RESEARCH ENTERPRISE IN PSYCHOLOGY

GOALS OF THE SCIENTIFIC ENTERPRIZE
1. Measurment and description
2. Understanding and prediction
  1. A hypothesis is a tentative statement aout the relationship between two or more variables, variables are any measurable conditions, events, or characteristics, or behaviours that are controlled or observed in a study
3. Aplication and Control
  1. A theory is a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations
STEPS IN A SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
1. Step 1: formulate a testable hypothesis
2. Step 2: select the research method and design the study
3. Step 3: collect the data.
4. Step 4: analyze the data and draw conclusions
5. Step 5: report the findings
INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES
1. A independent variable is a condition or évent that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable
2. The dependant variable is the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable
EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS
1. The experimental group consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independant variable
2. The control group consists of similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group
3. Researchers isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependant variable
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES
1. Extraneous variables are any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study.
2. A confounding of variables occurs when two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
1. Researchers are able to draw these conclusions about causation because the precise control available in the experiment allows them to isolate the relationship between the independent variable and the dependant variable while neutralizing the effects of extraneous variables
2. Disadvantage: is that experiments are often artificial. Researchers must often construct simple, contrived situations to test their hypothesis experimentally
3. Advantage: it permits conclusions about cause and effect relationships
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
1. In natural observation a researcher engages in carful observations of behaviour without intervening directly with the research subjects or participants
2. Its called the way it is because behaviour is allowed to unfold naturally (without interference) in its natural environment
3. Unlike case studies it can also be used to observe animal behaviour as well
CASE STUDIES
1. A case study is an in depth investigation of an individual subject
2. Case studies can also provide compelling real life illustrations that bolster a hypothesis or theory
3. The main problem with case studies is that they can be highly subjective
SURVEYS
1. researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather information about specific aspects of participants behaviour
2. The main problem with surveys is that they depend on self report data
3. They can also be used to gather information of important social issues that may have legal and public policy implications, such as the study conducted by Memorial University researchers on th frequency of sexual harassment taking place in Canadian high schools.
INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
1. It is used to interpret data and draw conclusions
2. Statistical significance is said to exist when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low.
SAMPLING BIAS
1. A sample is a collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study.
2. In contrast, the population is the much larger collection of animals or people (from which the sample is drawn) that researchers want to generalize about
3. Sampling bias exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn
PLACEBO EFFECTS
1. Its a substance that resembles a drug but has no actual pharmacological effect
2. Placebo effects occurs when participants expectations lead them to experience some change even though they receive empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment
3. Reseachers should guard against placebo effects whenever subjects are likely to have expectations that a treatment will affect them in a certain way
EXPERIMENTER BIAS
1. It occurs when a researchers expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained
2. One problem is that researchers, like others, sometimes see what they want to see. For instance, when experimenters make apparently honest mistakes in recording subjects responses, the mistakes tend to be heavily slanted in favour of supporting the hypothesis.
3. The double blind procedure is a research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups
  1. The problems associated with experimenter bias can be neutralized by using a double blind procedure

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RESEARCH ENTERPRISE IN PSYCHOLOGY

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	Created by Whitney Mitsuing over 8 years ago