PSYC 204 1st Edition Exam 3 Study Guide Chapters 6 8 12 13 CHAPTER 6 pgs 145 163 Survey Questionnaire Research Survey used when people are asked about consumer product Poll used when people are asked about personal opinion Surveys questionnaires are the easiest way to get info They are o A self report measurement of attitudes opinions by means of questionnaires and sampling methods o Usually completed by the individual about his herself but sometimes it can be about someone else Surveys use o Gather attitudes preferences opinions concerns o Effect of some event o Looks for relationships possible cause and effects o Dispels myths o Educate Question formats o Open ended Allow ppl to answer in any way they see fit o Forced choice format Ppl give opinion by picking the best of 2 or more options Frequently used in political polls o Likert scale Rating scale is used to indicate their degree of agreement Designing Questionnaires o 1 Determine purpose of the questionnaire appropriate population o 2 Decide whether to develop a new one or use an existing one o 3 Determine how data will be analyzed o 4 Determine types of questions open ended pros o more complete answers revealed close ended pros o Easier to code and analyze fewer off the wall answers o Respondants don t have to think as hard o Respondants don t have to articulate answers o Can test for consistency o 5 Write the items o 6 Pilot test the items Gives you a chance to find out how long the survey will take Writing Question Items o Avoid bias o Sequence items o Determine the format of the item o Address a single issue per item o Beware of social desirability tendency o Make alternatives clear Define anchors Mutually exclusive Exhaustive o Leading questions o Double barreled questions Asking 2 questions in one Poor construct validity o Double negatives Cause confusion and reduce construct validity Response Tendencies o Response styles Willingness to answer Position preference Acquiescence yea nay saying Extreme responding Central tendency o Response sets responding to ppl with a specific goal in mind Social desirability Self deception an idea of who you are Impression management Who responds to survey o Ppl mentioned by incentive o Students o Ppl with strong opinion o Ppl that will benefit from results o Experts on survey topics o Ppl with time Enhancing response rates o Number of contacts o o o o Pre contacts Personal appeal Salient topic Incentives Observational Research Means for collecting data Ex developmental psychologists Characteristics of Observational Research Observe the record of a behavior Research in which the researcher simply observes records ongoing behavior never interfering or interacting w participants A which data can be collected Randomized sampling of observations Observation should be random Observer is like a test consistent decreases observer subjective ness Observer characteristics should be recorded examined Has a coding system with detailed protocol exact steps of what the observer should do Has careful record keeping diaries details Relies on an inductive approach starts with theory then collects data Forms of Observational Research 1 Naturalistic Participant behavior is disturbed as little as possible subjects not aware of observation Unobtrusive non reactive non participant research Common in animal research Physical trace unobtrusive measure of behavior that makes use of physical evidence Ex animal droppings footprints kid s chalk drawings Pros no concerns about participant being reactive captures spontaneous behavior Cons no control over environment time consuming hardtop know what to record 2 Observer Participant No interaction but participants are aware of observers presence Hawthorne effect People react to idea of being observed change in behavior due to observation 3 Participant Observer Observes participant in naturally occurring groups and record their obsv W o participant knowing Best in small groups activities that aren t available to the public o Careful records dairies to reduce subjectivity o View behaviors from an insider s perspective o Researcher usually disguised 4 Complete Participant Observations made with researcher s own group Participants are aware of observation Most intrusive reactive 1 4 non reactive reactive least intrusive most intrusive Potential Problems Intrusiveness Reactivity overt hiding vs covert participants are aware Issues of privacy Chapter 8 Longitudinal cross sectional design program evaluation Trends Developmental trends a change due to getting older o Ex getting taller smarter or forgetful Cohort Effect a change due to being a part of a group that has something in common relative to time often age Secular trend a change that s taking place in the general population over time fxn of new technology Tag lag effect effect resulting from comparing subjects of the same age at different times shows secular trends Cross sectional design A study that captures all data for each participant at one time period A study that potentially tests different age groups at the same time o Pros Very economical Logistically more practical All of the age groups can be tested at the same time o Cons Age confounded with date of birth You cant test observe for cohort effect Longitudinal study Prospective Design Study in which data on the same ppl are collected at 2 or more time periods No minimum time period btwn data collections Study tests individuals in single cohort over a course of time Typically within subjects design w repeated measures Used extensively in developmental gerontological psychology o Pros Detects change trends Allows for assessment of changes in variables overtime Time is a variable o Cons Takes years to conduct research Age confounded w time of testing Secular trends may appear to be cohort effects Threats to internal validity Mortality o Selective survival o Selective dropout History Testing Instrumentation Cross Sequential Time Lag Design Special kind of longitudinal design o Tests individuals from 2 or more cohorts at 2 or more times Design used to help separate developmental cohorts Program Evaluation Set of techniques for determining the effectiveness of a social service program All federally funded programs must be evaluated Indicators of effectiveness vary Program evaluators work for organizations being evaluated or external sponsor political dimension Sources of Resistance to Program Evaluation Fear that the program will be terminated o Ppl can lose