Research Methods

1.Lab Experiment
 This type of experiment is conducted in a well-controlled environment – not
necessarily a laboratory – and therefore accurate and objective measurements
are possible.
 The researcher decides where the experiment will take place, at what time,
with which participants, in what circumstances and using a standardized
procedure.
2.Field Experiment
 These are conducted in the everyday (i.e. natural) environment of the
participants but the situations are still artificially set up.
 The experimenter still manipulates the IV, but in a real-life setting (so cannot
really control extraneous variables).
3.Case Study
 Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single person, group, event or
community.
 Case studies are widely used in psychology and amongst the best-known ones
carried out were by Sigmund Freud. He conducted very detailed investigations
into the private lives of his patients in an attempt to both understand and help
them overcome their illnesses.
 Case studies provide rich qualitative data and have high levels of ecological
validity.

Further Information

4.Correlation

 Correlation means association - more precisely it is a measure of the extent to

which two variables are related.
 If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with an increase in the
other then this is known as a positive correlation.
 If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with a decrease in the
other then this is known as a negative correlation.
 A zero correlation occurs when there is no relationship between variables.

Further Information

5.Interviews

 Unstructured (informal) interviews are like a casual conversation. There are

no set questions and the participant is given the opportunity to raise whatever
topics he/she feels are relevant and ask them in their own way. In this kind of
interview much qualitative data is likely to be collected.
 Structured (formal) interviews are like a job interview. There is a fixed,
predetermined set of questions that are put to every participant in the same
order and in the same way. The interviewer stays within their role and
maintains social distance from the interviewee.

Further Information

6.Questionnaire

 Questionnaires can be thought of as a kind of written interview. They can be

carried out face to face, by telephone or post.
 The questions asked can be open ended, allowing flexibility in the
respondent's answers, or they can be more tightly structured requiring short
answers or a choice of answers from given alternatives.
 The choice of questions is important because of the need to avoid bias or
ambiguity in the questions, ‘leading’ the respondent, or causing offence.

Further Information

7.Observations

 Covert observations are when the researcher pretends to be an ordinary

member of the group and observes in secret. There could be ethical problems
or deception and consent with this particular method of observation.
 Overt observations are when the researcher tells the group he or she is
conducting research (i.e. they know they are being observed).

 Controlled: behavior is observed under controlled laboratory conditions (e.g.

Bandura's Bobo doll study).
 Natural: Here spontaneous behavior is recorded in a natural setting.

 Participant: Here the observer has direct contact with the group of people
they are observing.
 Non-participant (aka "fly on the wall): The researcher does not have direct
contact with the people being observed.

Further Information

8.Pilot Study

 A pilot study is an initial run-through of the procedures to be used in an

investigation; it involves selecting a few people and trying out the study on
them. It is possible to save time, and in some cases, money, by identifying any
flaws in the procedures designed by the researcher.
 A pilot study can help the researcher spot any ambiguities (i.e. unusual
things) or confusion in the information given to participants or problems with
the task devised.
 Sometimes the task is too hard, and the researcher may get a floor effect,
because none of the participants can score at all or can complete the task – all
performances are low. The opposite effect is a ceiling effect, when the task is
so easy that all achieve virtually full marks or top performances and are
“hitting the ceiling".

9.Content Analysis

 Content analysis is a research tool used to indirectly observe the presence of

certain words, images or concepts within the media (e.g. advertisements,
books films etc.). For example, content analysis could be used to study sex-
role stereotyping.
 Researchers quantify (i.e. count) and analyze (i.e. examine) the presence,
meanings and relationships of words and concepts, then make inferences
about the messages within the media, the writer(s), the audience, and even the
culture and time of which these are a part.
 To conduct a content analysis on any such media, the media is coded or
broken down, into manageable categories on a variety of levels - word, word
sense, phrase, sentence, or theme - and then examined.

What is a hypothesis?
By Saul McLeod, updated August 10, 2018

A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a precise, testable statement of what the

researchers predict will be the outcome of the study.
This usually involves proposing a possible relationship between two variables:
the independent variable (what the researcher changes) and the dependent
variable (what the research measures).
In research, there is a convention that the hypothesis is written in two forms,
the null hypothesis, and the alternative hypothesis (called the experimental
hypothesis when the method of investigation is an experiment).

