Research Methods
Subject Knowledge
Methods and techniques
Experimental field including laboratory, field and natural experiments.
Studies using correlation analysis and observational techniques.
Case studies and self report techniques including questionnaires and interviews.
Investigation design
Students should be familiar with features of design such as:
Aims and hypotheses, experimental design, design of naturalistic observation, design of questionnaires and interviews. Operationalisation, pilot studies, reliability and validity. Awareness of BPS code of ethics, ethical issues and the way in which psychologists deal with them. Selection of participants and demand characteristics and investigator effects.
Data Analysis and presentation
Presentation and interpretation of quantitative data including graphs, scatter grams and tables.
Measures of central tendency including, median, mean and mode. Measures of dispersion including range and standard deviation.
Analysis and interpretation of correlation data and presentation of qualitative data.
Processes involved in content analysis.
Methods and techniques
Experimental field including laboratory, field and natural experiments.
Studies using correlation analysis and observational techniques.
Case studies and self report techniques including questionnaires and interviews.
Investigation design
Students should be familiar with features of design such as:
Aims and hypotheses, experimental design, design of naturalistic observation, design of questionnaires and interviews. Operationalisation, pilot studies, reliability and validity. Awareness of BPS code of ethics, ethical issues and the way in which psychologists deal with them. Selection of participants and demand characteristics and investigator effects.
Data Analysis and presentation
Presentation and interpretation of quantitative data including graphs, scatter grams and tables.
Measures of central tendency including, median, mean and mode. Measures of dispersion including range and standard deviation.
Analysis and interpretation of correlation data and presentation of qualitative data.
Processes involved in content analysis.
Key Terms
Hypothesis- a precise and testable statement about the expected outcome of an investigation. Aim- a general statement about the purpose of the investigation. Experiment- a research investigation in which one specific variable is manipulated to observe its effect, if any, on another specific variable, while keeping all other variables controlled. Variable- a measurable characteristic or value that can differ from one person to another or have multiple values. Experiment hypothesis- a hypothesis used in the context of an experiment. Alternative hypothesis- any hypothesis that is not the null hypothesis. Correlation study- an investigation into the possible association of two variables. Operationalizing- the process of devising a way of measuring a variable. Internal validity- a research study or experiment has internal validity if the outcome is the result of the variables that are manipulated in the study. External validity- the extent to which findings can be generalised to settings other than the research setting. |
Research Methods
Laboratory experiments- controlled and scientific. Field experiments conducted outside the laboratory. Natural experiments, measures but don't control variables. Naturalistic observation, is observing but not interfering. Correlation research looks for relationships between variables. Questionnaires are written, then either face to face over the phone or via the internet. Interviews are more like a conversation than a face to face questionnaire. Case studies are intensive descriptions of a single individual or case. Aims and Hypotheses It is important that the aim is clear before any research is attempted so that it is clear what the study intends to investigate. The hypothesis provides a clear statement about what is being tested. The independent variable is directly manipulated by the researcher and the dependent variable is only affected indirectly. Operationalisation is showing exactly how the variables are going to be measured and exactly how those variables are being defined. Research design It must be hypothesis testable. The following are the three most commonly used are: An independent groups design, there are different participants in each group. A repeated measures design, in this case all participants complete the research in all conditions. A matched pairs design, means there are different participants in each condition but they are matched on important variables such as age and gender. Variables can be controlled so that their unwanted effects are minimised through: Counterbalancing- mixing up the order of the tasks. Random allocation- means everyone has an equal chance of doing either condition. Extraneous variables- can be controlled by keeping them constant for all participants. |
Research methods continued
Researchers have to consider reliability and validity. All research should be designed with ethical issues in mind, these guidelines are in place researchers with any ethical dilemmas they may encounter. They need to ensure that the research is acceptable and participants are protected.
Selection of participants is done through: random sampling, opportunity sampling or volunteer sampling.
