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Research in IOP. Why conduct research?. Research helps IO psychologists to:. Answer questions Make decisions Save money Save the company / jobs And…..many more. The Research Process. Choose an area/topic/idea Focus Design the research Collect data Analyze data Interpret data
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Research in IOP Why conduct research?
Research helps IO psychologists to: • Answer questions • Make decisions • Save money • Save the company /jobs • And…..many more
The Research Process • Choose an area/topic/idea • Focus • Design the research • Collect data • Analyze data • Interpret data • Report, inform and publish
Choosing an area/topic/ idea • Pick something that you are interested, you really want to learn about it. • Collect background information by reading articles and journals. • Make yourself more familiar with the topic • Find out what has been done, what has been researched. • You will discover lots of information
Focusing your ideas... • Focus on a research idea of your interest • Be flexible and have an open mind • Discard irrelevant items • Convert your focused research idea into a research hypothesis or a research question. • A hypothesis is a statement about the relationship between two or more variables.
A variable is ... • An aspect or situation that can vary or change; specifically it is a characteristic of a substance, quantity or entity that is measureable ( Kosslynn & Rosenberg,2006, pg 39) • Simply an attribute on which cases vary ( Bryman, 2004, pg 29)
Research Design • A research design provides a framework for the collection and analysis of data. • A choice of research design reflects decisions about a range of dimensions of the research process such as: • Causal connections between variables • Making inferences • Understanding behaviour and its meanings within a specific context • Time-based phenomenon
Examples of research designs • Experimental designs • Cross-sectional or survey • Longitudinal • Case study • Comparative design
Data Collection • Depending on your hypothesis or research questions, data can be collected using various methods such as surveys, interviews or observations.
Analyze and Interpret Data • When data is obtained, analyze and interpret the data. • This may involve computing or softwares to assist you to analyze the data.
Report, inform and publish • An important aspect of a scientific method is that research and results must be made public • Reasons for reporting: • The result may become part of a general knowledge base so that other people can use to answer questions or to generate new research ideas. • So that the research can be replicated or refuted
References • Gravetter, F. J (2003). Research Methods for the Behavioural Sciences. USA: Thomson • Bryman, A ( 2004). Social Research Methods (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK : Oxford University Press. • Neuman, L ( 2003). Social Research Methods (5thed). Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Pearson