PSY 1101 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

LECTURE 3 & 4
RESEARCH METHODS/ETHICS IN
PSYCHOLOGY
 THE SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE

Research methods in psychology is characterized

by the scientific attitude. This is further
characterized by skepticism, open minded humility
and a critical attitude.
Skepticism is the attitude of questioning
everything. Doubting and retesting continuously.
 Open minded humility is about expecting that
what you held as true can be questioned and
proved wrong.
 SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
CRITICAL THINKING is an attitude that
Examines assumptions
 Discerns hidden values
Evaluates evidence
 Assesses conclusions
 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The scientific method is a self correcting process
for asking questions and observing answers
It starts with a hunch
Builds a theory
The theory generates a hypothesis
Collects and analysis data
Confirms or modifies the theory
 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Theory
 Psychological theories explain the long-term consequences
of human behavior and provide robust evidence-based
clarifications as to why people believe, behave, and react
how they do. These theories discuss factors of personality,
early experiences, and interpersonal relations.
 You have a hunch that self esteem is related to depression
because people with low self esteem hate themselves and
others and have many automatic negative thoughts.
 You explore self esteem theories and researches
 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Hypothesis
A hypothesis states your predictions about what your
research will find.
There is a significant relationship between low self
esteem and depression
 You then administer two tests
Self esteem test
Depression test
Analyze the relationships and make conclusions
Confirm or disconfirm the theory
QUANTATITIVE RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY

There are three main types of research designs:

Descriptive
Correlational
Experimental.
 DESCRIPTIVE METHODS
Descriptive research methods describe
situations.
Although they do not determine cause and
effect Descriptive approaches seeks to
describe the current status of a variable or
phenomenon.
 TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE METHODS
There are three main types of descriptive
methods:
Observational methods
Case-study methods
 Survey methods.
 THE OBSERVATIONAL METHOD
With the observational method (sometimes
referred to as field observation) animal and
human behavior is closely observed.
There are two main categories of the
observational method — naturalistic
observation and laboratory observation.
 OBSERVATIONAL METHODS
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
The biggest advantage of the naturalistic
method of research is that researchers view
participants in their natural environments.
This leads to greater ecological validity than
laboratory observation, proponents say.
 THE OBSERVATIONAL METHOD
Ecological validity refers to the extent to
which research can be used in real-life
situations.
Proponents of laboratory observation often
suggest that due to more control in the
laboratory, the results found when using
laboratory observation are more meaningful
than those obtained with naturalistic
observation.
 OBSERVATIONAL METHODS
LABORATORY OBSERVATION
Laboratory observations are usually less time-
consuming and cheaper than naturalistic
observations.
 Of course, both naturalistic and laboratory
observation are important in regard to the
advancement of scientific knowledge.
 OBSERVATION
A classic example of naturalistic observation
can be found in many experimental psychology
courses.
In one study, a student researcher stands on a
corner with a stop sign.
He or she is holding a pad of paper or a similar
recording device.
The student notes whether passing drivers
completely stop at the sign.
 OBSERVATION
The second phase of the observation takes
place on the same corner, except this time the
student is hidden.
Equal time is given to both sections of the
study.
In general, people will make sure to come to a
complete stop when they know they are being
observed.
 THE CASE STUDY METHOD
CASE STUDY
Case study research involves an in-depth
study of an individual or group of individuals.
Case studies often lead to testable hypotheses
and allow us to study rare phenomena.
 CASE STUDY
Studies on Hysteria (Freud and Breuer, 1895),
a joint work published in 1895 by Freud and
his friend, Josef Breuer, a fellow Austrian
physician.
 The case of Anna O
The case of Hans
The case of Emma
 THE CASE STUDY METHOD
There are two serious problems with case studies —
expectancy effects and atypical individuals.
Expectancy effects include the experimenter’s
underlying biases that might affect the actions
taken while conducting research.
 These biases can lead to misrepresenting
participants’ descriptions.
 Describing atypical individuals may lead to poor
generalizations and detract from external validity.
 THE SURVEY METHOD
SURVEY METHOD
In survey method research, participants answer
questions administered through interviews or
questionnaires.
After participants answer the questions, researchers
describe the responses given. In order for the survey
to be both reliable and valid it is important that the
questions are constructed properly.
 Questions should be written so they are clear and
easy to comprehend.
 THE SURVEY METHOD
Open-ended questions allow for a greater
variety of responses from participants but are
difficult to analyze statistically because the data
must be coded or reduced in some manner.
Closed-ended questions are easy to analyze
statistically, but they seriously limit the
responses that participants can give. Many
researchers prefer to use a Likert-type scale
because it’s very easy to analyze statistically
 CORRELATION RESEARCH METHODS

CORRELATIONAL METHOD
In general, a correlational study is a
quantitative method of research in which you
have 2 or more variables from the same group
of subjects-
 And you are trying to determine if there is a
relationship between the 2 variables
(a similarity between them)
 POSITIVE CORRELATION

