Transcript Psychological Research Methods

Psychological
Research Methods
Lecture 1
Jagjeet Jutley
Lecture Schedule
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Introducing psychological research
How to write a research report
Ethics in psychological research
Critiquing research reports
Designing a questionnaire
Variables, sampling, and sample size
Basic experimental design
Getting started with statistical tests
T-tests
Chi-square
Stats workshop
Review session
Seminars
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Sociology students will be held at 1pm2pm in D124
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Criminology students will be at 2pm3pm in E427
Coursework due dates:
1. A piece of coursework (1500 words) analysing a piece of psychological
research (50%)
9th November 2011
2. A 1000 word Data Analysis Report (50%)
th
14
December 2011
Reading
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Howitt, D. and Cramer, D.
(2008).
Introduction to Research
Methods
in Psychology. Harlow:
Pearson.
Today
 Principles
of scientific research
 Developing research questions
 Formulating Hypotheses
Flaws in thinking as part of
everyday life
anecdotes – a personal story to support
or refute a general point
 Refers to instinct or laws of nature or what
everyone knows
 Uses correlation data as causal
 Telling
(increase in crime since mothers started working)
 Uses
emotional language instead of reason and
evidence (dumping babies in child care to be
looked after by a stranger has to be harmful)
Basic Science and Applied Research
 Basic
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Science – knowledge for its own sake
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The development of logical thought in children
Memory for different kinds of word lists
Perception of transparency, depth, motion, light etc.
Facial features and mate selection
Bodily odors and sexual attraction
 Interest
of groups & researchers, the findings
of which may or may not be developed for
practical use.
Practical uses of basic research
of logical thought – a test for
diagnosing developmental disability
 Memory for word lists – design of specialised
vocabularies for communication (e.g. aviation)
 Perception of depth – environmental design
to warn of hazards (e.g., warning lights)
 Facial features – advertising
 Bodily odors - perfume
 Development
Applied Research
Clinical settings – What type of therapy
alleviates depression?
 In Educational settings – What is the best
way to teach children how to read?
 In Sport Psychology – How does training
regime impact on performance?
 In Organisational settings – What form of
management style motivates employees?
 In
Public Verification
 Observation
by others
 Replication by others
 Scrutinized by others capable of judging
quality (peer review)
 Beware of “research” you find on the web!
Developing the Research Question
Model 1
Idea
Model 2
Idea
Research Question
Research Question
Research Hypothesis
Literature Review
Literature Review
Research Design
Research Hypothesis
Research Design
Where do the ideas come from?
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Everyday life
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What are the most effective ways to teach research methods?
 What personal characteristics make a favorable impression in a job interview?
 What other questions come to mind?
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Practical issues or needs
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Why do some employees have very high absenteeism rates.
 Why do more car accidents happen on specific stretches of the road?
 Why are most heart attacks on a Monday morning?
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Past research
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Knowledge develops in small steps. Rarely does one study answer all the
questions to the research topic.
Theory
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Summarize & integrate existing knowledge
 Suggests new relationships between factors
 Helps one make new predictions about a phenomenon based on the theory.
Defining the Research Question
 Problem
should be capable of being stated
in a question form. Examples are:
What
is the effect of….?
Under what conditions do….?
Does the effect of….?
A
research question defines the area of
interest but is not a declarative statement like a
hypothesis.
Formulating Hypotheses
 Stated
in declarative form.
 Posits a relationship between variables.
 Ideally reflects a theory or body of
literature.
 Is brief and to the point.
 Is testable.
Examples of Hypotheses
Research
Idea
Drug
abuse and
child abuse
Question
Hypothesis
Is drug
abuse
related to
child
abuse?
There is a positive
relationship
between drug
abuse among
adults and their
physical and
psychological
abuse as children.
Examples of Hypotheses
Research
Idea
Effects on
your health
of caring
for a
partner
who is
demented
Question
Hypothesis
Does
caring for
a partner
who has a
dementia
affect the
caregivers’
health?
There is a positive
relationship
between degree of
caregiver burden
and risk of dying
prematurely.
Hypotheses
 Scientific/alternative
hypothesis states the
‘predicted’ relationship amongst the
variables.
 Null hypothesis is a statement of no
relationship amongst the variables.