Research Design

1. Research Design

2. Designing Your Experiment Setting the Stage Type of Manipulation Straightforward Manipulation Staged or Event Manipulation 1. to create a psychological state in the participants 2. to simulate some situation that occurs in real life frequently employs confederates Strength of the Manipulation Cost of the Manipulation

3. Experimental Group Design There are many ways to design an experiment. Here are three of the most common group designs: Independent or Between-Subjects Groups Design Repeated Measures or Within-Subjects Groups Design Mixed-Subjects Group Design

4. Independent or Between-Subjects Requirements: Each level of each independent variable has different subjects. participants are randomly assigned to the different groups random assignment prevents any systematic biases Advantages: minimizes order effects minimizes demand characteristics is the easiest to statistically analyze. Drawbacks: requires many subjects less statistical power takes more time

5. Order Effects order of presenting the treatments affects the dependent variable Practice Effect improvement in performance with repetition Fatigue Effect decrease in performance with repetition Contrast Effect second response is altered due to the influence of the first Counterbalancing is used to correct order effects:

6. Counterbalancing • helps to minimize order effects • Complete Counterbalancing • Randomized Block Design • Matched Pairs Design • Latin Squares

7. Repeated Measures or Within-Subjects Requirements: Each subject participates in all levels of all independent variables Advantages: uses fewer subjects than the Between-Subjects Design greater statistical power/ lower score variability takes less time minimizes subject effects Drawbacks: is difficult to control order effects increases demand characteristics

8. Mixed-Subjects Requirements: must be at least two independent variables Each subject participates in all levels of just one independent variable Advantages: uses fewer subjects than the Between-Subjects controls for order effects controls forsubject effects Drawbacks: is the most difficult to analyze statistically

9. Factorial Designs Factorial designs have more than one independent variable or factor e.g., 2 x 2, 2 x 3, 2 x 2 x 2, IV by participant variables - IV x PV designs Main Effects: the effect of each independent variable by itself Interaction and/or Moderator Variables: Interaction: when one IV level affects the DV differently than another level Moderator Variable: a particular situation or participant characteristic Outcome of a 2 X 2 Factorial Design: 1. Main Effect A significance/non-significance post-hoc analysis (across individual levels) 2. Main Effect B significance/non-significance post-hoc analysis (across individual levels) 3. Interaction significance/non-significance if interaction is significant you must reevaluate the main effects

10. Interaction The interaction is the effect of the combination of the two independent variables on the dependent variable.  It is best seen by graphing the means of all levels of both factors. If the two lines are parallel then the interaction is typically non-significant. If the lines are not parallel as in the figure below, it means that there is an interaction between the two independent variables that is having an effect on the dependent variable.

11. Life Span Development Designs

12. Life Span Development Designs Weaknesses and Strengths

13. Non-Experimental Research Methods • Surveys • Descriptive Research Methods • Correlation

14. Surveys • are a common and important method of studying behavior • provide us with a tool for asking people about themselves • their attitudes and beliefs • Past or intended future behaviors • demographics or other facts • provide a snapshot of how people think at some point in time • are used to determine relationships between variables • can measure how attitudes and behaviors change over time • can serve as a compliment to experimental research

15. Survey Problems • Response Set • tendency to respond to all questions from one perspective • can affect the usefulness of survey data • social desirability - "faking good" • answers in the most socially acceptable way • big problem with sensitive questions • False Answers • respondents will lie if they do not trust the experimenter • must give full disclosure and maintain confidentiality

16. Research Objectives • Attitudes and Beliefs • The way people evaluate and think about issues • Facts and Demographics • Things they know about themselves and their situation • Behaviors • Focus on past behaviors or future intended behaviors

17. Question Wording • Simplicity • Avoid jargon and technical terminology • Double-Barreled Questions • Avoid questions that ask two things at once • Loaded Questions • No leading or emotionally charged questions • Negative Wording • Avoid phrasing questions with negatives • “Yea-Saying” and “Nay-Saying” • Don’t’ ask similar questions that might get similar answers

18. Question Types • Closed- Versus Open- Ended Questions • Number of Response Alternatives • Rating Scales • Labeling Response Alternatives

19. Closed- Vs. Open- Ended • Closed-Ended Questions • Fixed number of response alternatives • More structured approach • Easier to code • Used when the dimensions of the variable are well-defined • Open-Ended Questions • Respondents are free to answer any way they like • Requires time to categorize and code • More costly • Can yield valuable insights into what people are thinking

20. Number of Response Alternatives • 5-7 point scale is preferable • On a scale of 1 (low) – 7 (high), how would you rate your happiness? ______ • strongly agree ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ strongly disagree

21. Rating Scales • Graphing Rating Scale • strongly agree ___________________________ strongly disagree • Semantic Differential Scale • evaluation: good ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ bad • activity: strong ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ weak • potency: active ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ passive • Non-Verbal Scale for Children

22. Labeling Response Alternatives • Hi-Frequency Lo-Frequency

23. Formatting • Your survey should: • appear attractive and professional • be neatly typed • be free of spelling and grammatical errors • have easy to identify questions and answers • leave space between questions • keep the scale format consistent • order the sequence of the questions carefully • ask the most interesting question first • capture the respondents attention • motivate the respondent to answer all of the questions • group similar theme questions together • be tested on a small sample first

