PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODSChapter Two

CONDUCTING RESEARCHSection 1

Psychologists love experiments

They also believe everything should be questioned

STEPS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

1. Form a Research Question: can be about anything in everyday life or about other research

2. Form a Hypothesis: create an educated guess to answer your research question

3. Test the Hypothesis: scientifically test your educated guess; collect data

4. Analyze the Results: figure out what the findings mean; look for patterns and relationships; may take weeks, months, or years

5. Draw Conclusions: was your hypothesis proven true?

6. Replicate: repeat the experiment to see if the same results are generated

New Questions: may lead to additional research

SURVEYS, SAMPLES, AND POPULATIONSSection 2

SURVEY

Asks people to respond to a series of questions

Interviews and questionnaires aren’t always accurate because people can lie

Often done verbally

POPULATIONS

Target population: the whole group you want to study or describe

Sample: a part of the target population You usually cannot include everyone you want to

research Random: selects members of the target

population by chance Stratified: selects members of the target

population proportionally

Unless all people are asked, researchers must generalize the results

When researchers allow people to volunteer, they must be aware of volunteer bias— People who want to volunteer to participate tend

to generally have similar personalities

METHODS OF OBSERVATIONSection 3

Testing Method: subjects are questioned and answers are analyzed to evaluate the subject Example: personality or IQ tests

Case Study Method: an in-depth investigation into a person or group involved in a specific situation Example: performing a study on a group

stranded without food

Longitudinal Method: an investigation into a person or group over a number of years Example: following a group of infants from birth

to preschool, kindergarten, etc. to evaluate how friendships form

Cross-sectional Method: completing a longitudinal study using different people at different developmental stages Example: looking at friendships with different

preschoolers, kindergarteners, etc.

Naturalistic-observation Method: looking at a subject in the place where he is usually found Example: watching school children in their

classroom

Laboratory-observation Method: watching the subjects in a created environment Example: a pretend classroom with a two-way

mirror and same-aged children

ANALYSIS

Looks to the correlation—a measurement of the relationship between two variablesPositive Correlation: as one factor goes up,

so does the otherExample: the more you eat, the more you weigh

Negative Correlation: as one factor goes up, the other factor goes downExample: the more I spend, the less money I have in my checking account

SECTION THREE REVIEW

Think of an example when you would use each observational method for a research project. Why would that method be the best one for your research?

THE EXPERIMENTAL METHODSection 4

Purpose: to answer questions about cause and effect

Researchers manipulate the independent variable which causes changes in the dependent variable

Members of the experimental group receive the treatment, while members of the control group do not Sometimes they receive a fake treatment—a

placebo

In single-blind studies, those participating do not know if they’re receiving treatment or a placebo; in a double-blind study, both participants and researchers are unaware

ETHICAL ISSUESSection 5

DEFINITION

Standards for proper and responsible behavior

STANDARDS OF THE APA

APA: American Psychological Association

Confidentiality: records of participants/clients are private

Informed Consent: people must agree to participate after being fully informed

Deception: psychologists may lie when The benefits outweigh the harms Individuals would have agreed if they’d known People receive an explanation eventually

When dealing with animals, psychologists may harm them: If there is no other option The benefits outweigh the harms

Psychologists must be objective when analyzing data and cannot ignore the results

REVIEW

List 10 ethics associated with your JVS program. Example: as a teacher, I shouldn’t give grades

out that weren’t earned.

When would it be wrong to use a placebo? Explain your opinion.

List one benefit and one draw back from both a single-blind and a double-blind study.