher has a specific research question or hypothesis about a causal relationship between two variables—and it is possible, feasible, and ethical to manipulate the independent variable
• When nonexperimental research is preferred

  • The research question or hypothesis relates to a single variable rather than a statistical relationship between two variables
  • The research question pertains to a non-causal statistical relationship between variables
  • The research question is about a causal relationship, but the independent variable cannot be manipulated or participants cannot be randomly assigned to conditions or orders of conditions for practical or ethical reasons
  • The research question is broad and exploratory, or is about what it is like to have a particular experience
• Internal validity


  The degree to which a researcher can establish a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables
• Threats to internal validity

  • Confounding factors
  • Maturation
  • Testing
  • Participant selection
  • Attrition
  • Regression towards mean
  • Instrumentation
  • Social interaction
• External validity


  The degree to which research findings can be generalized to other settings and individuals
• Threats to external validity

  • Testing participation
  • Sampling bias
  • Hawthorne effect
• Nonexperimental designs in research may be higher in external validity than laboratory experiments, but they are probably lower in internal validity
• Degree of manipulation of antecedent conditions

  The degree to which the researcher assigns subjects to antecedent conditions created for the experiment
• Degree of imposition of units


  The extent to which the researcher constrains or limits the response a subject may contribute to the data
• Phenomenology


  The description of one's own immediate experience. Rather than looking at the behavior in the world, the phenomenological approach requires us to begin with our own experience as a source of data
• Phenomenological data are limited in three major respects: 1) Because we do not compare subjects under different conditions, we cannot make a cause-and-effect statements about our experience. 2) Our descriptions are inevitably selective and shaped by our own biases and preconceptions. 3) We cannot generalize from a single case to a broader population
• Phenomenology


  The description of one's own immediate experience, rather than looking at behavior in the world
• Phenomenology involves a subject's description of personal subjective experience
• Phenomenological data are limited in three major respects: 1) We cannot make cause-and-effect statements about our experiences, 2) We have no way of knowing whether attending to our experience alters it, 3) Our experiences might or might not be generalizable to others
• Phenomenology


  The study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view
• Phenomenology is distinct from but related to other key disciplines in philosophy, such as ontology, epistemology, logic, and ethics
• Sample Phenomenological Research

  • A qualitative, phenomenological study on the lived experiences of science teachers in The Bahamas
  • Gender Differences in the Field of Information Security Technology Management: A Qualitative, Phenomenological Study
  • A phenomenological study on resilience of the elderly suffering from chronic disease: a qualitative study
  • Post-traumatic Growth in Breast Cancer Patients: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study
  • The subjective experience and phenomenology of depression following first episode psychosis: a qualitative study using photo-elicitation
  • Teachers' Perceptions of Student Violence in Public Schools: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study
• As a research approach, phenomenology falls near the low-low end on the graph of research activities
• Case Study


  A descriptive record made by an outside observer of an individual's experiences, behaviors, or both
• Case Studies

  • Useful source of inferences, hypotheses, and theories
  • Source of developing therapy techniques
  • Allow the study of rare phenomena
  • Provide exceptions, or counter instances, to accept ideas, theories, or practices
  • Have persuasive and motivational values
• Most case studies frequently rely on retrospective data, which can be inaccurate and biased
• The case study approach enables us to study variety of life events we could not study experimentally
• Case Studies

  In-depth investigations of a single person, group, event or community, using a variety of data sources and methods
• The case study research method originated in clinical medicine and is often confined to the study of a particular individual in psychology
• The information in case studies is mainly biographical and relates to events in the individual's past as well as significant events currently occurring in their life
• Limitations of Case Studies

  • Lacking scientific rigor and providing little basis for generalization
  • Researchers' own subjective feelings may influence the case study (researcher bias)
  • Difficult to replicate
  • Time-consuming and expensive
  • The volume of data, together with time restrictions, impacted the depth of analysis
• As a research approach, case study falls near the low-low to low-high end on the graph of research activities
• Field Studies

  Nonexperimental approaches used in real life settings, where researchers often combine various data gathering methods
• Field Research

  A qualitative method of data collection that aims to observe, interact and understand people in a natural environment
• Field research encompasses a diverse range of social research methods including direct observation, limited participation, analysis of documents, informal interviews, surveys etc.
• Field research typically begins in a specific setting, although the end objective is to observe and analyze the specific behavior of a subject in that setting
• Depending on the measurement used, field studies can fall along the continuum of low-low to low-high in the graphic scheme
• Naturalistic Observation


  A research method involving observing subjects in their natural environment, with no attempts at intervention
• Naturalistic observation has been used extensively in animal behavior research (ethology)
• Recent Naturalistic Observation Studies

  • Web-building strategies of black widow spider
  • Stereotyping pacing behaviors of circus tigers
  • The use of navigational cues by migrating birds
• Advantages of Naturalistic Observation

  • Allows direct observation of subjects in a natural setting
  • Allows study of things that cannot be manipulated in a lab due to ethical concerns
  • Can help support the external validity of the research