The research process Psych 231 Research Methods in

The research process Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

n This is the final lecture n n Wednesday (optional) – Review Q&A, help with posters, etc. Labs this week n n Poster presentations Turn in group ratings sheets Announcements

From Day 1

Presenting your work Get an idea § § § A set of skills leading to knowledge & understanding A way of thinking (beware small samples, correlation is not causation, etc. ) A way of life? Stats. org: Stats in the news Course Review: The Research Process

§ Get an idea § § Often the hardest part No firm rules for how to do this • Observations • Past research • Review the literature The Research Process

n Review the literature n What has already been done? • What variables have people looked at • What hasn’t been looked at n n How are other experiments in the area done? What methods are used? • To measure the dependent variable • To manipulate the independent variable • To control extraneous variables The Research Process

§ Formulate a testable hypothesis § What is a hypothesis? • A predicted relationship between variables § What does it mean to be testable? • Must be falsifiable • Can it be replicated • Must be able to observe/measure (and manipulate for experiments) the variables • Directly • Indirectly • Operational definitions The Research Process

Design the research n What method? n • • § What are your variables? • • § Experiment, Survey, Developmental designs, … What kind of comparisons are used Control groups Baseline conditions How many levels of your Independent variable(s) How do you measure your dependent variable(s) What can be done to control for biases and confounds? The Research Process

n Collect Data n n Importance of pilot research Who do you test? • What is your population? • Your sample? • Your sampling method? The Research Process

n Analyze the data n n Design drives the statistics Understanding Variables and variability • Descriptive statistics (summarizing) • Means, standard deviations • Graphs, tables • Correlation • Inferential statistics (drawing conclusions) • • What kind of analysis is appropriate for your design T-tests ANOVA Between or within versions The Research Process

n Interpret the results n n n Correlation versus causation Reject or fail to reject null hypotheses Statistical vs. theoretical significance Support or refute theory (or revise) Generalizability of the results The Research Process

n Present the results n Getting the research “out there” • Conference presentations • Posters • Talks • Written reports • APA style • Supports clarity The Research Process

n Repeat n Each set of results leads to more research questions • Refine theory • Test a refined theory • Test alternative explanations The Research Process

n Mon Dec. 9 @ 3: 10 -5: 00 n It is cumulative, covers the entire course. The majority is on new material (roughly 65%), the rest is material covered on Exams 1 & 2. All multiple choice/scantron for the final n Reviewing for the final exam

n n Final 1/3 of the course Non experimental methods n Survey, correlational, & developmental Statistics n Descriptive n Inferential Presentations n Papers, Posters, & Talks Reviewing for the final exam

n First 2/3 of the course § Scientific method n § § § § n Getting ideas Developing (good) theories Reviewing the literature Psychological Science Ethics Basic methodologies APA style § Underlying reasons for the organization § Parts of a manuscript n n Variables Sampling Control Experimental Designs n n Vocabulary Single factor designs Between & Within Factorial designs Reviewing for the final exam