Chapter 3

Research methods in
Psychology/Psychological
Research
 The Process of Scientific Research

• In the opening chapter you learned that psychology has four goals---to
describe, explain, predict , and control behaviour. In order to
accomplish these goals it is essential to employ effective research
methods.
• In this chapter you will be familiar with the principal ways in which
psychologists gather data and put the scientific method to work.
─ Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes.
─ Psychologists aren’t the only people who seek to understand human
behaviour and solve social problems.
─ Philosophers, religious leaders, and politicians, among others------also
strive to provide explanations for human behaviour.
─ But psychologists believe that empirical research is the best tool for
understanding human beings and their relationships with others.
─ Empirical research means they are based on systematic collection and
analysis of data.
 Scientific Method/Process
1. Observe and define a Question
 An observation is the act of viewing or noting a detail, fact, or occurrence.
• Once a scientist has made observations, they are often curious about what
they have seen and want to learn more.
• An observation is just information you collect empirically (meaning that
you collect the information by using your senses — sight, hearing, touch,
taste, and smell) and objectively (meaning observations are made without
adding any personal opinion, bias, or judgment)
─ You notice (observe) something interesting happening and would like an
explanation.
─ E.g. You wonder if violent cartoons create aggressive behavior in children.
 Ask Questions: At this point, scientists begin to ask questions about their
observations.
• These questions can be very broad or specific depending on the topic
being investigated.
─ Does watching violent cartoons create aggressive behaviour?
2. Formulate a Hypothesis
─ A hypothesis is a potential answer to the question, one that can
somehow be tested.
─ A tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations.
─ This hypothesis is not necessarily the right explanation. Instead, it's a
possible explanation that we can test to see if it is likely correct, or if we
need to make a new hypothesis.
─ E.g. “Children who watch violent cartoon will become aggressive”
3. Design a study and collect data (to Test Hypothesis)
─ Choose a method to gather information (design a study to collect data)
─ The researcher will then design an experiment to test his or her
hypothesis and evaluate the data gathered.
• Design and conduct an experiment.
• After you have your hypothesis, you need to find a way to determine whether it’s correct.
Testing your hypothesis requires that you conduct an experiment
 An experiment is an activity designed to gather data that will be used to support or reject the
hypothesis.
─ Look for information that proves or disproves your hypothesis. These
data will either support or disprove the hypothesis.
4. Analyze the results and Draw Conclusions
─ The interpretation of the results includes analyzing the data and making conclusions about
the hypothesis.
• First, the data is analyzed statistically to determine how the data from the experiment
relates to the hypothesis and predictions proposed.
• After the analysis, conclusions are made by comparing the data with the hypothesis.
• If the data are found to NOT support the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is rejected and
the scientist must return to step three and formulate a new hypothesis .(See in figure on next
slide)
• They will then conduct a new experiment and determine if their new data supports or
refutes their new hypothesis.
─ The results of a test may either, support or contradict—oppose—a hypothesis.
• In this step researcher writes a concise summary of his/her study, the findings, and their
conclusions, to share with others.
• Draw conclusions and repeat–the scientific method is never-ending, and no result is ever
considered perfect.
5. Report Your Results (findings)
─ Once the researcher has analyzed the results, he /she can make a statement about what
he /she has found.
─ Replicate: Mostly research is designed to replicate — that is, to repeat, add to, or modify —
previous research findings.
─ This statement communicates the results of the experiment to others.
 Approaches to Research

Research Methods
In the opening chapter you learned that psychology has four goals---
to describe, explain, predict , and control behaviour. In order to
accomplish these goals it is essential to employ effective research
methods.
In this chapter you will be familiar with the principal ways in which
psychologists gather data and put the scientific method to work.
─ Research methods yield descriptions of behavior and include:
I. Observational studies
II. Case study
III. the survey.
IV. Correlation Method
V. Experiment
 Approaches to Research (cont’d)

