general psychology

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Lecture 2RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

V i s i t i n g A s s i s t a n t P R O F E S S O R Y E E - S A N T E O HD e p a r t m e n t o f P s y c h o l o g y

N a t i o n a l T a i w a n U n i v e r s i t y

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ETHICS OF RESEARCH WITH HUMAN SUBJECTS

Human Participants’ Rights

1. The right to be fully informed.

2. The right to give informed & voluntary consent.

3. The right not to be harmed in any way.

4. The right to withdraw voluntarily from research.

5. The right to be informed of the results of research.

6. The right to confidentiality.

7. The right to full compensation.

8. The right to beneficial treatments.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Research Question

Data Collection &

Analysis

Presenting the Findings

National Taiwan University, YEE-SAN TEOH




• What do we want to find out?

• Background research – What has been done/not done?

• Formulate research question – make a testable hypothesis.

• Determine feasibility of project

• Formulate research design – What are the independent and dependent variables; confounding variables?

Research Question

Variable Definitions

• The variable representing the value being manipulated or changed

Independent variable (IV)

• The observed result of the independent variable being manipulated.

Dependent variable (DV)

• The extraneous variable that correlates with the IV and/or DV, or the relationship between the IV and DV.

Confounding variable

Potential Outcomes of Confounds

• False positive• Statistical test rejects

true null hypothesis (H0).

Type I Error

• False negative• Statistical test fails to

reject a false null hypothesis.

Type II Error




RESEARCH DESIGN

EXPERIMENT

Laboratory

- Possible to control factors that may influence variable of interest.

- Experimental vs. control group

- Randomized assignment

- Poor ecological validity

Field/Natural

- Good ecological/external validity

- Difficult or impossible to control other influences

- Low manipulation of variables

SUBJECTS

1. Between subjects

Different groups of individuals

2. Within Subjects

Same group of individuals

3. Case study




The Experiment

Experimental manipulation

- Deliberate alteration of the IV in order to learn about its effects on the dependent variable.

• Experimental group

- Group that experiences the experimental manipulation.

• Control group

- Group that does not experience the experimental manipulation.

Ecological/External Validity

The degree to which a study’s participants, stimuli, and procedures adequately reflect the world as it is.

Is the sample in a study representative of the broader population?

Does a research method (e.g. questionnaire) measure real-world behavior/phenomena?

The Mixed Design

Between-Within Subjects

Example:

Investigate memory recall of same children at 3 time-points,

PLUS

Compare different age groups

Laboratory-Field

Example:

Field study explores whether children respond differently to male and female teachers

PLUS

Lab study controls for age & race of teachers

Field /natural with experimental manipulation

Example:

In studying children’s play behaviors at home, researcher introduces new toys to some children and not others

STUDYING DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGE

CROSS-SECTIONAL METHOD

- Compare children of

different ages at the

same time

Example:

Compare different age groups with respect to use of emotion words in the lab

LONGITUDINAL METHOD

- Study the same

children repeatedly at

various points in their

lives

Example:

Examine children’s memory of a natural disaster immediately after experience , for another 3 years

SEQUENTIAL METHOD

- Combination of cross-

sectional, longitudinal

- Can overcome

problems associated

with longitudinal.

Example:

Examine change in reading skills of 2, 4, & 6-yr-olds every 2 yrs for 6 yrs.


• What do we want to find out?

• Background research – What has been done/not done?

Research Question


• Formulate research question/aim – make a testable hypothesis.


Research Question


• Formulate research design – What are the independent and dependent variables?

Research Question


• Background research

• Formulate research question


• Formulate research design

Research Question

• Select sample

• Select measures for behavior of interest

• Develop procedure for data collection

• Pilot testing

• Collect data

• Analyze data

Data Collection & Analysis • Review findings

for anomalies

• Present findings at conferences

• Preparation of manuscript for publication

Presenting the Findings





• Select sample



• Pilot testing

• Collect data

• Analyze data

Data Collection and Analysis

Selecting a Sample

Who are you studying?

Factors to consider:

1. Age

2. Gender

3. Location (country, state, city, neighborhood, urban/rural)

4. Ethnicity/race/culture, religion

5. Social class or socio-economic status

6. Education

Selecting a Sample

Who are you studying?

Is the sample representative of the larger population your research question pertains to?

Random sampling – randomly recruit participants

Convenient sampling – recruit participants at a convenient location or time.

Focused sampling – recruit subjects in a very specific population (e.g. a tribe in Alishan)

Using national surveys (large, demographically & geographically diverse )

Determining your study variables/measures

What are you studying? E.g. memory of event, emotion understanding, biological basis of fear

How have other researchers studied the same behavior/phenomena? E.g. tasks, observation, questionnaires, interview

Are you going to use a pre-existing measure or develop your own?

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

SELF-REPORTS

• Interviews or questionnaires, diary

• Open-ended or close-ended questions

• Relies on verbal ability & literacy

• Not for young children

REPORTS BY OTHERS

• Information from parents, teachers, peers, family members/siblings

• Questionnaires, rating scales, interviews, diary

• Usually combined with other methods

OBSERVATION

• Laboratory or natural setting

• Problem of social desirability or response bias

• Recording is common and useful

• Structured or unstructured





• Select sample



• The Internet Usage Questionnaire



• Pilot testing

• Collect data


Copyrights

Page Work License Author/Source

3National Taiwan University

YEE-SAN TEOH

6

National Taiwan University

YEE-SAN TEOH

7National Taiwan University

YEE-SAN TEOH

15


YEE-SAN TEOH

20


YEE-SAN TEOH











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