psychology : investigating behaviour 1 research methods investigating behaviour

Psychology : Investigating Behaviour

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Research Methods Investigating Behaviour


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What will l be doing in this unit?


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The Research Process

Is Psychology common sense?- As humans we have a desire to predict behaviour we

are in essence ‘amateur psychologists’. But is psychology as simple as that?

- Well, the thing that makes psychology more than just common sense is that its assumptions are scientific and a result of research based testing.

- It uses scientific research methods to establish whether theories are supported or not.


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Student Activity

In groups of 2-3 consider the following questions.

1. What are common sense explanations of behaviour – give 2 examples.

2. Why do psychologists consider their explanations to be testable and scientific?

http://www.longroad.ac.uk/accreditation/subject_psychology/investigations/booklet

1.pdf


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So what are Research Methods?

Research Methods include all aspects of the research process, from planning, through to implementation and on to the reporting of the findings.


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The Four step research process Psychologists use a four step process to carry out a piece of

research:

Form a hypothesis – a hypothesis is the research question or the idea they wish to study i.e. are women better drivers than men.

Design research study to test hypothesis and collect the data – How am l going to go about and answer this question , how am l going to collect the data, which method?

Analyse results to confirm or refute hypothesis. Modify theoretical concepts or revise hypothesis and conduct

further research.


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Form HypothesisForm HypothesisForm HypothesisForm Hypothesis

Design research study Design research study what methods can what methods can

l use?l use?

Design research study Design research study what methods can what methods can

l use?l use?

Analyse results to Analyse results to confirm hypothesisconfirm hypothesisAnalyse results to Analyse results to confirm hypothesisconfirm hypothesis

Implications forImplications for further researchfurther researchImplications forImplications for

further researchfurther research

Diagram of four step research process


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Key terms in research

Aims – Aim of study is to answer research question.

- For example – Does alcohol affect driving ability?

Hypothesis – A statement which the experimenter expects to occur. This should be tested and can be supported or rejected.

- Alcohol does affect driving ability.


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Key Terms Cont….

There are two types of hypothesis :

- Experimental (or alternate or research) hypothesis, so you would predict that if you give alcohol to a driver this will affect their driving ability ie one variable affects another.

- Null hypothesis is when one variable does not affect the other ie alcohol did not affect driving another variable did, examples may include lack of sleep, hunger, type of car used etc.


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In summary…

So for our experiment : Alcohol affects driving ability, we would use the following two hypothesis:

Experimental Hypothesis – Alcohol does affect driving ability.

Null Hypothesis – Alcohol does not affect driving ability.


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Quantative and Qualitative Research There are two methods used by psychologists

in collecting and analysing data:- Quantative – most often used in experiments,

observations and surveys. This is used to look at how often, how much, how long behaviour occurs. Results are generally numerical and in graphs and charts.


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Quantative and Qualitative Research

- Qualitative data is usually the result of interviews and case studies. Here the information gathered is detailed and descriptive. Usually the data cannot be charted in graphs but instead in sentence form. Here you are explaining the ‘why’ to certain behaviours.


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Examples of Quantative and Qualitative data in literature Qualitative –

Rawlins, R (1979) Forty Years of Rhesus Research - The Colony of Monkeys. New Scientist, 82, 108-10.

Quantative –Holmes, TH & Rahe, RH (1967) The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic research, 11, 213-18.


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Closed and open questioning

Closed questions Questions that provide alternatives for participants to

choose from for example multiple choice, yes or no, true or false questions. Answers do not lead on to further analysis, they are objective, unambiguous and reliable.

Open questions Allow for a wide range of responses, they are not

constrained by options given instead in-depth responses given. Answers can be ambiguous and subjective.


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Reliability and Validity

Reliability The extend to which the same method produces the

same results each time it is used. It is the assurance of consistency and credibility. A test is reliable if if its stable over time and distance ie it produces the same results on the same people each time it is used in a day, week, month etc.

ValidityEstablishes that a measure is measuring exactly what you expect it to measure ie an IQ test should test intelligence not memory.


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Variables

Something open to change. IndependentVariable the experimenter can manipulate or control

DependentResponse being measured

ExtraneousAny variable, other than the IV that may effect DV. The

researcher should try to minimise their influence.


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An example :

Hypothesis: ‘Background noise will have an effect on short term memory performance’

IV : Background noise can be under two conditions:

Condition 1 : no loud music (control group)

Condition 2 : loud classical music (experimental group)

Thus the researcher can manipulate experiment under the two conditions.

DV : Short term memory performance

Extraneous variables : is participant drowsy, what have they had to eat etc. These factors too can affect short term memory thus it is important to control these factors as much as possible.


