The Basics of ResearchThe Basics of Research

Asking Research Questions

Introduction

We all have our own ideas of what determines people’s thoughts and actions.

Some of these ideas are seen as common sense.

Birds of a feather flock

together

Opposites attracts

Testing the truth (validity) of such “theories” is an

important part of the work of research

psychologists.Research is an essential component of the discipline of psychology.

Variables

The concept of variable is basic to psychological research.

A variable is anything that

varies and can be measured.

Varies: has more than one value

Example: opposites attract (attract; not attract)

Of course, the variable attraction may have a whole range of different values (e.g., “strongly attracted” through “strongly not attracted”).

The number of different values depends on just how a researcher decides to measure that variable.

The Hypothesis

Very simple research may be concerned with counting how common a particular form of

behavior is among people.

Example

A researcher may survey romantic couples and find out that 75% of people had experienced love at first sight.

We could assume that the researcher has described a typical human experience.

Relatively little psychological research aims to only describe or count the frequency of occurrences.

More often psychologists want to find the reasons phenomena or events occur.

The Hypothesis

Most research tests a specific idea or hypothesis.

The hypothesis is sometimes called the

alternative hypothesis.

Example

The physical attractiveness of the other person affects

the likelihood of falling in love with them at first sight.

A research hypothesis has 2 essential features:

1.contains a minimum of 2 variables

2.suggests that there is a relationship between these variables

The Hypothesis

Another feature is not essential, but nevertheless, desirable.

The hypothesis may describe what the researcher expects the relationship between the

variables to be.

Directional Hypothesis

Researcher specifies the expected the relationship between the variables to be.

Example: We expect that people will be more likely to fall in love with someone generally thought to be physically attractive.

Non-directional Hypothesis

Researcher expects a relationship, but cannot specify its nature with any certainty.

Example: Maybe people will be more likely to fall in love with someone generally thought to be physically attractive.

Or maybe physically attractive people are considered extremely intimidating & thus, people do not fall in love with extremely attractive people immediately.

The Hypothesis

For every hypothesis (alternate) in research, there is a null hypothesis

The null hypothesis is virtually the same as the hypothesis, but states that there is no

relationship between the two variables.

Example: Alternate Hypotheses

Directional: parents acceptance increases child self-esteem

Non-directional: child self-esteem is related to parental acceptance

Example: Null Hypotheses

There is no relationship between self-esteem and parental acceptance

Suggestions for further research mentioned by researchers at the end

of their reports

Research Ideas

Students are often encouraged to think of their own ideas to test. Where do these ideas come

from?Aspects of psychological theory which have not

previously been tested or tested satisfactorily

Conflicting findings from previous research on

superficially the same topic

Concerns about the ways that previous research has been

carried out may suggest weakness in

the methods and procedures or

alternative explanations

New social and technological

developments may suggest research

Major Steps in Testing a Research Hypothesis

Begin Here:

Select a topic of interest and importance

Read and review the relevant research literature on the topic

Decide an important question to research

Will answer further understanding of the

topic?

Do you have the time and other resources? c

Pose the research question as a

hypothesis d

If possible make sure that your hypothesis

postulates the direction of the relationship d

What do you think is the most appropriate

method for testing your hypothesis—

obervation, survey, experiment? d

How will you measure each of your variables?

Major Steps in Testing a Research Hypothesis

How will you measure each of your variables?

Consider ethical study considerations and develop

procedures

Run a pilot study to ensure your procedures work

Make adjustment and run main study

Generate your tables and diagrams to

summarize your data

Carry out statistical tests of significance to test your hypothesis

Make adjustment and run main study

The Basics of ResearchThe Basics of Research

Common Research Methods

Introduction

Of course, there are many different ways of testing the research hypotheses.

An oversimplification…

1.observation

2.self-report

3.experiments

Observation

In many circumstances we want to observe participants’ activities. For example, if we wanted to investigate

whether parents treat daughters differently than sons it might be appropriate to observe parents with their

children rather than ask parents’ about how they treat their children.

