Introduction to Research Methods

Psychologists try to explain human behaviour. They do

this by conducting research.

How is research conducted?

You might decide to investigate genderroles, and ask why do men and womenbehave like they do? Are humans born

withcertain behaviours (nature) or do they

learnthem? (nurture)

Your Task

In small groups brainstorm how youthink psychologistscould investigatethis. You have fiveminutes and we willfeed back to thegroup.

Experiments

An experiment is a way of conducting research inwhich one or more variables are manipulated.

You will have conducted experiments in GSCEscience. For example you might have grown one

batchof plants with light and one without and comparedthe difference.

These differences are known as variables.

Experiments

In psychology there are differenttypes of experiments that you canconduct. For example:• Lab experiments• Field experiments • Natural experiments

Experiments

What not to do

Lab experiments

An experiment thattakes place in acontrolledenvironment wherethe independent variable (IV) ismanipulated.

Natural experiments

The researcher takesadvantage of a naturallyoccurring differences.The IV(s) occur naturallyrather than beingmanipulated by theresearcher. For exampledoes the introduction oftelevision lead to morecases of eatingdisorders?

Field experiments (no not really in a field!)

An experiment thattakes place in anatural environment;the IV ismanipulated. For

exampleyou might want to see ifpeople are likely to helpon a busy train.

Your Task

You must: In small groups, read the experiments onthe sheet and decide if they are lab experiments,field experiments or natural experiments.

You should: Give reasons explaining how you arrive at

your decision.

You could: List problems you think might occur ineach experiment.

Pilot Study

A smaller version of a

larger study that isconducted to

preparefor that study and‘iron out’ anyproblems.

Your Task

In small groups make a table and see if

you can think of advantages &disadvantages for the types ofexperiment.

Lab Experiment -Advantages

High level of control of both the IVand Ev’s.

The IV (independent variable is the variable you manipulate orchange).

The EV’s (extraneous variables) are any other variable that may

impact on your research.

Lab Experiment -Advantages

Replicable - Because lab experiments

are so highly controlled, it is easy toreplicate them, that is to copy themexactly and do them again.

Lab Experiment - Disadvantages

Artificial - The tasks in a labexperiment can sometimes seem veryartificial and not reflect real life. Thisis known as mundane realism.

Mundane realism is a criticism you can usefor A02 comments.

Lab Experiment Disadvantages

There is a high chance of the investigator influencing the way

the participant behaves.

This is know as demand characteristics.

There are many types of demand characteristics. The two you

need to know are:• The Hawthorn Effect• Evaluation Apprehension

The Hawthorn Effect

Imagine you are being timed to see howfast you can run round a track. Normally youmight take your time running, but if you arebeing watched, you might try and run faster,to impress the person watching you.

In psychology experiments, sometimesparticipants try to improve theirperformance to please the experimenter.

Evaluation Apprehension

Imagine you are doing

your driving test.Normally you mightdrive as well as LewisHamilton but as soonas you start yourdriving test youdrive like this.

Field Experiment Advantages

A reduction of demand characteristics.

Can be seen as having higher mundane

realism than a lab experiment.

Field Experiment Disadvantages

Less control over variables than a lab

experiment.

Can be more time consuming than a lab

experiment.

Natural Experiment Advantages

Can be very useful in situations whereyou can not manipulate the

independentvariable. For example, if you want tosee if the media has an impact oneating disorders.

Very high mundane realism.

Natural Experiment Disadvantages

Problems with internal validity - manyextraneous variables might impact onyour research so concluding cause andeffect can be difficult.

You can not allocate participants togroups.

Participants

The people who take part in yourresearch are called participants. Insome older books they might be calledsubjects.

You have an obligation to ensure yourparticipants are not caused distress orharmed.

Confederates/Stooges

Sometimes in psychological research,the experimenter gets people to playcertain roles in the experiment. Thesepeople are a part of the experimentand are called confederates orstooges.

Key Words

Lab experimentField experimentNatural experimentVariablesIndependent variableDependent variablePilot studyExtraneous variableReplicableMundane realismConfederate/stoogesHawthorn effectEvaluation apprehension

Copy and define these keywords for your dictionarysection.