I. Observational study:
─ Watching, listening and recording behavior appearing in a
particular setting (in classroom, in library, in playground or in
sports groups).
─ General objective of observation method is to describe the
behavior (what & how it occurs).
─ It is not concerned with giving explanations or reasons. No need
for intervention (during observation) or asking questions
─ Collection of data by watching & recording behaviour as it occurs
─ Its includes:
a. naturalistic observation
b. laboratory observation
a. Naturalistic Observation:
─ “watching(observing) and recording behavior in a natural setting without
attempting to influence or control it”.
─ how the students behave when they are given new learning materials in
class.
─ how they behave when they work in groups
─ Have you ever sat in an airport or shopping mall and simply watched what
people were doing?
─ Such an activity is quite similar to naturalistic observation.
b. Laboratory Observation:
─ “observing and recording behavior in a specially designed and controlled
situation.”
─ This method of studying behavior involves observation that takes place not in its
natural setting but in a laboratory.
─ Researchers using laboratory observation can exert more control and use more
precise equipment to measure responses.
 Laboratory observation has limitations:
─ Firstly, laboratory behavior may not accurately reflect real-world behavior.
─ Another disadvantage is that building, staffing, equipping, and maintaining
research laboratories can be expensive.
II. Case studies:
─ A detailed and in-depth study of a single case; an individual, a
homogeneous group, a school, a class, a process, a programme or
a situation.
─ In a school, a teacher can study a single child in depth on various
aspects; emotional, intellectual, social, moral and personal.
─ Their purpose is to provide a detailed description of some
behavior or disorder.
─ This method is particularly appropriate for studying people who
have uncommon psychological or physiological disorders or brain
injuries.
─ It combines various strategies of collecting data; tests;
interviews; observation; assessment records; personality testing;
portfolio; cumulative records ;intelligent tests; and anything
available and useful for understanding a case.
III. Survey Research
─ “The survey is a method in which researchers uses interviews and/or questionnaires
to gather information about the attitudes, beliefs, experiences, or behaviors of a
group of people”.
─ The objective is to study behavior, opinion, experiences, attitude or demographic
data among many people.
─ It involves a large number of people and sometimes a wide geographical area.
─ Self-reported technique which includes questionnaire and interview is a key data
collection technique.
─ So, sampling and construction of questions is important.
─ Researchers in psychology rarely conduct studies using all members of a group.
─ Instead of studying the whole population (The entire group of interest to
researchers to which they wish to generalize their findings; the group from which a
sample is selected), researchers select a sample for study-----“A sample is a part of a
population that is studied to reach conclusions about the entire population”.
─ A larger sample is better able to reflect the actual diversity of the population, thus
allowing better generalizability (i.e. survey can be generalized to the larger
population with more certainty than the information collected through a case
study).
Findings can be generalized to the larger population as this is the main focus
and purpose.
iv. The Correlational Method
─ “A method used to establish the degree of relationship (correlation)
between two characteristics, events, or behaviors”. Variables are studied
as they are (no artificial situation is created) to see how much they are
related.
─ Example:
• Scores of students and time take for revision
• Performance in subject A and subject B
─ Variables can be negatively or positively correlated
─ When scientists study correlations, they apply a statistical formula to
data representing two or more variables to obtain a correlation
coefficient.
─ “A correlation coefficient is a numerical value that indicates the strength
and direction of the relationship between two variables”.
Correlation (cont’d)
 Correlation Co-efficient Interpretation
─ When scientists study correlations, they apply a statistical formula to data
representing two or more variables to obtain a correlation coefficient.
─ A correlation coefficient is a numerical value that indicates:
a. strength and
b. direction of the relationship between two variables.

a. Strength of relationship between two variables:

─ A correlation coefficient ranges from:
 +1.00 (a perfect positive correlation)
 to 0.00 (no relationship)
 to −1.00 (a perfect negative correlation).
─ The number in a correlation coefficient indicates the relative strength of the
relationship between two variables—the higher the number, the stronger
the relationship.
─ Therefore, a correlation of −.85 is stronger than a correlation of +.64.
b. Direction of relationship between two variables:
─ The sign of a correlation coefficient (+ or −) indicates whether the two variables vary in the
same or opposite directions.
i. A Positive Correlation: when increase in one variable shows increase in another
variable or vice-versa
 It indicates that two variables vary in the same direction.
– As another example, there is a positive though weak correlation between stress and
illness. When stress increases, illness is likely to increase; when stress decreases, illness
tends to decrease.
─ For example, there is a positive correlation between the amount of time spent studying
and academic performance. The more time a student spends studying, the higher their
academic performance is likely to be.
─ The price of a car and its associated social status.
ii. A Negative Correlation: when one variable increases, another variable decreases.
 It means that an increase in the value of one variable is associated with a decrease in
the value of the other variable.
─ For example, as mileage accumulates on a car’s odometer, the less reliable the car
becomes.
─ And there is a negative correlation between the number of cigarettes people smoke and
the number of years they can expect to live.
─ Similarly, there is a negative correlation between the amount of stress a person
experiences and their overall happiness. As stress levels increase, happiness levels tend to
decrease.
 b. Direction of relationship between two variables:

