RESEARCH METHODS IN PYSCHOLOGY

• Scientific Method


  1. Identify a Question of Interest

  2. Gather information and form a hypothesis

  3. Test Hypothesis by conducting research

  4. Analyse data, draw tentative conclusions and report findings

  5. Build a body of knowledge
• Hypothesis


  A specific prediction about some phenomenon that often takes the form of an 'if-then' statement
• Cognitive Dissonance


  When our mental processes feel 'out of tune' (holding two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent)
• Variable


  Any characteristic or factor that can vary
• Operational definition


  Defines a variable in terms of the specific procedures used to produce or measure it
• Measurement of Variables


  • Self-report/Reports by Others
  • Measures of Overt Behaviour
  • Psychological Tests
  • Physiological measures
• Research Ethics Principles


  • Respect for the rights and dignity of the person
  • Competence
  • Responsibility
  • Integrity
• Behavioural measurement


  Counting the amount of times someone engages in a behaviour
• Validated scales and measures

  Measure variables like personality, intelligence
• Physiological measures

  • Heart rate, blood pressure
• Respect for the rights and dignity of the person


  Treat clients with dignity with regard to moral and cultural values, take care not to intrude on privacy, treat information confidentiality and ensure clients can understand and consent to any professional actions
• Competence


  Psychologists must maintain competence in their professional skills and ethical awareness
• Responsibility


  Trustworthiness, reputability, avoid doing harm and prevent harm from others
• Integrity


  Honesty and accuracy around qualifications, treat people fairly and in a straightforward manner. Avoid deception where possible and take action against harmful/unethical behaviour.
• Information participants should be given when providing informed consent

  • Study purpose and procedures
  • Potential benefits
  • Potential risks
  • Right to decline/withdraw participation
  • Whether responses will be confidential and if not, how privacy will be protected
• Case study

  • Individual, group or event studied in detail
  • Several techniques may be used e.g., observations, interviews, psychological tests
• Advantages of case studies

  • Rich detail and descriptions
  • Can lead to hypothesis development for future research
  • Study of rare phenomena
• Disadvantages of case studies

  • Poor method for cause-effect research
  • Case not representative of population
• Naturalistic observation

  • Behaviour observed in its natural setting
• Advantages of naturalistic observation

  • Detailed information provided about nature, frequency and context of naturally occurring behaviour
• Disadvantages of naturalistic observation

  • Like a case study, this is a poor method for establishing cause-effect
  • Impact of observer presence on behaviour (Hawthorne effect)
• Survey

  • Questions/tests administered to a sample drawn from a population
• Advantages of surveys

  • Can provide representative information about a larger population
• Disadvantages of surveys

  • Unrepresentative samples leading to misleading results
  • Interviewer bias
  • Social desirability bias
• Correlation

  The strength of association between two variables

  
• Advantages of correlational studies

  • Correlation allows prediction
  • Can examine issues which cannot be studied via experiments
• Disadvantages of correlational studies

  • Correlation does not imply causation
  • Issue of confounding variables
• Pearson's 'r'


  A numerical index between -1 and +1 which expresses the strength of relationship between two variables (correlation coefficient is labeled "r")
• Positive correlation

  • Self-esteem and academic grades
  • Age and number of medical conditions
  • Outside temperature and ice cream sales
  • Hours in sunlight and sunburn
• Negative correlation

  • Outside temperature and coat sales
  • Amount of exercise and percentage body fat
• Experiment

  • Researcher/experimenter manipulates one or more variables (the independent variables)
  • The researcher/experimenter measures whether the manipulation of the independent variables influences other variables (the dependent variables)
  • The researcher/experimenter attempts to control other extraneous factors which may impact the outcome of the experiment
• Independent variable

  The variable manipulated or controlled by the experimenter
• Dependent variable

  The variable that is measured by the experimenter which may be influenced by the independent variable
• Qualitative research


  Focused on experience, understanding, observation, text, themes
• Qualitative research methods


  • Focus groups
  • Interviews
  • Diary studies
  • Any text-based information e.g., a survey with open-ended questions