24. Questionnaires • Personal Administration to Groups or Individuals • Have a captive audience • Researcher is available for questions • Mail Surveys • Fairly inexpensive • Has a potential for low responders • Internet Surveys • Inexpensive and growing • Problem confirming who is responding • Other Technologies • Cell phones, pagers, PDA’s

25. Interviews • Face-to-Face • Expensive and time consuming • Telephone • Less expensive • Data is collected quickly • Focus Group • Group interview with 6-10 for 2-3 hours • Open ended questions with group interaction • Must facilitate communication and quell problems • Costly and time consuming • Panel Study • Studies changes over time • Same people surveyed at two or more points in time

26. Descriptive Research Methods • Behavior is observed and measured as it occurs naturally • Case Study • Naturalistic Observation • Systematic Observation • Archival Research

27. Limitations • 1. Direction of cause and effect • can not determine cause and effect • 2. The Third-Variable Problem • some other variable may be driving the relationship • confounding variables

28. Case Studies • provides a description of an individual: • person • business • school • neighborhood “Anna O”

29. Psychobiography • Case study research that applies psychological theory to explain the life of an individual • Usually investigates some important • historical figure: • Political figures • Literary/Artistic figures • Sports/Hollywood Notables • Uses library research and phone interviews • No direct observation at all

30. Naturalistic Observations • Observations are made: • in a particular setting and, • over an extended period of time • A variety of techniques to collect information are used • Final report includes: • the observations and, • the researcher's interpretations of the findings • Helps us to understand how people in a social/cultural setting: • live, • work, and, • experience the setting

31. Data Collection • Naturalistic observation researchers must immerse themselves in the situation and observe: • the setting • the patterns of personal relationships • people's reactions to events • other environmental factors • must keep detailed field notes • must write or dictate at least once a day everything that has happened • Goal 1: describe setting, events, and persons observed • Goal 2: analyze what was observed • analysis needs to be supported by multiple confirmations • must provide a complete and accurate picture • no hypotheses testing

32. Participation and Concealment • 1. Non-Participant Observer • is an outsider who does not become an active part of the setting • could miss key interactions • 2. Participant Observer • does become a part of the setting • could lose objectivity • could affect behavior (reactivity) • 3. Experimenter Bias • must leave biases at home • carefully assess the observers role

33. Defining the Scope of the Observation • Naturalistic observation researchers may have to limit the scope of study to focus on central issues • Too large a scope: • risk being overwhelmed • could miss more subtle effects • Too small a scope: • risk missing important data • could miss larger more important interactions

34. Limitations to Naturalistic Observation • 1. Do not start with a well-defined hypothesis • can affect the direction of data collection • 2. Very difficult to conduct • requires a great amount of energy • ever changing pattern of events - some important, some not • must record them all • must be flexible to adjust recording as research progresses • 3. Identify inconsistencies • additional research may be needed • negative case analysis • an observation that does not fit the explanation

35. Systematic Observations • Careful observation of: • one or more specific behaviors in a particular setting • Interest is in only a few specific behaviors • Observations are quantifiable • Researcher begin with prior hypotheses about the behaviors

36. Coding Systems • Are used to quantify behavior • Should be simple as possible • Should allow observers to easily categorize behaviors • Should use coding systems devised by others • system has already been proven useful • training materials are usually available

37. Methodological Issues • 1. Equipment • videotaping is becoming very common • 2. Reactivity • the possibility that the presence of the observer will affect people's behavior • 3. Reliability • the degree to which a measurement reflects a true score • rather than measurement error • reliable measures are stable, consistent, and precise • 4. Sampling • samples of behavior taken over a long period • provide more accurate measure of behavior

38. Archival Research • Uses previously compiled information • systematic analysis of existing documents • requires research to devise coding systems that raters can use • to quantify the information in the documents • Researcher does not collect any original data • There are three types: • 1. Statistical Records • 2. Survey Archives • 3. Written and Mass Communication Records

39. Statistical Records • Archival researchers use existing statistical records that are on file • There are many sources: • US Census • APA • MLB • Public Records • marriage license applications

40. Survey Archives • Data from surveys stored in large databases • Available to any researcher who wants them • Internet has allowed more availability

41. Written and Mass Communication • Written Communication • diaries • historical letters • public documents • speeches • Mass Communication • books • magazine articles • movies • television programs • newspapers

42. Limitations of Archival Research • Desired records may be difficult to obtain • Can never be completely sure of the accuracy of the data collected by someone else.

43. Correlation • A Correlation: • is a statistical test. • demonstrates the relationship between two variables within the same participant. • can determine significant relationships between variables. • does NOT show a causal relationship between the variables. • is best represented by a Scatterplot. • is determined by calculating the correlational coefficient.

44. Scatterplot • Graphical representation of the two sets of data you are comparing. • Shows the strength and direction of the relationship.

45. Correlational Coefficient

46. Pearson Product Moment Correlation n= number of pairs Sigma X = the sum of all the X variable values Sigma Y = the sum of all the Y variable values Sigma XY = the sum of all the X times Y values Sigma X2 = the sum of all the X2 values Sigma Y2 = the sum of all the Y2 values

47. Calculating a Correlation

48. Neutral Correlation

49. Positive Correlation

50. Correlation: Quiz/Exam