Psychology
Research Procedures
Research procedures in psychology refer to the systematic methods used to gather data and test hypotheses. This includes designing studies, selecting participants, collecting and analyzing data, and ensuring ethical considerations. Research procedures are crucial for producing reliable and valid findings, and they often involve various techniques such as experiments, surveys, observations, and interviews.
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3 Key excerpts on "Research Procedures"
eBook - ePub- Adrian Furnham, David Oakley(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Psychology Press(Publisher)
Chapter 3 Major research methods in psychology Psychologists study everything from memory in the octopus to schizophrenic breakdown in people. They study issues as diverse as learning, perception and social behaviour. As such they need a wide range of methods to investigate the issues that fascinate them. How psychologists go about their research is in itself interesting. They have to be imaginative and flexible because of the diversity of things they study and because if people are aware they are being studied their behaviour may not be typical. The research process Scientific knowledge is knowledge obtained by both reason and experience (observation). Logical validity and experimental verification are the criteria employed by scientists to evaluate claims for knowledge. These two criteria are translated into the research activities of scientists through the research process. The research process can be viewed as the overall scheme of scientific activities in which scientists engage in order to produce knowledge; it is the paradigm of scientific inquiry. As illustrated in Figure 3.1, the research process consists of seven principal stages: problem, hypothesis, research design, measurement, data collection, data analysis, and generalization. Each of these stages is interrelated with theory in the sense that it is affected by it as well as affecting it. The most characteristic feature of the research process is its cyclic nature. It often starts with a problem and ends in a tentative generalization based on the experimental evidence. The generalization ending one cycle is the beginning of the next cycle. This cyclic process continues indefinitely, reflecting the progress of a scientific discipline. The research process is also self-correcting. Tentative generalizations to research problems are tested logically and empirically. If these generalizations are rejected, new ones are formulated and tested
eBook - ePub- John DeLamater, Jessica Collett(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
methodology , which is a set of systematic procedures that guide the collection and analysis of data. In a typical study, investigators begin with a question or hypothesis amenable to investigation. Next they develop a research design. Then, they go into a research setting and collect the data. Next, they code and analyze the data to test hypotheses and arrive at various conclusions about the behaviors or events under investigation. Throughout this process, investigators follow specific procedures to ensure the validity of the findings.When investigators report their research to the wider community of social psychologists, they describe not only the results but also the methodology used to obtain the results. By reporting their methods, they make it possible for other investigators to independently verify their findings.Independent verification of research findings is one of the hallmarks of any science. Suppose, for instance, that an investigator were to report some unanticipated empirical findings that ran contrary to established theory. Other investigators might wish to replicate the study to see whether they can obtain the same findings in other settings with different participants. Through this process, investigators with differing perspectives can identify and eliminate biases in the original study. If the results are replicable, they are more likely to be accepted by other social psychologists as reliable, general findings.In this chapter, we will discuss the research methods used in contemporary social psychology. This discussion will provide a foundation for understanding and evaluating the empirical studies discussed throughout this book.Characteristics of Empirical Research
There are several issues common to all forms of empirical research. Specifically, we will consider the objectives that typically underlie empirical research, the nature of the hypotheses that guide research, and the factors that affect the validity of research findings.Objectives of Research
Investigators conduct social psychological studies for a variety of reasons. Their objectives usually include one or more of the following: describing reality, identifying correlations between variables, testing causal hypotheses, and developing and testing theories.
eBook - ePub- S Alexander Haslam, Craig McGarty(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
psychological tests Measurement procedures used to identify a person’s mental state relative to other people (or population norms). These typically involve large numbers of questions or tasks. Test reliability and validity are established through extensive research.- random sample A sample in which each member of the population has the same probability of being included. This is ensured by random selection methods (e.g., by drawing lots).
- sample Either the group of participants from which a particular set of responses is obtained or that set of responses itself.
- self-report measures Measures designed to gain insight into particular psychological states or processes that ask participants to reflect on their own mental processes or behaviour.
- stable psychological characteristics Aspects of psychology that are seen to be relatively enduring over time and to be properties of particular individuals (e.g., personality and intelligence).
The experimental method
Using any or all of the above measurement strategies, psychologists often choose to investigate particular research questions by conducting experiments. These are systematic attempts to manipulate theoretically relevant variables and to examine the effect of these manipulations on outcome variables. In order to clarify the meaning of the jargon in this statement (in particular, the terms variable and manipulation), we can state slightly less technically that experiments are attempts to change some aspect of a person’s situation or mental state which is both of interest to the researcher (i.e., an aspect that is theoretically relevant) and capable of being altered (i.e., an aspect that is variable). The experimenters then look at the effect of this change on an aspect of the person’s behaviour that can vary and on which the first aspect is believed to have some impact.The most important point here is that experiments usually involve active intervention on the part of the researcher. Experimenters do not just sit back and watch what is going on in the world; instead they attempt to make some change to the world and then monitor the impact of that change. If a male friend of yours is feeling unhappy and you want to find out how to make him more cheerful, you could do one of three things. You could wait for him to cheer up and then see if you can infer what was responsible for his mood change, or you could ask him directly what would make him feel better. Alternatively, you could intervene
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