research methods

• Impression of Psychology


  Many people listen to talk-radio counselors and psychics to learn about others and themselves
• Intuition and common sense may aid queries, but they are not free of error
• Personal interviewers may rely too much on their "gut feelings" when meeting with job applicants
• Errors of Common Sense

  • Pennies in a cup
• Hindsight Bias


  The "I-knew-it-all-along" phenomenon. After learning the outcome of an event, many people believe they could have predicted that very outcome
• We only knew the dot.com stocks would plummet after they actually did plummet
• Sometimes we think we know more than we actually know
• People said it would take about 10 seconds to unscramble the anagrams, yet on average they took about 3 minutes
• Psychological Science


  The science of psychology helps make examined conclusions, which leads to our understanding of how people feel, think, and act
• 4 Goals of Psychology

  • Describe
  • Explain
  • Predict
  • Influence
• The Scientific Attitude


  • Curiosity (passion for exploration)
  • Skepticism (doubting and questioning)
  • Humility (ability to accept responsibility when wrong)
• Critical Thinking


  Examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions
• Psychologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method to construct theories that organize, summarize and simplify observations
• Guidelines for Psychologists


  • Behavior must be measurable
  • Methods and data must be objective
  • Scientists must be able to communicate the results of their experiment to others
• Guidelines cont.


  • Procedures must be repeatable (operational definition)
  • Must use an organized and systematic approach in gathering data
• Reliability


  A measure of consistency; must yield similar results on different testing occasions
• Validity


  The degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure
• Theory


  An explanation that integrates principles and organizes and predicts behavior or events
• Hypothesis


  A testable prediction, often prompted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject or revise the theory
• Independent Variable


  What the researcher changes
• Dependent Variable


  What the research measures
• Null Hypothesis


  States that there is no relationship between the two variables being studied (one variable does not affect the other)
• The hypothesis states that students will recall significantly more information on a Monday morning than on a Friday afternoon
• The null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in the amount recalled on a Monday morning compared to a Friday afternoon. Any difference will be due to chance or confounding factors
• Research would require us to administer tests of self-esteem and depression. Individuals who score low on a self-esteem test and high on a depression test would confirm our hypothesis
• Aim


  The purpose of a study. An aim indicates which behaviour or cognitive process will be studied within a specific population
• Procedure


  The step-by-step process used by the researcher to carry out the study
• Results


  The numerical or descriptive data that is obtained and processed
• Findings


  How the researcher interpreted the data that were collected
• Methods of Research


  • Naturalistic Observation
  • Case Studies
  • Surveys (Questionnaire)
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Cross-sectional Studies
  • Correlations
  • Experiments
• Case Study


  A technique in which one person is studied in depth to reveal underlying behavioral principles
• Case Study


  • Is language uniquely human?
  • Clinical Study
• Case-Study Method


  • Study an individual's background forces that influence their behavior (family background, home life, neighborhood, school, etc.)
  • Can exhibit individual differences and suggest hypotheses
  • Can generate hypotheses to be tested
  • Information comes from family, teachers and friends of individual being studied (biased?)
  • Info. may be misleading
  • Can't generalize nor replicate
  • Observer bias could be present
  • Cannot show causality
  • Psychologists can guide patients into saying what they want hear
• Interviews


  One-on-one questioning
• Interviews


  • Advantage: Develop rapport, relaxed atmosphere, questions in advance/flexibility

  Disadvantage: Getting rid of the personal prejudices of the interviewer, difficulty in expressing the results of an interview in exact terms
• Case Studies


  Method of research that involves an intensive investigation or study of at least one or more participants
• Case Studies


  • Advantage: Obtaining vast amounts of information (observations, journals, tests, etc.) is possible -> descriptive

  Disadvantage: Can not be generalized to all and can not be proven or disproven
• Survey


  A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people usually done by questioning a representative, random sample of people
• Surveys (Questionnaire)


  • Advantages: Time friendly – Results are easily processed

  Disadvantages: Researcher bias in questions – participants can give misleading answers to please the researcher
• Limitations of Surveys


  • Limited generalization
  • Replication sensitive to sample selected
  • Give socially desirable answers
  • Exaggerated answers to foul up results
  • Different interviewers for different samples (gender, SES, ethnicity)