planning a study lawrence r. gordon psychology research methods i
TRANSCRIPT
Planning a Study
Lawrence R. Gordon
Psychology Research Methods I
Research Project
Your opportunity to do original research! Timeline
– Week 8 (making groups (note on social loafing), picking topics)
– Week 9 (planning project)– Week 10 (design and consent forms)– Week 11 (collect data)– Week 12 (analyze data)– Presentations and Papers (report data)
What can you do?
Correlational research– usually by survey– testing relationship of one measured variable
with a second measured variable
Experimental research– these are strongly encouraged– need to manipulate IV(s)– keep all else constant
But remember the timeline!
Experiments are time consuming Watch for manipulation failure Experiments can be difficult (depending on
how you manipulate the IV) Need good control
Some Model Experiments - IDEA
Using surveys to manipulate the IV Wordings of surveys are altered to
manipulate the IV Surveys are randomly distributed
(“assigned”) to the participants Compare responses on one form of the
survey to another form of the survey Only your manipulation is different
Dr. Jones' "Student Ratings" Scale...
BY Sex x Time
Dr. Jones' sex...
'him''her'
Mean S
tud
ent R
atin
g S
cale
(6r)
5.4
5.2
5.0
4.8
4.6
Professional psychol
Unspecified
10 years
30 years
Pros and Cons of Survey Experiments Pros
– Quick
– Easy
– Reduces experimenter interaction
– Improves control
Cons– May need to pilot test
the items
– Participants may not be as attentive
– Manipulation may not be as salient
– Self-reports
– Be careful of wording! (Goodwin, App B: 459-466)
How much TV do you watch?
Effects of response options on reports of television watching
The same question was asked on all surveys, but the response options were manipulated
It was expected that the possible options would influence the responses
“How much TV do you watch daily (in minutes)?” The seven response options were different on
the 2 forms of the survey Form A
– “up to 60 minutes” were the first 5 options– the highest response was “more than 90”
Form B– “up to 60 minutes” were the first 3 options– the highest response was “more than 180”
Hypotheses
If “more than 60” was a more extreme response option, then fewer participants would report watching this much TV compare to others for whom “more than 60” was not as extreme a response
(What is the null hypothesis?) Results?
Reports of TV watching by Survey Form (1999)
84.1
15.9
68.6
31.4
0
20
40
60
80
100
Up to 60 More than 60
Percent
Form AForm B
Reports of TV watching by Survey Form (2002)
Less than vs. More than 60
Over 60Up to 60
Pe
rce
nt
100
80
60
40
20
0
TVFORM
more than 90
more than 180
The TV Survey Study In 1999, participants reported watching
more than 60 minutes of TV daily less frequently when these responses were more extreme (p = .018)
In 2002, participants again reported different rates of watching TV depending on the response sets (p = .038)
Can we infer that this is a causal relationship?
Is this a true experiment?
Other Experiments: Memory
Independent variables– Presentation (verbal, visual, episodic, semantic,
procedural)– Information (meaningful, meaningless (cvc
syllables like “POF”), emotional content)– Mnemonic strategies– Interference– Recall type (recognition, production)
Memory Experiments (cont.)
Independent variables (cont.)– Time before recall– Time between trials– Serial position (primacy and recency effects)– Presentation rate– Number of trials (proactive interference, e.g.
Homer’s quote)• “But every time I learn something new, it pushes
out something old! Remember that time I took a home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?”
Trial 1, first seven
Circle these if you wrote them down– tie– chair– clown– scarf– grass– bat– pig
Trial 1, second seven
Square these if you wrote them down– stool– door– milkmaid– window– fly– cow– couch
Trial 1, third seven
Underline these if you wrote them down– horse– wren– house– cowboy– tree– shrub– banana
Trial 2, first seven
Circle these if you wrote them down– dog– glove– store– lake– newspaper– wrench– bush
Trial 2, second seven
Square these if you wrote them down– book– cat– flower– mitten– nail– laundry– ocean
Trial 2, third seven
Underline these if you wrote them down– mushroom– diary– saw– mouse– jail– coat– river
Scoring
Count up number of circled, squared, underlined, and “extra” words for each trial and record
Add up totals for each trial Add up totals for each “third” Make sure that you write your name and the
date on this sheet to pass in so that you will get credit for this class!
Other examples of projects
Using published measures Replication studies Something else that interests you? If you
(and your TA) think you can pull it off, go for it! You are not graded on the effects you find, but your design must be realistic and well conducted.