Non Experimental Methods

1. Non Experimental Methods Investigating Behaviour

2. Surveys • Questionnaires – written or verbal • Interviews • Structured – pre determined questions (questionnaire that is delivered face to face) • Unstructured – Each question is developed as a result of the previous answer. (Clinical interview) • Both can be used to collect quantitative or qualitative data. • What ethical issues should be considered? (3)

3. Task • What do you think the strengths and limitations would be for: • Questionnaires (2strengths, 2 weaknesses) • Structured interviews (3 and 3) • Unstructured (2 and 3) • Work in pairs or 3s to discuss the development, use and analysis of data using these techniques to help you come up with your answers. • Consider how you would feel if you were the participant. • Compare and contrast them.

4. Evaluation

5. Glossary of terms • Leading questions – a question which is worded in a way that makes one answer more liked. ‘Wouldn’t you agree . . .?’ • Social Desirability Bias – what people think they should say rather than genuinely think/feel. • Interviewer Bias – what the interviewee thinks the interviewer wants.

6. Reliability • Consistency. • Experimenters must ensure that the questionnaire they use is reliable to ensure that they are testing what they aim to. • Ie – If the same questionnaire is used with the same participant on 2 different occasions but gain different responses, if the questionnaire was reliable then we can assume that the difference can be attributed to the participant. • Test-retest reliability – repeating questionnaire with same participants to see if the same results are obtained and measured using a correlation coefficient.

7. Validity • That the questionnaire is measuring what it was designed to measure. • If answers are affected by social desirability bias, interviewer bias etc then the results lack validity. • Concurrent validity – comparing results from new questionnaire with an established study.

8. Good Questionnaires: • Are clear. • Lack bias • Easy to analyse – closed questions (options given, likert scale) but this makes the data quantitative rather than qualitative. • Good Surveys: • Include filler questions – misleads interviewee to reduce interviewer bias. • Easy qstns at start more difficult at end. • Pilot study

9. Correlational Design and Analysis • Correlational analysis is used to analyse non-experimental methods (surveys/observations/case studies) as the IV is not being manipulated and there is very little control over extraneous variables. • It is not a research method!

10. Correlational Design and Analysis • Correlation – a relationship between two variables (co-variables). • Positive correlation – when 2 variables increase together. • Negative correlation – when 1 variable increases and the other decreases.

11. Zero Correlation • Zero correlation – no relationship between the 2 variables.

12. Visual Display • Correlations are displayed using a scattergram. • A dot is plotted on a scattergram for each participant’s two answers. Eg weight and hours spent exercising per week.

13. Statistical Test • In the same way we used T-test for our experimental methods in order to reject our null hypothesis so too do we use statistics in non-experimental methods. • Correlation co-efficient – never greater than 1 (+1 for positive correltaions and -1 for negative correlations). • 1 Is the perfect correlation but is very rare. The strength of correlation is expressed as weak, moderate or strong. • The closer to 1 the number is the stronger the correlation: • +0.76 (there is a positive and strong correlation between the co-variables) • -0.76 (there is a negative and strong correlation between the co-variables) • +0.002 (There is a very weak positive correlation between the co-variables)

14. Significance • A table of significance is used to determine whether the strength of the correlation (the number) is significant. • The significance is dependent upon the number of participants who took part/responded (N). • Even small numbers (0.02) can be significant if the N is very large.

15. Evaluation of investigations using correlational analysis

16. Observation • The starting point for all investigations. • Must be objective. • If used as part of an experiment then it is a research technique. However, if used on its own it is a research method. • The design of these observations may vary:

17. Naturalistic Observation • Behaviour is studied in a completely natural setting. • The researcher does not change anything. • This is different from a natural experiment as the experimenters are not looking for a relationship between an IV and a DV.