POSITIVE CORRELATION
Both variables move in the same direction. In
other words, as one variable increases, the
other variable also increases.
As one variable decreases, the other variable
also decreases. i.e., years of education and
yearly salary are positively correlated
CORRELATION GRAPHS
NO CORRELATION
 NEGATIVE CORRELATION
NEGATIVE CORRELATION
The variables move in opposite directions. As
one variable increases, the other variable
decreases.
As one variable decreases, the other variable
increases. i.e., hours spent sleeping and hours
spent awake are negatively correlated.
 REGRESSION
Regression analysis is a quantitative research
method which is used when the study involves
modelling and analyzing several variables
where the relationship includes a dependent
variable and one or more independent
variables.
You can calculate it manually but It is easy to
calculate regression using Statistical Package
for Social Sciences ( SPSS)
 THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
Experimental Method.
 The prime method of inquiry in science is the
experiment.
 The key features are control over variables,
careful measurement, and establishing cause
and effect relationships.
An experiment is an investigation in which a
hypothesis is scientifically tested.
 THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
The experimental method involves
manipulating one variable to determine if
changes in one variable cause changes in
another variable.
This method relies on controlled methods,
random assignment and the manipulation of
variables to test a hypothesis.
 THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
Lab experiments are very common in
psychology because they allow experimenters
more control over the variables.
These experiments can also be easier for
other researchers to replicate.
The problem, of course, is that what takes
place in a lab is not always identical to what
takes place in the real world.
 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
FIELD EXPERIMENTS
For example, let's imagine that a social
psychologist is interested in researching
prosocial behavior.
 The experimenter might have a person
pretend to faint and observe to see how long it
takes onlookers to respond.
 This type of experiment can be a great way to
see behavior in action in realistic settings.
CONCEPTS IN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

The independent variable is the treatment

that the experimenter manipulates.
This variable is assumed to cause some type
of effect on another variable.
 If a researcher was investigating how sleep
influences test scores, the amount of sleep an
individual gets would be the independent
variable.
CONCEPTS IN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

The dependent variable is the effect that the

experimenter is measuring.
 In our previous example, the test scores
would be the dependent variable.
CONCEPTS IN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Psychologists, like other scientists, utilize the

scientific method when conducting an
experiment.
The scientific method is a set of procedures
and principles that guide how scientists
develop research questions, collect data and
come to conclusions.
CONCEPTS IN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

The four basic steps of the process are:

Forming a Hypothesis
Designing a Study and Collecting Data
Analyzing the Data and Reaching Conclusions
Sharing the Findings
 Lab experiment – classical conditioning
the psychic reflex of salivation by Ivan Pavlov
JB WATSON LAB EXPERIMENT CASE OF
LITTLE ALBERT
J.B. WATSON LAB EXPERIMENTS
( EXPLORE)
HAWTHORNE EFFECT WESTERN ELECTRIC
( EXPLORE)
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Qualitative research involves collecting and
analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text,
video, or audio) to understand concepts,
opinions, or experiences.
It can be used to gather in-depth insights into
a problem or generate new ideas for research.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
 Qualitative research is commonly used in the humanities
and social sciences, in subjects such as anthropology,
sociology, education, health sciences, history, etc.
 How does social media shape body image in teenagers?
 How do children and adults interpret healthy eating in the
UK?
 What factors influence employee retention in a large
organization?
 How is anxiety experienced around the world?
 How can teachers integrate social issues into science
curriculums?
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Phenomenology is the "study of the meaning
of phenomena or the study of the particular.
Going back to the tradition established by
Renes Descartes first principle “ Je pense donc
je suis”= I think therefore I am
At its core, phenomenology looks to
investigate experiences from the individual's
perspective.
 Phenomenology
Epistemologically, phenomenological approaches
are based in a paradigm of personal knowledge and
subjectivity, and emphasize the importance of
personal perspective and interpretation.
 As such they are powerful for understanding
subjective experience, gaining insights into people’s
motivations and actions, and cutting through the
clutter of taken-for-granted assumptions and
conventional wisdom. Take the case of Anna o. as
an example.
 Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is the theory or science of
interpretation. Hermeneutics is concerned
with the ways in which humans derive
meaning from language or other symbolic
expression.
Originally, the term was confined to the
interpretation of Scripture, with an emphasis
on generating methods of interpretation that
would yield the correct meaning of the text.
 Hermeneutic phenomenology
 Hermeneutic phenomenology is a combination of theory,
reflection and practice that interweaves vivid
descriptions of lived experience (phenomenology)
together with reflective interpretations of their meanings
(hermeneutics).
 phenomenology is a philosophical movement that
focuses on the study of consciousness and the objects of
direct experience. Founded by Edmund Husserl,
phenomenology seeks to explore and describe
phenomena as they are perceived by individuals, without
recourse to theory, deduction, or interpretation.
 Ethnography
 Ethnography as a research design originates in social and cultural
anthropology and involves the researcher being directly immersed
in the participant’s environment. Contemporary ethnography is
based almost entirely on fieldwork and requires the
complete immersion of the anthropologist in the culture and
everyday life of the people who are the subject of his study.
 Through this immersion, the ethnographer can use a variety of data
collection techniques to produce a comprehensive account of the
social phenomena that occurred during the research period.
 That is to say, the researcher’s aim with ethnography is to immerse
themselves into the research population and come out of it with
accounts of actions, behaviors, events, etc., through the eyes of
someone involved in the population.
 GROUNDED THEORY
 Grounded Theory is the generation of a theoretical model
through the experience of observing a study population and
developing a comparative analysis of their speech and behavior.
 Grounded theory is a qualitative method specifically designed
to inductively generate theory from data. It was developed by
Glaser and Strauss in 1967.
 Grounded Theory aims to develop a theory for social
phenomena through an examination of various data sources.
 Unlike quantitative research, which is deductive and tests or
verifies an existing theory, grounded theory research is
inductive and, therefore, lends itself to research aimed at social
interactions or experiences.
GROUNDED THEORY ( WHAT ARE THE
THEMES EMERGING HERE?
 NARRATIVE RESEARCH
 This involves telling a story, often from the perspective of those
directly involved in including details and descriptions of the
setting involved and quotes from participants.
 Narrative research is rife with the possibilities of "thick"
description as this approach weaves together a sequence of
events, usually from just one or two individuals, hoping to create
a cohesive story or narrative.
 While it might seem like a waste of time to focus on such a
specific, individual level, understanding one or two people’s
narratives for an event or phenomenon can help to inform
researchers about the influences that helped shape that narrative.
The tension or conflict of differing narratives can be
"opportunities for innovation.
 ONE REFUGEES STORY

