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Chapter Two:
Research Methods in Psychology
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Basic Concepts of Research
Scientific method:– making observations in a systematic way,
following strict rules of evidence and
thinking critically about that evidence
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Basic Concepts of Research (cont.)
Empirical evidence:– evidence from observations of publicly
observable behavior
Operational definitions:– describe the observations in terms of the
operations of measurement
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How Do We Measure Some Things That Seem Immeasurable?
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Basic Concepts of Research (cont.)
Theories:- tentative explanations of observations in
science
Hypothesis:- prediction based on a theory
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Basic Concepts of Research (cont.)
Representativeness of samples:–sample:
- participants must be representative of
the total group
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Basic Concepts of Research (cont.)
Importance of replication in research:- replication:
- testing a hypothesis in more than one study
- research is more sound if outcome is
similar in more than one study
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Research Methods
Descriptive studies:- survey method
- naturalistic
observation
- clinical method
- correlational
method
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Descriptive studies
– Simplest method of scientific inquiry
– Describe behavior and mental processes
– Most widely used
Survey method – ask people’s opinions
Naturalistic observation – watch, describe
Clinical method – observe in clinic setting
– All have advantages and disadvantages
Research Methods In Psychology
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Research Methods (cont.)
Descriptive studies (cont.):- correlation:
- statistical relations between quantitative
variables- variable:
- can be assigned a numerical
value- quantitative measures: - amount
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Research Methods (cont.)
Descriptive studies (cont.):- correlation coefficient:
- measures the strength of the correlation
between two quantitative variables
in statistical terms
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Research Methods (cont.)
Formal experiments:- allow researcher to
draw conclusions
about cause-and-
effect relationships
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Research Methods (cont.)
Elements and logic of
formal experiments:
- independent variable
- dependent variable
- experimental group
- control group
- placebo control
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Research Methods (cont.)
Elements and logic of formal experiments (cont.):- blind formal experiments:
- experimenter bias
- double blind
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Research Methods (cont.)
Describing and interpreting
data:
- descriptive statistics: - mean
- median
- mode
- normal distribution
- standard deviation
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Ethical Principals of Research
Ethics of research with human participants: - freedom from coercion
- informed consent
- limited deception
- adequate debriefing
- confidentiality
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Ethical Principals of Research (cont.)
Ethics of research with nonhuman animals:
- necessity
- health
- humane treatment
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Ethical Principals of Research (cont.)
Human diversity: equal representation in
research– The U.S. National Institutes of Health require
that all new research grants involving human
subjects study diverse samples that include
both sexes and members of the major racial
and cultural groups.