Basic introduction to research methods

1. Psychology's Scientific
Method

2. Objectives
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5 Basic steps in the scientific research
Types of research & research settings
Analyze & interpreting data
Conducting and evaluating research-ethics in research

3. Psychology’s Scientific
Method
Scientific Approach
an organized way of using experience and testing
ideas to increase knowledge:
1.Curious
2.Skeptical
3.Objective
4.Think critically
Begins with theory…

4. Research settings & types of
research
A theory is a broad idea or set of
closely related facts that
attempts to explain and predict
something.
Steps of the Scientific Method

5. Psychology’s Scientific
Method
5 steps of scientific method
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Observe phenomena
Formulate question, hypothesis, & prediction
Test prediction with research
Draw conclusions
Evaluate & collaborate

7. Research settings & types of
research

Types of research:

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
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Descriptive
Correlational
Experimental
Research settings

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Laboratory
Natural observation

8. Research settings & types of
research

Descriptive research:



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Observation
Surveys & Interviews
Standardized tests
Case studies

9. Research settings & types of
research

Correlational research:
correlation formula

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Systematic observation of variables within
a sample of people
Concerned with how variable change
together
Correlation coefficient


Positive (r=.68)
Negative (r=-.77)

10. Research settings & types of
research

Experimental Research:

IV & DV
independent
variable
(the possible
cause)
dependent
variable
(the outcome
measured)

11. Research settings & types of
research

Caution about experimental research



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Validity
Experimenter bias
Participant bias
Placebo effect

12. Validity

The extent to which an experiment is
measuring what you intend to measure.

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Depression & anxiety
Aggression & Fear
The soundness of the conclusions

13. Experimenter Bias

The influence of the experimenters own
expectations on the outcome of the
research.

14. Participant Bias

The influence of the participant’s
expectations on their behavior in the
experiment.

15. Placebo Effect
A placebo is a bogus treatment that
has the appearance of being
genuine.
A placebo effect occurs when subjects
who have not received the independent
variable have results similar to
subjects who do.

16. Single Blind Study
Well-designed experiments
control for the effects of
expectations by creating
conditions under which
participants are unaware of the
treatment and are called single
blind studies.

17. Double Blind Study
Studies in which both participants
and experimenters are unaware of
who has obtained the treatment are
called double-blind studies.

18. Analyzing and Interpreting
Data

Descriptive statistics – describe and summarize
data for large groups of participants

Mean: average

Median: midpoint in rank-ordered data

Mode: score appearing most often

19. Analyzing and Interpreting
Data

Measure of dispersion:

Range

Normal distribution: bell-shaped curve

Standard deviation: degree to which scores in ordered
distribution are spread out

20. Analyzing and Interpreting
Data

Inferential statistics: methods used to indicate
whether or not data sufficiently support hypothesis.


Statistical significance
.05, .01, .001

21. Mode
9
Mean & Median
% Giving birth for 1st time
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
13
16
19
22
25
28
Mother’s Age
31
34
37
40

22. Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Reaching conclusions from data

Statistical significance

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Size of correlation
Difference of means are greater than chance
Two issues for significance


Larger sample size is better
Statistical difference does not equal practical
significance

23. Challenges of Conducting
Ethical Research
Ethics of Research with Human
Participants
Ethics of Research with Nonhuman
Animals

24. Ethics of Research with
Human Participants
1.
Freedom from Coercion
2. Informed consent
3. Limited deception
4. Adequate debriefing
5. Confidentiality

25. Ethics of Research with
Nonhuman Animals
1.
Necessity
2. Health
3. Humane
treatment

26. Becoming a consumer of
Psychological Research

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Distinguish between group results and
Individual needs
Avoid overgeneralization
Look beyond a single study
Avoid making causal attributions
Consider the source of information