Psychology Research Methods: Types, Data, and Hypotheses

Matched Pairs

Ps are grouped by certain characteristics like: age, gender, grade level. Each P is only 1 condition

Repeated Measures

One group of randomly selected P will be split. Ps participate in ALL conditions.

Independent Measures

Groups in which the Ps only participate in one condition; EXPERIMENTAL & CONTROL GROUP

Non-directional hypothesis

predicts a correlation but not direction; "Will have an effect"

Null hypothesis

results are due to chance; "Have no effect"

Observations

data collected by watching Ps with the aim of recording the behavior observed

Questionnaires

a form of self-report whereby the Ps read the questions themselves & fill out answers on paper

Interviews

self report methods where the Es ask the questions

Weakness of a Case Study

1) Rarely produces quantitative (numerical) data

2) Difficult to generalize findings

Informed Consent

People must be told what the study is about & agree to take apart

Deception

Sometimes research don't tell the full truth, but it must not harm people, & it should be revealed later

Protection from Harm

Ps should not get hurt physically or mentally

Debrief

At the end, researchers explain the real purpose of the study, clear up any deception, & make sure the participant leaves without feeling bad

Correlation Study

a type of research that looks at the relationship two variables to see if they move together

Overt

the participant is AWARE

Covert

the participant is UNAWARE

Unstructured Observation

the Es just record everything they see the Ps doing.

Unstructured Observation: Strength

Gives rich, detailed information because the researchers can record all kinds of behaviors

Unstructured Observation: Weakness

Hard to analyze & compare results since there's no set structure

Quantitative Data

Numerical Data --> Measured using numbers

Qualitative Data

Quality Data --> Describing characteristics

Mean

the average set of numbers

Median

the middle number in a set of numbers when they are arranged in order

Disadvantages of Standard Deviation

1) Sensitive to outliers: extreme values can make it seem bigger than usual

2) Doesn't show shape: It only tells how spread out numbers are, NOT how they are distributed