iii. A Zero Correlation : A zero correlation occurs when there is no relationship

between two variables.
– This means that the variables are unrelated and do not affect each other.
– For example, there is zero correlation between a person’s shoe size and their IQ
score. The size of a person’s feet has no relationship to their level of
intelligence.
– Similarly, there is zero correlation between a person’s height and their favorite
color. The two variables are unrelated to each other.
 The correlational study definition that is commonly understood in fields, such as
psychology, biology, and sociology, is a research design that tries to determine
whether or not there is any relationship between variables; it does not seek to
determine how that relationship works.
 Correlation Do not seek to find out the causes and effect of such relationship.
 Does the fact that there is a correlation between two variables indicate that
one variable causes the other? No
 Correlations do not tell us anything about causation—regardless of how strong
the relationship is between variables. In fact, the only way to demonstrate
causation is by conducting an experiment.
 They do not tell us what causes what but they help to predict situations
Correlation Co-efficient guide and its Interpretation
Examples of Correlation
• Positive correlations
Here are some examples of positive correlations:
1. The more time you spend on a project, the more effort you'll have put in.
2. The more money you make, the more taxes you will owe.
3. The nicer you are to employees, the more they'll respect you.
4. The more education you receive, the smarter you'll be.
5. The more overtime you work, the more money you'll earn.
• Negative correlations
Here are some examples of negative correlations:
1. The more payments you make on a loan, the less money you'll owe.
2. As the number of your employees decreases, the more job positions you'll have open.
3. The more you work in the office, the less time you'll spend at home.
4. The more employees you hire, the fewer funds you'll have.
5. The more time you spend on a project, the less time you'll have
6. The number of hours spent watching TV and physical activity level
• No correlation
Here are some examples of entities with zero correlation:
1. The nicer you treat your employees, the higher their pay will be.
2. The smarter you are, the later you'll arrive at work.
3. The wealthier you are, the happier you'll be.
4. The earlier you arrive at work, your need for more supplies increases.
5. The more funds you invest in your business, the more employees will leave work early.
Examples of Correlation
 Correlation Does Not Prove Causation
─ A correlation between two variables does not prove that a cause–effect relationship
exists between them. There is a correlation between stress and illness, but that does not
mean that stress necessarily causes illness. Both stress and illness may result from
another factor, such as poverty or poor general health.
V The Experimental Method
 “Experiment seeks to determine the causes of behavior.”
─ The objective of experimental studies is to establish cause-effect relationship of
behavior.
─ Two variables are measured to determine if one causes another.
─ An experiment is designed to test a causal hypothesis, a prediction about a cause–effect
relationship between two or more variables.
─ An experiment is guided by a hypothesis which consists of independent and
dependent variables.
─ Hypothesis: is an educated guess; assumed answer to a question
─ Variable: is any condition or factor that can be manipulated, controlled, or measured.
 Example of Hypothesis
─ Objective: To find out ‘if severe punishments to students cause them to develop negative
attitude towards learning’
─ Hypothesis: ‘students who are severely punished will develop more negative attitudes
towards learning than those who are slightly punished’.
 Example of Variables
─ One variable of interest to you is the grade you will receive in this psychology course.
Another variable that probably interests you is the amount of time you will spend studying
for this course.
─ Do you suppose that a cause–effect relationship exists between the amount of time
students spend studying and the grades they receive?
 Independent and Dependent Variables in Experiment Method
o Hypothesis: ‘students who are severely punished will develop more negative
attitudes towards learning than those who are slightly punished’.
 Independent variable: the manipulated, influential factor hypothesized as
having effect on the dependent variable (IV= severe punishment).
– It is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter. In a well-designed
experimental study, the independent variable is the only important
difference between the experimental and control groups.
 Dependent variable: A variable which is expected to change when independent
variable is manipulated (DV= negative attitudes toward learning)
– It is what the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent
variable had.
o Experiment must consist of at least two groups of subjects;
– experimental group and
– control group.
 Experimental group: A group that receives/gets treatment or manipulation in
the experiment.
 Control group: A group that receives no treatment in the experiment.
An Example of Experimental Study
─ If you think that children should not be allowed to watch violent
programming on television because doing so would cause them to
behave more violently,
 then you have basically formulated a hypothesis—namely, that
watching violent television programs causes children to behave more
violently.
─ How might you have arrived at this particular hypothesis? You may
have younger relatives who watch cartoons featuring characters using
martial arts to save the world from evildoers, with an impressive array
of punching, kicking, and defensive postures. You notice that after
watching these programs for a while, your young relatives mimic the
fighting behavior of the characters portrayed in the cartoon.
─ These sorts of personal observations are what often lead us to
formulate a specific hypothesis. To rigorously test our hypothesis, to
find out if real-world data supports our hypothesis, we have to
conduct an experiment.
Designing Experiment
– The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is,
the treatment or variable being tested (in this case, violent TV images)
—and
– the control group does not receive manipulation (in this case they are
shown non-violent TV programs).
• In our example of how violent television programming might affect violent
behavior in children, we have:
– the experimental group view violent television programming for a
specified time and then measure their violent behavior.
– Control group watches non-violent television programming for the
same amount of time.
– We measure behaviours in both cases (we let the children go into the
play ground and observe and record their behaviours)
– It is important for the control group to be treated similarly to the
experimental group, with the exception that the control group does
not receive the experimental manipulation.
 Once data is collected from both groups, it is analyzed statistically to
determine if there are meaningful differences between the groups.
Independent and Dependent Variables (Variables in Studies)
 An independent variable is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter.
– In our example of how violent television programs affect children’s display
of violent behavior, the independent variable is the type of program—
violent or nonviolent—viewed by participants in the study.
 A dependent variable is what the researcher measures to see how much
effect the independent variable had.
– In our example, the dependent variable is the number of violent acts
displayed by the experimental participants.
─ In an experiment, we expect that the dependent variable will change as a
function of the independent variable.
─ In other words, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable.
 Returning to our example, what effect does watching a half hour of violent
television programming or nonviolent television programming has on the
number of incidents of physical aggression displayed on the playground?
 Class Activity
Identify the independent and dependent variable from the given hypothesis:
1. As the amount of caffeine intake increases the attentional capacities decrease.
• IV________________________
• DV_________________________
2. Some people believe money buys happiness. Dr.Goodwin wants to determine whether paying plays a
role in their happiness.
• IV____________________________
• DV_____________________________