18. Example: • Children aged 3- 5 observed in a playground. Activities were categorised as male, female or neutral. Praise and imitation was recorded as positive responses while criticism and stopping play were recorded as negative responses. • Children generally reinforced peers for gender-appropriate play and criticised gender-inappropriate play. • Lamb and Roopnarine, 1979

19. Controlled Observation • Some variables can be controlled eg setting, objects etc. • Participants are likely to know they are being studied. • Reduces chances of behaviour being completely natural.

20. Example • Lamb and Roopnarine’s experiment could also have been carried out as a controlled observation. • ie The children could have been out in a playroom where the toys would have been pre chosen by the experimenters. • NB – this is different from Bandura’sBobo Doll experiment as they directly affected the IV (showing the children a video in advance). In this instance observation was used as a technique not a method.

21. Other types of Observation • Content Analysis – observing written/verbal texts. • Non-participant – observer does not involve themselves simply observes. • Participant – Observers participate. • Disclosed – participant knows they are being observed. • Undisclosed – participant unaware they are being observed.

22. Example (page 119) • Leon Festinger, a social psychologist, 1950s. • Religious cults receiving messages from aliens detailing the end of the world. • Believed they would be rescued by a UFO and arranged to meet a set time and location. • Festingerposed as a convert in order to observe their reactions when their beliefs were unfounded. • The night before the predicted flood, when it was apparent that there would be no flood, the cult leader claimed that it was because of their combined prayers. • Observed a mixture of reactions – some didn’t believe and left the cult, others took it as evidence of the cult’s powers.

23. Reliability • To ensure reliability (consistency) it is always better to have at least 2 observers who produce the same record (if 2 observers have conflicting recordings their observations are not reliable). • Observers should be trained to increase level of reliability. • The extent of this consistency is call inter-observer reliability • Measured by correlating the results . To have inter-observer reliability the correlation must be >.80.

24. Validity (measuring what it’s supposed to) • Can be affected by observer bias – the observer sees what they want/expect to see rather than being objective. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GEEvvTiiQk • Using more than one observer and averaging their responses can help with this. • If participants know they are being observed they may change their behaviour (eg social desirability bias). • Results will not be valid if the coding system is flawed.

25. Task: • In pairs decide who is A and who is B. • Take it in turns to complete the task. Each task should take 5 minutes. • While one person is completing the task the other person should be recording all aspects of their behaviour: ie facial expressions, verbal cues, body language, etc

26. Observational techniques • Structured vs Unstructured. • Unstructured (what you did): Observer records everything they believe to be relevant. No system for observing or recording behaviour. • Observer will note only the most obvious behaviour but these may not be the most important (did you see the moonwalking bear?).

27. Structured • Systems are put in place to ensure observations are organised and systematic. • Sampling procedure – knowing who you are observing and when. • Observation schedule – how to record the behaviour you are studying. • Continuous observation – Every instance of the relevant behaviour is recorded in great detail. Difficult as it requires a lot of recording if the behaviour is common. • Event sampling – counting the amount of times it occurs. • Time sampling – recording behaviour at set intervals (every 30 seconds). Can be selected from a checklist.

28. Observational Schedule/Coding system/Behaviour checklist • Having a pre-made list of relevant behaviour to be observed which helps the observer to deconstruct the behaviour. • They should be objective and leave no room for observer bias. • Be wide spread – cover all possibilities. • Should be discrete – no room for overlaps • http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/face/www/facs.htm

29. Research Methods - Summary • Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkwsrh10OXM • Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwcuHaJ7q0I

30. Case studies • A detailed study of an individual/place/event. • How Freud collected his data – Anna O. • Requires a variety of research methods to develop an informed picture – interviews, tests etc. • Extremely in depth. • Time consuming (longitudinal) – carried out over a long period of time. • Task: What are the advantages and disadvantages of this method? • Try to come up with 3 of each and use your prior knowledge of this topic to help.

31. Evaluation

32. Revision • Scholar • Work through the Unit 2 section of Scholar, adding to your notes and completing the interactive activities. Particularly the data analysis – nominal, ordinal and interval data section which we haven’t covered. • 1,3,4,2