Naturalistic

• recording spontaneously occurring behavior in a participants’ natural environment

Controlled

• involves the recording of spontaneous occurring behavior, but under conditions that are contrived by the researcher

Participant

• the researcher becomes involved in the everyday life of the participants while observing

Observation

There are number of considerations to think about when making observations.

Actor: Who are you observing?

• individual: Little Johnny

• group: children on a playground

Action: What are you observing?

• specific behavior: physical aggression

• general behavior: how a child interacts in a particular situation

Relationship: Are you observing interactions?

• between people: parents with children

• between settings and people: child at home versus child at school

Time: How long will you observe?

• number of times

• length of sentence

Physical Setting: What environment will you observe?

• playground/classroom/therapy room/home/etc.

Observation

Advantages

• does not rely on participant’s ability to report own behavior accurately

Disadvantages

• can be time consuming to collect & classifying observation data

• can mainly be used for readily observable data

• generally does not allow cause and effect to be determined

Self-Report

Self-report research tends to be non-experimental research. It is the simplest form of research. It might

merely involve asking people about their behavior, thoughts, or emotions.

Interviews

• reading /writing not needed by participant

• possible for interviewer to probe participant’s answer for more detail, clarification

• participant is not so constrained to answer from a range of alternatives supplied by the researcher

• participant can ask for more information or clarification

Questionnaire

• anonymous and potentially less embarrassing

• less subject to the influence of the person carrying out the research

• multiple-choice questionnaires are relatively easy to process and analyze

Self-ReportSuppose we are interested in establishing whether sexual passion influences how satisfied we are with our partner.

We could ask people about their sexual passion and their satisfaction and find…

Sexual passion as the cause of relationship satisfaction

Relationship satisfaction as the cause of sexual passion

Sexual passion and

relationship satisfaction both cause and effect each other

The role of a third variable

(length of couple’s relationship) is the primary factor in the relationship

between sexual passion and relationship satisfactionLength of couple’s

relationship

A relationship which is really the consequence of other variables acting on both variables at the same time is

known as spurious relationship

The factor(s) that are responsible for the

spurious relationship are often referred to as confounding variables

Self-Report

Some aspects of human thought and behavior may not be suitable for studying by survey

techniques or experiments.

We would avoid using report under these

circumstances…

• when people lack insight on their own thoughts & actions

• when people might be motivated to lie about their beliefs and actions

• when the behaviors and thoughts are so complex that they are difficult to summarize

• when behaviors are so simple that they can be readily described

• when we want to relate what they say about their thoughts and behaviors with what they can be observed as doing

• when we know little about a particular topic

Self-Report

Advantages

• can collect information on variables which are not readily observable

• are superficially relatively easy to carry out

• can gather information on many variables at the same time

Disadvantages

• assume that people can do report their thoughts and actions accurately

• do not allow cause and effect to be determined

Experiments

It is difficult to imagine psychology without experiments. The experimental method is so common in psychological research that it is

almost a defining characteristic.

• experiments are almost always controlled experiments

• this means that at a minimum they involve an experimental group and a control group which are treated differently

• differences in the way in which the two or more groups are treated may influence differential measurements of a particular variable

• no other research method in psychology is able to explore causal relationships

• a cause-and-effect relationship is another way of saying causal relationship

Experiments

Essential Characteristics of Experiments

Manipulation: a variable is manipulated to assess whether it affects a second variable

•rather than examining the effects of naturally occurring variations, experimenters deliberately set up conditions which they vary in certain ways

• independent variables (IV): the variable that is manipulate by the researcher to see if it has an effect on the dependent variable

• dependent variable (DV): the variable that is measured or observed after the application of the independent variable

Experiments

Essential Characteristics of Experiments

Precise Procedural Controls: great care is taken to ensure that apart from the manipulation, everything is the same for research participants in all other possible respects• there is little point in deliberately manipulating a key

variable while at the same time allowing other sources of variation to creep into an experiment

• an ideal in experimental work is that the only difference between the conditions is the deliberately imposed variation reflecting the independent variable

• obviously this is difficult to achieve, but researchers need to work toward this ideal