3. Level of anxiety will increase as the competition increases

• IV_____________________________
• DV____________________________

4. A cognitive psychologist tests students' ability to recall of textbook material studied for thirty
minutes under either noisy or quiet conditions.
• IV_____________________
• DV____________________
5. Plants grow faster in warmer temperatures
IV____________________
DV____________________
 Class Quiz
1. To what extent does traffic affect a person’s mood?
IV _______________________
DV_____________________
2. People walker slower after drinking coffee
IV _______________________
DV_____________________
3. How does sleep the night before an exam affect scores in students?
IV__________________
DV_________________
4. An industrial psychologist is interested in whether lowering the temperature in a packing
room will increase productivity (number of products packed). Workers in two equivalent packing
rooms participate in the study. One room is maintained at 65 degrees, the other room is left at the
usual company temperature of 76 degrees.
IV____________________________
DV_______________________________
Experimental group:________________________
Control group:____________________________
5. A clinical psychologist wants to find out whether people who have psychotherapy are
more or less likely to have problems in the future.
IV__________________________________
DV__________________________________
 Example: Deductive research approach

• You predict that going from a five-day work week to a four-day work week
(without any reduction in pay) will help reduce or prevent burnout by
improving employee well-being.
– You formulate your main hypothesis: Switching to a four-day work week will
improve employee well-being.
– Your null hypothesis states that there’ll be no difference in employee well-
being before and after the change.
• (A null hypothesis is a type of statistical hypothesis that proposes that
no statistical significance exists in a set of given observations.)
• You collect data on employee well-being through quantitative surveys on a
monthly basis before and after the change. When analyzing the data, you note
a 25% increase in employee well-being after the change in work week.
• Using a statistical test, you find that your results show statistical significance.
You reject your null hypothesis and conclude that your results support your
main hypothesis.