Intro. to PsychologyPSY-101

By: Muhammad Bilal Younas

0323-6168636

Research

“Systematic investigation to establish facts”

Information gathering

Cont.Variety of techniques are applied to “get into the minds of the people”

What Research is?Attempt to achieve systematically and with

the support of data the answer to a question, the resolution to a problem, or the greater understanding of a phenomenon

Generation of new information and testing of ideas

Scientific ResearchCharacteristics of scientific findings are:EmpiricalSystematicPreciseVerifiablePublicEthical & Ideological neutralityObjective

Goals of Scientific ResearchDescriptionExplanationPredictioncontrol

Goals Questions asked to reach the goal

Description What happens?When and where does it happen?How does it happen?

Explanation Why does it happen?

Prediction What will happen next?

Control How can we influence this behavior or intervene in this situation?

Goals of Psychological ResearchDescription of social behavior

Are people who grow up in warm climates different from those in cold climates?

Establish a relationship between cause & effectDoes heat cause higher amounts of aggression?

Develop theories about why people behave the way that they doWe dislike Duke students to feel better about ourselves

ApplicationCreating effective therapeutic treatments, more

successful negotiation tactics, and greater understanding amongst groups of people

Purposes of Research A research can be undertaken for two

different purposes: To solve a currently existing problem

(applied research) To contribute to the general body of

knowledge in a particular area of interest (basic/fundamental research)

The Scientific Research Process

Identifying the problem

Defining the problem

Formulating Hypothesis

Data collectionAnalyzing the dataPreparing a report

The Process of Doing Research

First, select a topicGood theory:

Has predictive power Is simple & straightforward

Then, search the literatureFind out what others have done

that may be applicable to your area of interest

The Process of Doing Research

Next, formulate hypothesesHypothesis: specific statement of

expectation derived from theory State the relationship between two

variables

Variable: can be any event, characteristic, condition, or behavior

Let’s take a closer look . . .at variables Dependent variable (outcome variable)

Dependent on the influence of other factor(s)How do we operationally define?

Independent variable (predictor variable)Factor(s) that change the outcome variableHow do we operationally define & manipulate?Control group

The Process of Doing ResearchThen pick your research method

Experimental vs. co relational (DesignDesign)Field vs. laboratory (SettingSetting)

Finally, collect & analyze yourdata

Correlational researchThe purpose of correlational research is to

discover relationships between two or more variables.

Relationship means that an individuals status on one variable tends to reflect his or her status on the other.

Cont.Helps us understand related events,

conditions, and behaviors.Is there a relationship between educational

levels of farmers and crop yields?To make predictions of how one variable

might predict anotherCan high school grades be used to predict

college grades?

Correlational researchAdvantagesSometimes manipulation of variables is

impossible or unethicalEfficient – look at lots of data

DisadvantagesCANNOT DETERMINE CAUSATIONCould be a lurking variable

Experimental ResearchResearcher manipulates one variable (IV) to see effect on other variable (DV)Try to hold everything else constant

True experiments haveRandom sampling: selecting Ps randomly from

populationRandom assignment: chance assignment to

condition

Let’s take a closer look . . . at research methods

Research methods used in psychology:ObservationCase StudyTests, Questionnaire, SurveyExperiment

Imp. Concepts in ResearchPopulation: any set of individuals (or objects) having some

common observable characteristics.

Sample: the subset of a population which represents the characteristics of the population.

A sample consists of respondents or subjects

An informant: a person from whom a linguist obtains information about language, dialect, or culture.

A corpus is a collection of written or spoken material.

A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event

TriangulationTriangulation is an approach to data analysis

that synthesizes data from multiple sources.a combination of Quantitative & Qualitative

techniques are impliedIdeas stemming from Qualitative research aretested empirically through Quantitative

studies.Combined findings enable psychologists to

design more meaningful and effective strategies.

Major Limitations in Conducting a ResearchTimeCostsAccess to resourcesApproval by authoritiesEthical concernsExpertise

Ethics in ResearchShould the study be done?Value vs. potential costAPA guidelines

How do we protect Ps?Informed consentConfidentiality & anonymityDebriefing