Experiments

Essential Characteristics of Experiments

Random Assignment: participants in the research are allocated to the different variants of the procedure (i.e., the manipulation) by a random method so that now systematic biases occur in the characteristics of people in the different conditions.• this final crucial feature of a controlled experiment is

the use of random procedures to allocate participants to the different conditions

• if people are assigned to the experimental and control conditions at random, in the long run the people in the experimental and control conditions will be the same in the important respects

Experiments

Advantages

• enable cause and effect to be determined

• findings can be relatively easy to interpret

Disadvantages

• can be time consuming to carry out

• trying to control IV and procedures can make for very artificial situations

• relatively few variables can be investigated at any one time

The Basics of ResearchThe Basics of Research

Ethics in the conduct of Research

Introduction

Frequently we see on television examples of conduct that would be unethical for

psychologists carrying out research. These activities include:

• hidden cameras taking pictures without the consent of those involved

• reporters misinforming individuals about the purpose of interviews

• talk shows in which the private lives of people not present in the studio are discussed

• people being made to look foolish in candid camera situations

What are Research Ethics?

Research ethics are the broad moral principles and rules of conduct that guide psychologists

when doing their research• one of the most famous studies in psychology

that has received the greatest amount of ethical debate is Milgram’s research in 1963 and 1974 (classic research on obedience)

The main aspects of ethical research are as follows:

1. the consent of participants in research

2.protecting participants from psychological and physical harm

3.consultation with colleagues and more experienced researchers

Consent

• people must participate in research freely and should not feel under pressure to take part—consent

• the basis of consenting to take part in research is a reasonable understanding of to what one is committing oneself; simply agreeing to take part in a study with no idea of what it entails is not informed consent—informed consent

• participants in research must be aware that they can withdraw from the research at any stage

• people who are unaware that they are taking part in a research study (e.g., because they are being secretly observed) cannot give informed consent by definition

• people who have been actively deceived about what is involved in research cannot give informed consent

Consent

• if participants in research who decide to withdraw from the research at any stage should be able to withdraw any data they have supplied up to that point; thus, their questionnaires, interview tapes, videos, and even computer-recorded data should be destroyed, wiped-clean, deleted or given to the participant to take way if they so choose

• some individuals cannot give consent (e.g., minors); in these circumstances, the permission of responsible adults should be sought

• researchers should protect the dignity of the participants

Protection of Participants

• the research participant should not be subjected to risk of physical or psychological harm by the researcher

• all equipment, furnishing and other apparatus used by the researcher should be physically sound and safe; electrical and mechanical apparatus should be regularly checked for safety

• research participants should not be subjected to procedures involving a tangible physical risk; exercise, sudden surprise, stress, strobe lights, deprivation of food and water, and similar factors may have serious effects in some circumstances

• psychological harm may be caused by some procedures; for example, the effects of research procedures that leave the participant feeling stupid or inadequate may not be reversible by the debriefing procedures

Debriefing

• debriefing is an essential component of the research process

• it allows researchers to give complete information about the nature and purpose of your research

• in addition, debriefing allows you to find out more about how the research participants experienced the research

• finally, it is an opportunity for the researcher to thank the research participant and let the participant ask questions about the research

Module Questions1. How would you best examine whether men are more likely than women to

commit crimes? When you answer this question, use different methods to describe ways to study this question (i.e., naturalistic observation, archival research, correlational research and experimental/quasi experimental research).

2. Find one empirical articles that investigate gender differences and some sort of social behavior (i.e., I expect that none of the articles will overlap. Print the articles (electronic versions) or photocopy (hardcopy journals versions). Write a paragraph summarizing the articles and discussing the article. Include a sentence or two for each question.

a. Who wrote the article and in which journal was it published?

b. What is the research question or hypothesis or hypotheses? Was the hypothesis directional or non-directional?

c. Does the research address an important issue? Explain your answer.

d. Who were the participants and how were they recruited? Are the participants appropriate given the research topic?

e. What is the design for this study? Briefly summarize the methods.

f. How were measures used? How were they operationalized? Does the author(s) measure what the author(s) really want to measure?

g. What are the main findings of the study?

h. Do these results address the research question?

i. What conclusions did the author draw from the results? Are the conclusions justified based on the results?