OutlineI. What Are the Goals of Scientific Research?A. Measurement and DescriptionB. Understanding and PredictionC. Application and Control

OutlineII. What Are the Steps in Scientific Research?A. Step 1: Translate a Theory or an Idea into a Testable HypothesisB. Step 2: Select the Research Method & Design the StudyC. Step 3: Collect the Data

OutlineD. Step 4: Analyze the Data and Draw ConclusionsE. Step 5: Report the FindingsIII. What Are the Different Types of Research Methods?A. Descriptive-Correlational Research1. Naturalistic Observation

Outline2. Case Study3. SurveyB. Experiments

The Research Enterprise in Psychology

I. What Are the Goals of Scientific Research?A. Measurement and DescriptionB. Understanding and Prediction

The Goals of Scientific Research1. Hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables (i.e., a prediction)2. Variables are anything measurable that can vary among individuals such as height, weight, reading speed, etc3. Variables: marihuana use and memory

The Goals in a Scientific StudyC. Application and Control1. A theory is a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations a. A good theory not only explains a set of observations but is falsifiable b. A good theory is stated in such clear & precise terms that it makes predictions

The Steps in a Scientific StudyII. What Are the Steps in a Scientific Study?A. Step 1 is to translate a theory or an idea into a testable hypothesis

The Steps in a Scientific Study1. To be testable a hypothesis has to be formulated precisely and the variables under study have to be clearly defined a. Operational definition-Specifies the operations or procedures used to measure something. b. It is a way to give something a numerical value.

The Steps in a Scientific StudyB. Step 2 Select the Research Method and Design the Study1. Select the method: Naturalistic study, case study, survey, or experiment2. Make detailed plans for conducting the studya. Participants-Persons or animals whose behavior is being studied

The Steps in a Scientific Study(1) Population-The entire group of individuals to be considered.(2) Sample-Small number of people from the population(3) Random sample-A sample in which every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

The Steps in a Scientific Studyb. Experimenter bias- When a researchers expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the resultsc. Demand characteristics-Clues that tell a participant what the experimenter hopes to find.

The Steps in a Scientific Studyd. Minimized by concealing true purpose of studye. Double-blind procedure-A research strategy in which neither the participants nor experimenter knows which participants are in the experimental or control groups.

The Steps in a Scientific StudyC. Step 3: Collect the data

The Steps in a Scientific StudyD. Step 4: Analyze the data and draw conclusionsE. Step 5: Report the findings

Different types of Research MethodsIII. What Are the Different Types of Research MethodsA. Descriptive-Correlational Research 1. Naturalistic Observationa. Careful observation of what happens under more or less natural conditionsb. Jane Goodal

Naturalistic Observationsc. Observer effect-Changes in participants behavior caused by an awareness of being observedd. Observer bias-Observer sees what expects to see or records only selected detailse. Observational record- A formal log of data and observations

Case Study2. Case studya. Thorough description of a person, including their abilities and disabilities, medical condition, life history, unusual experiences, or whatever else seems relevant

Case Studyb. Dr. Harlowc. Phineas Gage

Surveys3. Surveya. A study of the prevalence of certain beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors based on peoples response to specific questionsb. Problems: (1) no random sample,

Surveys(2) people not think carefully about responses(3) wording of questions, and(4) socially desirable responses

Correlational Studies4. Correlational Studies a. Researchers measure the correlation between two variables without controlling them

Correlational Research

b. Correlation is the measure of the relationship between two variablesc. Some correlations are stronger than othersd. Correlation coefficient-A mathematical measure of the relationship between variablese. Range from + 1 to -1

Correlationsf. Correlations tell us that variables are related, but does not tell us why they are relatedg. They do not establish causation

Correlations5. Advantages of descriptive/correlational research: a. Study matters could not study by experimental method; b. Greater external validityc. External validity-When research findings apply to the real worldd. In some cases can use to make predictions6. Disadvantage: Cannot establish causation

ExperimentsB. Experiment1. Only research method that can establish causation2. Only can be used when researcher can control the level of the independent variable the participants are assigned to

Experiments3. Usually conducted in laboratories4. Experimental results may not generalize well to real world a. Lack external validity

Experiments5. Three steps in experiment:a. Directly vary a condition you think might affect behaviorb. Create two or more groups of participants that are alike in all ways except for the condition that variesc. Record if varying condition has any effect on behavior

Experiments6.Simplest experiment consists of two groups: experimental and control groupsa. Experimental group-Group exposed to independent variable(1) Independent variables are conditions altered or varied by the experimenterb. Control group-Treated like experimental group, but not exposed to independent variable

Experimentsc. Dependent variables measure the results of the experiment (1)The effects the independent variable had on behavior

Experimentsd. Extraneous variables-Conditions that a researcher wishes to prevent affecting the outcome of the experimente. Random assignment-A participant has an equal chance of being in either the experimental or control group