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Sampling Methods

Control and experimental groups

The control group is the group who have not been exposed to the manipulation of the IV. So in the example the control group would not have loud music playing while they complete their short term memory task.

The experimental group however do have the music playing whilst completing their task.


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Sampling methods

Psychologists generally want their conclusions to apply to members of a particular population ie all 5 year old girls, Scottish voters, obese teens etc. But they cannot study all members of this group thus they select a sample of this population. Their sample should be an accurate representation of the entire population.

So the sample must be representative of the population and each subject must be randomly chosen.


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Methods of collecting data

Experiment and Non experiment

Experiment

- Most controlled form of study and the only form where you can show that one variable causes another.

- Here you are looking at the cause (IV) and effect (DV) relationship.


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Types of Experiment

Lab -Completely controlled environment, where variables are monitored

and controlled. Replication is a key factor and ethical guidelines is a must.

Field- Study takes place in more everyday surrounding i.e. school,

street etc. IV is manipulated but outside extraneous variables may come into play due to lack of control.

Natural- Occurs when researcher exploits a natural event that is about to

occur and takes the form of an experimental situation. For example, a volcano, authorities relaxing visiting times at a hospital etc. What effect do these changes have.


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Demand Characteristics

A term that is used to describe the process that occurs when people know or think they know what the experiment is about or what the experimenter is looking for. When this happens in experiments it can

affect the way people behave. Also the experimenter may effect the experiment

depending on how they interact with the participants , thus experimenters should used standardised instructions in what to do and say to participants.


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Non experimental Methods

As you know an experiment is a procedure whereby a researcher systematically varies one or more factors in order to see what effects the changes have on behaviour. Non experimental methods do not involve direct control of any factor (no IV or DV).They simply describe what is happening. For example, noting an individuals co ordination before and after they visit a bar would not tell us anything about how alcohol affects co ordination, but would give us data concerning the changes in co ordination and other characteristics.


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Surveys

Umbrella term for a variety of methods that involve asking questions. Based on self report, participants are asked what they think, feel, views, options, experiences etc. This is in contrast to experiments whereby the behaviour of an individual is observed and then inferences are made about underlying thoughts, feelings and attitudes.

Can consist of questionnaires or surveys.


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Questionnaires

Questionnaires are sets of questions that can be answered in person or in writing .

Generally they can be highly structured, consisting of predetermined questions with a limited choice of answers to tick.

Can also include open questions for participants to express their opinions and provide feedback.

Used in market research for example online questionnaires, student evaluation forms etc.

Normally the sample is wide as it is a relatively cheap and easy tool to collect data.

Data is usually Quantative .


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Writing a good questionnaire - Tips The first step is to generate as many ideas as

possible that might be relevant to the questionnaire. Closed and Open questions – decide which to use,

most questionnaires have closed questions because the answers are easy to score and analyse.

Ambiguity and bias – Structure of questions should be considered, questions should be unbiased, unambiguous, brief , not emotive (questions should not produce a strong emotional response).


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Interviews

Consists of a set of questions. The number of questions vary and the extent to which these questions are fixed varies. Interviews are normally conducted live ie face to face, telephone etc.

An interview may be structured or unstructured and open ended in which case questions are not predetermined and answers can be free ranging.

Some interviews use flexible approach whereby new questions are generated in response to previous answers.

Data can be quantative (structured interview) and qualitative (unstructured interview).


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Problems associated with surveys

Social Desirability Bias – tendency for respondents to provide ‘socially desirable answer's so they appear in a better light. This reduces validity of research findings as they data does not represent what people actually think and do.

Response Set – some participants prefer to give the answer ‘yes’ than ‘no’. So it is important to vary questions to get a mixture of yes and no answers.

Interviewer Bias – leading questions should be avoided. Inter- Interviewer reliability – if more than one person is

interviewing there should be a consistency between them on the type of questions asked.


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Case study

A study of a single case, whereby the researcher studies one person, a small group of individuals, a family, school.

The method is used in psychology in the study of atypical behaviour because occurrences of such ‘abnormal’ behaviour are rare.

Examples include ‘little Hans’(Freud, 1909) ‘Anna O’ (Freud, 1910), ‘Genie’ (1970). See class handout.


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The main features of a case study

The case study approach offers a rich amount of detail and insight into a particular person.

It is also grounded in real life. It is usually longitudinal i.e. carried out

over a long period of time, with regular collection of data from individual(s) under study.


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Case study involves one or more research methodologies: Case History - records collected from past about

prior history i.e. school, medical records etc Interviews – The individual might be interviewed to

discover information about their past or about present attitudes and feelings. Other people also may be interviewed for additional information.

Psychometric tests – may be used to assess attitudes, ability and personality.

Diaries – can be kept and used by individuals. Observation – observe participant behaviour. Experimental Tasks.