About eight years ago I traveled to a refugee camp for the first
time. This was Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya, by then
home to about 100,000 refugees, majority of them from South
Sudan, with a significant number from Somalia, Ethiopia and the
Great Lakes region. By then, my perception of the refugee camp
had been informed by images that I had mostly consumed from
the media. I saw the emaciated malnourished children and
depressed adults as were filtered through my television screens.
I saw people without hope, stripped off any vestiges of humanity,
waiting to be either helped or to die. So as I made my flight from
Nairobi to Kakuma refugee camp, that is what I expected to find.
ONE REFUGEES STORY
CHILD SOLDIERS
 RESEARCH AND ETHICS
Ethics refers to the correct rules of conduct
necessary when carrying out research.
 We have a moral responsibility to protect
research participants from harm.
However important the issue under
investigation psychologists need to remember
that they have a duty to respect the rights and
dignity of research participants.
 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Discuss intellectual property frankly
The best way to avoid disagreements about
who should get credit and in what order is to
talk about these issues at the beginning of a
working relationship, even though many
people often feel uncomfortable about such
topics.
 MULTIPLE ROLES
 Be conscious of multiple roles
APA's Ethics Code says psychologists should
avoid relationships that could reasonably
impair their professional performance or
could exploit or harm others. But it also notes
that many kinds of multiple relationships
aren't unethical--as long as they're not
reasonably expected to have adverse effects.
TEACHER COUNSELLOR FOR EXAMPLE
 MULTIPLE ROLES
That notwithstanding, psychologists should
think carefully before entering into multiple
relationships with any person or group, such
as recruiting students or clients as participants
in research studies or investigating the
effectiveness of a product of a company
whose stock they own.
 MULTIPLE ROLES
For example, when recruiting students from
your Psychology 101 course to participate in
an experiment, be sure to make clear that
participation is voluntary.
If participation is a course requirement, be
sure to note that in the class syllabus, and
ensure that participation has educative value
 INFORMED CONSENT
 providing a thorough debriefing to enhance
subjects understanding of the study.
Subjects should be given equitable
alternatives to participating in research.
 INFORMED CONSENT
Follow informed-consent rules
When done properly, the consent process
ensures that individuals are voluntarily
participating in the research with full
knowledge of relevant risks and benefits.
APA's Ethics Code mandates that psychologists
who conduct research should inform
participants about:
 INFORMED CONSENT
The purpose of the research, expected duration
and procedures.
Participants' rights to decline to participate and
to withdraw from the research once it has
started, as well as the anticipated
consequences of doing so.
Reasonably foreseeable factors that may
influence their willingness to participate, such
as potential risks, discomfort or adverse effects.
 INFORMED CONSENT

Any prospective research benefits.

Limits of confidentiality, such as data coding,
disposal, sharing and archiving, and when
confidentiality must be broken.
Incentives for participation.
Who participants can contact with questions