1 Research Methods in Psychology PSY 100 Fall 2013 I Is Psychology a Science I YES BIATCH II Empirical approach To study human behavior III Scientific method II Four Basic Objectives IV Describe V Explain VI Predict VII Control II inference conclusion based on observation III Step 1 Developing a research question VIII How do we develop research questions III observe human behavior II look to previous research III testing commonly fields IV from theories II An explanation that organizes observations into meaningful patterns and accounts for relationships among observed events in terms of underlying mechanisms II theories can be supported but not proven 2 IV Step 2 Hypothesis II state the research question in terms of a hypothesis II precise prediction that can be tested through research IX the hypothesis is a statement about the predicted relationship between III factors ir measures that vary within an experiment or among variables individuals X Variables can be IV independent manipulated by the researcher V dependent the outcome or the one that changes as a result of the independent variable V Step 3 Gathering Evidence III Descriptive Research V Case Study III in depth study of one or more individuals IV methods used by II Piaget II Freud V close observation and or interviewing of participants VI Problems III relies on memories IV withholding of important information V experimenter bias VI Naturalistic Observation natural settings II method of research based on careful observation of behavior in 3 VII Problems VI possibility of no informed consent or debriefing of participants VII experimenter observer bias VII Correlational Method III examines the link between two variables VIII Benefits VIII Offers clues to underlying causes II relationship between smoking and lung IX Identify groups of people at high risk for physical or behavioral problems cancer as adults III alcohol use in teens predicting alcoholism X Increases understanding between variables or events IX Problems XI cant tell us cause and effect relationship XII third variable VIII Survey Method IV XIII Structured interviews used to gather information about groups of people XIV Questionnaires X Survey a population XV XVI sample random sampling 4 XI Experimental Method II investigate a cause and effect relationship by manipulating variables XI Problems XVII social desirability XVIII volunteer bias and observing the change in others V Independent Variable XII Dependent Variable IX Operational Definition to measure it X Random Assignment VI defining a variable based on the procedures or operations used VII method of randomly assigning subjects to experimental or control groups XI Control vs Experimental Groups Control baseline VIII XIII independent variable Experimental receives the manipulation of VI Step 4 Drawing Conclusions II Statistics III using math to organize summarize and interpret numerical data XII Descriptive statistics IV Measures of central tendency XII Variability 5 XIII Correlations XIII Central Tendency V Mean XIV XV Median Mode XIV Variability VI how much scores vary from each other and from the mean XVI Standard deviation IX numerical depiction of variability XIV XV high variability high standard deviation low variability low standard deviation XV Correlation VII a description of a relationship between two variables X Measured 1 00 to 1 00 XIX XX Strength Direction XVII correlation does not imply causation VII The Hallmark of Science III VIII Ethical Concerns IV informed consent XVI Debriefing if using deception