A learning resource from Jayadeva de Silva

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Guide on research work for management
students
(A learning resource)
By
Jayadeva de Silva
Many business degree programmes require students to carry out a project of 3-4 months
duration .In some places this would have to be a research project. Many students
undertake research work in the area of social psychology. Social psychology is “the
scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another.”
That would mean how the individual mind works in the actual presence of others, implied
presence of others, and the imagined presence of others.
Social Psychology studies attitude formation, self-concept, forming relationships, social
influence, social thinking, motivations for helping and harming others.
Now let us look at Personality Psychology and Social Psychology
What they have in common is that both focus on the individual. Differences lie in how
social character is explained .In .Personality studies; emphasis is on private, internal
attributes and differences between individuals. In Social Psychology the emphasis is on
what people have in common and general rules of how people view and affect one
another. This then is really about levels of explanation. Various perspectives that explain
one event are not necessarily contradictory. They are often complimentary. There is no
one level of explanation that is the “real” explanation. Different levels of explanation
often fit together to form a fuller picture. It is not very useful to think in terms of
either/or.
Three Worlds of Social Psychology Research
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When studying the publications available, we can identify the following trends in social
psychology research
1-North America: First World
Much attention on individual level explanation
Primary method is laboratory experiments
2-Other industrialized nations: Second World
More attention to intergroup and societal levels of explanation
Method: laboratory experiments as well as natural observation and social discourse
(social order)
3-Developing countries: Third World
Concerned with poverty, conflict, and making use of limited resources.
Psychologists use a number of different scientific methods to conduct research on social
psychology topics. These methods allow researchers to test hypotheses and theories and
look for relationships between different variables. Which type of research is best? This
depends largely on the subject the researcher is exploring, the resources available, and the
theory or hypothesis being investigated.
Psychology researchers study a wide variety of topics, ranging from the development of
infants to the behavior of social groups. Psychologists use the scientific method to
investigate questions both systematically and empirically. We hope this learning resource
would help you familiarize yourself with the psychology research process or to brush up
on your skills.
Introduction to Research Methods
Psychology experiments can range from simple to complex, but there are some basic
terms and concepts that all students of psychology should understand. It is important for
you to start your studies by learning more about the different types of research.
The Scientific Method
Psychologists use the scientific method to conduct studies and research in psychology.
The basic process for conducting psychology research involves asking a question,
designing a study, collecting data, analyzing results, reaching conclusions and sharing the
findings. Choosing a topic, selecting research methods, and figuring out how to analyze
the data you collect can be intimidating, especially if you have little or no background or
previous in experimental methods.
Correlational Research Methods
Correlational studies are one of the two major types of psychology research.
Correlational studies are frequently used in psychology research to look for relationships
between variables. While correlational studies can suggest that there is a relationship
between two variables, finding a correlation does not prove that one variable causes a
change in another variable. In other words, correlation does not equal causation.
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Social psychologists use correlational research to look for relationships between
variables. For example, a social psychology might carry out a correlational study looking
at the relationship between media violence and aggression. Conducting surveys, directly
observing behaviors, or compiling research from earlier studies are some of the methods
used to gather data for correlational research. While this type of study can help determine
if two variables have a relationship, as we mentioned earlier, it does not allow researchers
to determine if one variable causes changes in another variable.
Correlational research
The positive or negative relationship between two variables is called a correlation
(positive or negative).
Positive = “same direction”
Negative = “opposite direction”
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Correlation is represented by the coefficient r
Conveys magnitude (value of r) and direction (- or +) Ex: correlation between hours of
sleep and energy level is r=.60 (0 < r < 1)
Correlations do not imply a causal relationship
Experimental Research Methods
The simple experiment is one of the most basic methods of determining if there is a
cause-and-effect relationship between two variables. A simple experiment utilizes a
control group of participants who receive no treatment and an experimental group of
participants who receive the treatment. Experimenters then compare the results of the two
groups to determine if the treatment had an effect. If you want to study the effectiveness
of a particular training method you would use this approach
Experimental Research
Experimental research is the key to uncovering causal relationships between variables. In
experimental research, the experimenter randomly assigns participants to one of two
groups: the control group and the experimental group. The control group receives no
treatment and serves as a baseline. Researchers manipulate the levels of
some independent variable in the experimental group and then measure the effects.
Because researchers are able to control the independent variables, experimental research
can be used to find causal relationships between variables.
Experimental Research Design
You need to understand the definition of the following concepts fairly well
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Experimental design: Research in which independent variables are manipulated and
behavior is measured while all other variables (extraneous variables) are controlled for.
Random sampling: Drawing from the population in a way that ensures equal opportunity
for every member to be included in one or more conditions of the experiment.
Control Group: A group of subjects in an experiment that does not receive the
experimental treatment. The data from the control group are used as a baseline against
which data from the experimental group are compared.
Hypothesis: A tentative statement, subject to empirical test, about the expected
relationship between variables.
