Unit 0 Notes
Research
Types of Research Methods
experimental
non-experimental → natural observation, case study, meta-analysis, correlational study
Ways to do Research
Longitudinal
Cross-sectional
Naturalistic Observation
NO interaction between researcher and participants; “Hands-Off” approach
Jane Goodall
Strengths → authentic data, realism, avoids participant bias, avoids changes in personality
Weaknesses → no informed consent, lack of control
Case Study
gather a lot of “deep data” about 1 person
Strengths → ask follow up questions, more detailed information
Weaknesses → time consuming, cannot generalize one person’s experience to a larger population
Meta-Analysis
combines conclusions from many different studies
Strengths → not doing unique studies, lots of data, not time consuming to do experiments
Weaknesses → gaps in data, time consuming everywhere else
Correlational Study
see how one variable relates to another
Strengths → able to plot out relationships between two things
Weaknesses → does not prove cause and effect
illusory correlation (perceive relationships that don’t exist)
CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION
for example, just because there is an increase in ice cream sales and an increase in violent crimes during summer, it does not mean that there is a correlation
common to use the technique of surveys
Strengths → easy, cheap, lots of data
Weaknesses → no follow-up questions, self-reporting bias*, social desirability bias
*hard to quantify feelings and emotions
Correlational coefficient
Positive coefficient - between 0 → +1.00
Negative coefficient - between -1.00 → 0
No correlation → 0
Perfect Positive: Positive linear graph
Zero/None: Scattered, no pattern
Perfect Negative: Negative linear graph
Experiments
correlation between variables
types of variables (independent, dependent)
experimental group vs. control group
(placebo effect, random assignment, double-blind)
confounding variables
placebo
placebo effect
single vs double-blind procedure
Ethics in Psychological Research
Humans:
informed consent
debriefing
Animals:
minimize discomfort
humane care, healthy conditions
Based on guidelines by the APA
Beneficial
Trust, accountability, ethics
Transparency (MUST be debriefed at the end)
Prevent unjust practices
Dignity, rights (MUST have informed consent)
Statistics
organize, summarize, analyze data
some may skew data to serve their own purposes
Qualitative vs Quantitative
Descriptive vs Inferential
Measures of Central Tendency
Mean → Average
Mode → Most occuring
Median → Middle
Variation
Range → difference between highest and lowest
Standard deviation → variation from mean
smaller number → closer
larger number → farther
Research
Types of Research Methods
experimental
non-experimental → natural observation, case study, meta-analysis, correlational study
Ways to do Research
Longitudinal
Cross-sectional
Naturalistic Observation
NO interaction between researcher and participants; “Hands-Off” approach
Jane Goodall
Strengths → authentic data, realism, avoids participant bias, avoids changes in personality
Weaknesses → no informed consent, lack of control
Case Study
gather a lot of “deep data” about 1 person
Strengths → ask follow up questions, more detailed information
Weaknesses → time consuming, cannot generalize one person’s experience to a larger population
Meta-Analysis
combines conclusions from many different studies
Strengths → not doing unique studies, lots of data, not time consuming to do experiments
Weaknesses → gaps in data, time consuming everywhere else
Correlational Study
see how one variable relates to another
Strengths → able to plot out relationships between two things
Weaknesses → does not prove cause and effect
illusory correlation (perceive relationships that don’t exist)
CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION
for example, just because there is an increase in ice cream sales and an increase in violent crimes during summer, it does not mean that there is a correlation
common to use the technique of surveys
Strengths → easy, cheap, lots of data
Weaknesses → no follow-up questions, self-reporting bias*, social desirability bias
*hard to quantify feelings and emotions
Correlational coefficient
Positive coefficient - between 0 → +1.00
Negative coefficient - between -1.00 → 0
No correlation → 0
Perfect Positive: Positive linear graph
Zero/None: Scattered, no pattern
Perfect Negative: Negative linear graph
Experiments
correlation between variables
types of variables (independent, dependent)
experimental group vs. control group
(placebo effect, random assignment, double-blind)
confounding variables
placebo
placebo effect
single vs double-blind procedure
Ethics in Psychological Research
Humans:
informed consent
debriefing
Animals:
minimize discomfort
humane care, healthy conditions
Based on guidelines by the APA
Beneficial
Trust, accountability, ethics
Transparency (MUST be debriefed at the end)
Prevent unjust practices
Dignity, rights (MUST have informed consent)
Statistics
organize, summarize, analyze data
some may skew data to serve their own purposes
Qualitative vs Quantitative
Descriptive vs Inferential
Measures of Central Tendency
Mean → Average
Mode → Most occuring
Median → Middle
Variation
Range → difference between highest and lowest
Standard deviation → variation from mean
smaller number → closer
larger number → farther