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Research Methods

How Psychologists ConductResearch

Methods Used

Systematic or Naturalistic Observation Case Study

Survey Method

Experimental Method

Correlation Methods

Systematic or NaturalisticObservation

Where researchers observe othersand infer about what they are doing.

Usually involves counting behaviors

Often is conducted in field settings andnot in the lab

Advantages

You know the situation is real andnot artificially set up.

Can observe things that may causethe behavior that you cannot do in

the lab.

Can observe things where youcannot do experiments.

Generally, provides a big picture

Disadvantages

Observers can distort information

Results can change if the subject

becomes aware they are beingobserved

Isnt very accurate

Case Study

Is a major investigation of one unit.The unit can be a:

Individual

University

Town

Generally, is a detailed study of oneindividual or thing

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Advantages

Can develop understanding notobtained from examiningexperimental findings.

Usually do when you have no idea

about what is going on.

Disadvantages

Can be very inaccurate if donepoorly.

Often gets biases from the persondoing the study.

Can get political pressure to achievesome result.

Survey Method

Involves giving questionnaires orinterviews to measure something in apopulation.

Can measure

a. attitudes

b. behaviors

c. opinions

Advantages

Can get a lot of information about avariety of things.

Can get very sensitive information.

Disadvantages

Survey sample must berepresentative of the population

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Other Problems

People lie Questions can be biased

Direct marketing in guise of surveyshas people leery of providinginformation.

Experimental Method

Most commonly used by all thesciences

Evaluates variables

A variable is anything that variesover time

Two types

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated bythe experimenter

The amount of money you are given

The volume of noise that you arepresented with

Dependent Variable

Is the variable that changes andwhich you observe

Noise and Heart Rate

Vary 3 Levels of Noise

Low Medium High

Examine Heart RateDoes the Heart Rate

Increase stay the same decrease

Heart rate changes because you arevarying the level of noise

Thing that you vary is noiseIndependent Variable

Thing you observe changesin is heart rate

Dependent Variable

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Advantages

Can reach precise conclusions.x causes y to occur.

Can hold lots of extraneous thingsconstant that may influence theoutcome of a study.

Disadvantages

Ethical issues Can be artificial

The lab is not the real world

but it can be close

Cannot measure some things withexperiments.

Attitudes

Opinions

Correlational Method

Correlation is way to estimate theextent that two variables are related

to each other

However because two variables arerelated does not mean that onecauses the other.

CORRELATION DOES NOTIMPLY CAUSATION

Examples

Rooster crowing causes the sun to

come up

Ice Cream and Drowning.

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Your Genetics Cause

Alcoholism and otherDisorders. Birth Control Pills CauseBreast Cancer

Correlations are Expressedas a Number

Numbers range between

+1 and 1

The closer the number is to zero, theless relationship there is.

or

The closer the number is to plus orminus 1, the more relationship

there is.

.9 has a greater relationshipthan a .4

OR

.3 has less relationship than a.8

AGAIN, THE NUMBER ONLYTELLS YOU HOW MUCH

THE VARIABLES ARERELATED.

SOOOOOWhat does the plus or

minus sign tell you.

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Positive Correlation

As one variable increases anothervariable increases.

Drinking beer and probability of puking.The more beer you drink, the higher thelikelihood that you will puke.

High

BAC

Low

Low High

Probability of Puking

Negative correlation

As one variable increases, anothervariable decreases.

As beer consumption increasesdriving skill decreases.

Good

DrivingSkill

Poor

Low HighBAC

Advantages

Can use with lots of variables andsituations.

Are more precise than the case studyor observation methods.

Can study variables you cannot do

experiments on.

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Disadvantages

Cannot draw cause - effectrelationships.

Does not account for other variablesthat may actually control the

behavior.

REMEMBER

CORRELATION DOES

NOT IMPLY CAUSATION.

Case Study