Researchers need to consider that participants may behave differently when they're being observed and that the researcher themselves could affect the outcomes in an undesirable way.
Ethical Issues
The British Psychological Society (BPS) have developed ethical guidelines to help psychologists resolve ethical issues in research and to protect participants. They include Deception, Consent and Psychological harm.
Confidentiality must be ensured at all times for participants and must also be considered as an ethical issue, as is Animal rights.
The ethical guidelines don't solve all problems as there may be psychologists who fail to adhere to the guidelines.
Data Analysis
Students must be able to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative data.
Descriptive statistics- Measures of central tendency
The Mean- calculated by adding all of the scores in a data set together and then dividing by the total number of scores.
The Median- is the middle score when the data is placed in order.
The Mode- is the most frequently occurring score.
Measures of Dispersion
The Range- is the range of scores from the lowest to the highest.
Standard deviation- measures how much scores deviate from the mean.
Correlation
Measures how closely two variables are related. Correlation coefficient then shows if there is a positive or negative relationship between the two variables. If it is positive that demonstrates that the two variables are connected and rise and fall together. If it is negative this means one rises the other falls, no other connection.
Presenting the data
Below are examples of ways to present data:
Bar Charts, Histograms and Frequency Polygons.
Researchers have to consider reliability and validity. All research should be designed with ethical issues in mind, these guidelines are in place researchers with any ethical dilemmas they may encounter. They need to ensure that the research is acceptable and participants are protected.
Selection of participants is done through: random sampling, opportunity sampling or volunteer sampling.
Researchers need to consider that participants may behave differently when they're being observed and that the researcher themselves could affect the outcomes in an undesirable way.
Ethical Issues
The British Psychological Society (BPS) have developed ethical guidelines to help psychologists resolve ethical issues in research and to protect participants. They include Deception, Consent and Psychological harm.
Confidentiality must be ensured at all times for participants and must also be considered as an ethical issue, as is Animal rights.
The ethical guidelines don't solve all problems as there may be psychologists who fail to adhere to the guidelines.
Data Analysis
Students must be able to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative data.
Descriptive statistics- Measures of central tendency
The Mean- calculated by adding all of the scores in a data set together and then dividing by the total number of scores.
The Median- is the middle score when the data is placed in order.
The Mode- is the most frequently occurring score.
Measures of Dispersion
The Range- is the range of scores from the lowest to the highest.
Standard deviation- measures how much scores deviate from the mean.
Correlation
Measures how closely two variables are related. Correlation coefficient then shows if there is a positive or negative relationship between the two variables. If it is positive that demonstrates that the two variables are connected and rise and fall together. If it is negative this means one rises the other falls, no other connection.
Presenting the data
Below are examples of ways to present data:
Bar Charts, Histograms and Frequency Polygons.
Ideas for lessons
Discuss research methods and use journal articles with students to review abstracts and identify if they are positivist or interpretivist data?
Get the students to think about a research proposal and think about any ethical issues.
Get the students to create a research proposal.
In groups have the students design a questionnaire one for a closed interview and one for a semi structured interview.
Think about some of the issues attached to covert research.
Discuss your own research with the students to give them a real life example of some of the issues that come around when designing and conducting your own.
Focus groups, talk about the positives and negatives of them- perhaps split the class and get the groups to decide who could facilitate a session and get them to see how to conduct one and the necessary skills required.
Discuss research methods and use journal articles with students to review abstracts and identify if they are positivist or interpretivist data?
Get the students to think about a research proposal and think about any ethical issues.
Get the students to create a research proposal.
In groups have the students design a questionnaire one for a closed interview and one for a semi structured interview.
Think about some of the issues attached to covert research.
Discuss your own research with the students to give them a real life example of some of the issues that come around when designing and conducting your own.
Focus groups, talk about the positives and negatives of them- perhaps split the class and get the groups to decide who could facilitate a session and get them to see how to conduct one and the necessary skills required.