1 Discuss why research methods are important for psychology Discuss the difference between scientific education and technical training Discuss aspects of data quality Discuss common research designs 2 Psychologists sometimes seem to know more We can be self conscious about our methods about because We need to learn to 3 Some think that psychology isn t scientific because Not true Science is about 4 Different kinds of doctors Technical training Ex Medical doctor Scientific education Ex Psychologist 5 Need to understand the quality of data before we talk about methods Three questions to ask Is data 1 reliable 2 valid 3 generalizability 6 Definition Measurement error States versus traits Ex self esteem 7 1 Low precision of measurement 2 The state of the participant 3 The state of the experimenter 4 The environment 8 1 Be careful double check 2 Use a standardized procedure or protocol 3 Measure 9 4 Aggregation Example meter sticks pg 68 Why 1 0 Definition A slippery concept Invokes the idea of ultimate truth 1 1 We use idea of constructs to help with this Construct definition Constructs cannot be Ex gravity intelligence Can only be seen through their effects Using a construct is like Must be tested through construct validation 1 2 Definition 1 3 Generalizability over participants Gender bias What does that say about men who show up Cohort effects Ex Our current technological age how does this change Ss Ethnic and cultural diversity WEIRD populations 1 4 Definition Many famous personality psychologists used case studies Freud Allport Jung Alder Clinical and personality psychology have 1 5 Definition randomly assigns participants to experimental groups Manipulates the IV 1 6 Definition Scatter plot Correlation coefficient assesses 1 7 Only experiments can assess causality 2013 W W Norton Company Inc 1 8 In order to say that one variable caused another a researcher must a calculate the correlation between the variables b conduct an experiment c have high generalizability d use deception 1 9 In order for data to have a high degree of validity a they must also have a high degree of reliability b they must come from an experiment c they must have low generalizability d one must know the ultimate truth about the construct being assessed 2 0 The case method should be used when a the researcher is especially concerned that the results have high generalizability b the researcher wants to establish the cause of a particular behavior c the researcher wants to have lots of control d there is an individual that the researcher wants to understand as fully as possible 2 1