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Problems

Subjectivity – generally researchers strive to be objective and

unbiased. However, case studies involve lengthily, fairly unstructured interviews between the researcher and participant, thus, there is a high likelihood that the researcher will form expectations which will be bias.

Ethical Issues - Case studies are very private thus it is essential to keep

details in confidence.


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Ethics

Summary of BPS Ethical Principles for Conducting RESEARCH With Human Participants (2000)

Introduction Participants should have confidence in the

investigators There should be mutual respect between

investigators and participants BPS members should encourage colleagues to adopt

these ethical principles and ensure that they are followed by those under their supervision.


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Ethics

Investigators should consider all ethical and psychological consequences of their research on their participants.

There should be no threat to participant’s psychological well-being, health, values or dignity. Where investigators are not familiar with participant’s culture, ethnicity, age group, gender or social background, it is suggested that the best judge of whether an investigation may cause offence to the sample are members of population from which the sample is drawn.


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Ethics

Consent

Where possible, participants should be informed of the nature of the investigation prior to taking part, particularly if such information may influence their willingness to take part.

Where research is conducted using children, or with participants who are unable to give consent, special safeguards should be in place.

Where participants are under 16, consent should be obtained from parents or those in loco parentis.


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Ethics

Deception Withholding information about the nature of the

research is unacceptable where such information may influence the decision of the participant to take part.

Advice should be sought from disinterested experienced colleagues.

Advice may also be sought regarding the consequences of the research on a minority group from members of the same minority group.

If you feel that deception is necessary: 1. consider alternative procedures 2. give sufficient information to participants as soon

as possible.


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Ethics

Debriefing Investigators should ensure that participants are

given enough information on completion of the research to complete their understanding.

Investigators should also discuss with the participants, their experience of the research.

Withdrawl Participants should be informed that they have the

right to withdraw from the investigation at any time. Withdrawal can take place before, during or after

the investigation is complete. Where this occurs afterwards, participant’s data should be destroyed.


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Ethics

Confidentiality Participant information is confidential unless otherwise

agreed in advance. Participants have the right to expect that any information

about them is confidential and that they will not be identifiable from any written reports on the investigation.

Protection It is the investigators responsibility to ensure that

participants are not subjected to any greater physical or mental harm than they would expect in their everyday life.

Participants should be given a contact number (school/college) which can be used if they experience any stress following the investigation, or if they have any further questions.


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Ethics

· Participants should be assured that they do not require to give any information that they consider to be private or personal.

Observation · Where the observational method is used and

consent is not obtained, such observation is only acceptable in circumstances where the participants would reasonably be expected to be observed by strangers.

· Cultural differences should be considered when applying the above rule.


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Quiz – click anywhere on the owl


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Question 1

Which phrase best describes psychological research?

Assumptions are scientific and a result of research based testing.

Assumptions based on common sense explanations.


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Question 1 correct

That’s correct well done


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Question 1 wrong

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Question 2

What is the first step of the research process?

Analyse results

Form hypothesis


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Question 3

What is a hypothesis?

A way of collecting data

A statement which predicts what the experimenter expects to occur


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Question 4

What is quantative data?

Where the research aims to produce numerical results from data

Where the research gives meaning to a limited number of occurrences and responses


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Question 5

Consider the following statement to see if it would be classified as either a closed or open ended question:

‘On a scale of 1-10 how do you rate yourself as a driver?’

Closed Question

Open question


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Question 6

Why is it important for your data to be reliable?

As it establishes that a measure is measuring what it should

As it is important that what l measure will produce the same results each time l use it.


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Question 7

A variable is …..

Something open to change

Research that is true to life


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Question 8

The two methods of collecting data are :

Qualitative and Quantative

Experimental and Non experimental


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Question 9

The variable an experimenter manipulates is the …

Independent variable

Dependent variable


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Question 10

What are the three types of experiment?

Case study, interview and observation

Field, lab and natural


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Question 11

A survey is ….

A cause and effect relationship

An umbrella term for a variety of methods that involve asking questions


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Question 12

An interview can include …

Structured or unstructured questions

Independent and Dependent variables


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Question 13

Which research method looks at rare or unusual cases?

Interview

Case study


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Question 14

Which statement should psychologists adhere to:

Investigators should consider all ethical and psychological consequences of their research?

Psychologists should pay participants taxi fare?


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Question 15

If a participant withdraws from a study their data is ….

Kept for future research projects

Destroyed once research

investigation is complete


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That’s correct well done, the quiz is now finished.

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psychology : investigating behaviour 1 research methods investigating behaviour

Documents

research hypothesis

research question

research implications

research diagram

result of research

piece of research

behaviour slide

scientific research