Independent variable: The variable that is manipulated in an experiment. The
independent variable is believed to have an impact on the dependent variable. (multiple
levels).I like to call this “Influencing factors”
Dependent variable: The variable measured in a study. .I like to call this the factor
influenced”
What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more
variables. A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen
in your study. For example, a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep
deprivation and test performance might have a hypothesis that states, "This study is
designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep deprived people will perform worse on a test
than individuals who are not sleep deprived."
Unless you are creating a study that is exploratory in nature, your hypothesis should
always explain what you expect to happen during the course of your experiment or
research.
Remember, a hypothesis does not have to be right. While the hypothesis predicts what the
researchers expect to see, the goal of research is to determine whether this guess is right
or wrong. When conducting an experiment, researchers might explore a number of
different factors to determine which ones might contribute to the ultimate outcome.
In many cases, researchers may find that the results of an experiment do not support the
original hypothesis. When writing up these results, the researchers might suggest other
options that should be explored in future studies.
Elements of a Good Hypothesis
When trying to come up with a good hypothesis for your own psychology research or
experiments, ask yourself the following questions:
• Is you hypothesis based on your research of a topic?
• Can your hypothesis be tested?
• Does you hypothesis include independent and dependent variables?
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Before you come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing background
research on your topic. Once you have completed a literature review, start thinking of
potential questions you still have. Pay attention to the discussion section in the journal
articles you read. Many authors will suggest questions that still need to be explored.
Descriptive research
The goal of descriptive research is to portray what already exists in a group or population.
One example of this type of research would be an opinion poll to find which political
candidate people plan to vote for in an upcoming election. Unlike causal and relational
studies, descriptive studies cannot determine if there is a relationship between two
variables. They can only describe what exists within a given population. An example of
descriptive research would be conducting a survey to find out people's attitudes toward a
particular social issue such as divorce, capital punishment, gambling laws or intended
piece of labour law like private sector pension scheme
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You should be also aware of the following concepts
Validity /Validity of research
When determining the merits of a psychological test, validity is one of the most important
factors to consider. What is validity? One of the greatest concerns when creating a
psychological test is whether or not it actually measures what we think it is measuring.
For example, a test might be designed to measure a stable personality trait, but instead
measure transitory emotions generated by situational or environmental conditions. A
valid test ensures that the results are an accurate reflection of the dimension undergoing
assessment.
Validity has two dimensions
1-Internal Validity
Does the Design lend itself to testing the hypotheses?
2 -External Validity
Are the results only applicable in the controlled setting or can they be generalized to the
real world?
You would find that one compromises the other
Reliability
Reliability is another vital component of a valid psychological test. What is reliability?
How do we measure it? Simply put, reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A
test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly.
The impact of human values
Values mean “Personal convictions about what is desirable and how people ought to
behave.” We should be aware that when conducting research, researcher’s values can
impact their work in obvious and subtle ways.
Obvious impact may be due to historical trends .Subtle ways of impact: are due to the
fact that our preconceptions penetrate our interpretations, Much of these preconceptions
are culturally patterned (socially shared beliefs, ideas, values, and assumptions)
Ideas for practice
If you want to develop your skills in research work, you can try some psychological
experiments
Breakfast and Learning Experiment
Does eating breakfast really help students do better in school? According to many
experts, eating breakfast can have a beneficial influence on school performance. One
study found that children who ate a healthy breakfast learned better and had more energy
than students who did not eat breakfast. Learn more by conducting your own experiment
on how breakfast impacts learning.
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Short-Term Memory Experiment
How much information can be stored in short-term memory? One classic experiment
suggests that people can store between five to nine items, but rehearsal strategies such as
chunking can significantly increase memorization and recall. Explore this psychology
experiment idea in greater depth and learn more about how to conduct your own short-
term memory experiment.
**
Jayadeva de Silva obtained Master’s degree in Science from Russian Friendship University Moscow and Diploma in
Personnel Management from National Institute of Business Management( SriLanka). He is a fellow of both the Institute
of Personnel Management IPM) and Institute of Training & development. (SLITAD) He is also professionally qualified in
training systems & curriculum design with an ILO fellowship.
A strong advocate of Human Talents Development, Jayadeva is the Principal Consultant/Director of Humantalents
Unlimited, a professional practice that provides training & consultancy in Management. Jayadeva has carried out
several consultancy projects and conducted numerous management development programs/strategic planning
workshops, and has been trained in modern management and leadership concepts. He has contributed articles (over
50) and authored the trend setting book ‘Human Talents Management’.
He founded humantalents International and HRSriLanka virtual learning Groups. Jayadeva de Silva functioned as
Group Manager (Human Resources Development) of Hayleys Group of Companies and Group Director–Human
Resources of Browns Group of companies.
He serves as a resource person for professional and post graduate at University of Peradeniya, University of Ruhuna,
University of Ballarat Australia (SriLanka campus) Herriot Watt university UK, Australian, Institute of Business (AIB),
SriLanka Foundation Institute, IPM & SLITAD.
He is a past president of HRDGateway, an International organization of over 45,000 HR Professionals worldwide.
He can be contacted as follows
E mail djayadeva@gmail.com
011 2562449
077 7272295
Web humantalents@yahoogroups.com
Some of his publications are available for fee download from www.slideshare.net/Jayadeva
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