Types of Research Hypotheses

Alternative Hypothesis
The alternative hypothesis states that there is a relationship between the two
variables being studied (one variable has an effect on the other).
It states that the results are not due to chance and that they are significant in
terms of supporting the theory being investigated.
Null Hypothesis
The null hypothesis states that there is no relationship between the two
variables being studied (one variable does not affect the other).
It states results are due to chance and are not significant in terms of
supporting the idea being investigated.
Nondirectional Hypothesis
A two-tailed non-directional hypothesis predicts that the independent variable
will have an effect on the dependent variable, but the direction of the effect is
not specified.
E.g., there will be a difference in how many numbers are correctly recalled by
children and adults.
Directional Hypothesis
A one-tailed directional hypothesis predicts the nature of the effect of the
independent variable on the dependent variable.
E.g., adults will correctly recall more words than children.

Can a hypothesis be proven?

Upon analysis of the results, an alternative hypothesis can be rejected or supported,
but it can never be proven to be correct.
We must avoid any reference to results proving a theory as this implies 100%
certainty, and there is always a chance that evidence may exist which could refute a
theory.

How to Write a Hypothesis

 1. To write the alternative and null hypotheses for an investigation, you
need to identify the key variables in the study.
The independent variable is manipulated by the researcher and the
dependent variable is the outcome which is measured.

 2. Operationalized the variables being investigated.

Operational variables (or operationalizing definitions) refer to how you
will define and measure a specific variable as it is used in your study.
  3. Decide on a direction for your prediction. If there is evidence in the
literature to support a specific effect on the independent variable on the
dependent variable, write a directional (one-tailed) hypothesis.
If there are limited or ambiguous findings in the literature regarding the
effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable, write a
non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis.

 4. Write your hypothesis. A good hypothesis is short (i.e. concise) and

comprises clear and simple language.

Examples of Hypothesis
Let’s consider a hypothesis that many teachers might subscribe to: that
students work better on Monday morning than they do on a Friday afternoon
(IV=Day, DV=Standard of work).
Now, if we decide to study this by giving the same group of students a lesson
on a Monday morning and on a Friday afternoon and then measuring their
immediate recall on the material covered in each session we would end up
with the following:
 The alternative hypothesis states that students will recall
significantly more information on a Monday morning than on a Friday
afternoon.
 The null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference
in the amount recalled on a Monday morning compared to a Friday
afternoon. Any difference will be due to chance or confounding factors.

Experimental Method
By Saul McLeod, published 2012
The prime method of inquiry in science is the experiment. The key features are
control over variables, careful measurement, and establishing cause and effect
relationships.

An experiment is an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically tested.

In an experiment, an independent variable (the cause) is manipulated and the
dependent variable (the effect) is measured; any extraneous variables are
controlled.

An advantage is that experiments should be objective. The views and opinions

of the researcher should not affect the results of a study. This is good as it
makes the data more valid, and less bias.

There are three types of experiments you need to know:

1. Lab Experiment

A laboratory experiment is an experiment conducted under highly controlled

conditions (not necessarily a laboratory), where accurate measurements are
possible.

The researcher decides where the experiment will take place, at what time,
with which participants, in what circumstances and using a standardized
procedure. Participants are randomly allocated to each independent variable
group.

An example is Milgram’s experiment on obedience or Loftus and Palmer's car

crash study.

Strength: It is easier to replicate (i.e. copy) a laboratory experiment. This is

because a standardized procedure is used.

Strength: They allow for precise control of extraneous and independent

variables. This allows a cause and effect relationship to be established.

Limitation: The artificiality of the setting may produce unnatural behavior

that does not reflect real life, i.e. low ecological validity. This means it would
not be possible to generalize the findings to a real life setting.
Limitation: Demand characteristics or experimenter effects may bias the
results and become confounding variables.

2. Field Experiment

Field experiments are done in the everyday (i.e. real life) environment of the
participants. The experimenter still manipulates the independent variable, but
in a real-life setting (so cannot really control extraneous variables).

An example is Holfing’s hospital study on obedience.

Strength: Behavior in a field experiment is more likely to reflect real life

because of its natural setting, i.e. higher ecological validity than a lab
experiment.

Strength: There is less likelihood of demand characteristics affecting the

results, as participants may not know they are being studied. This occurs when
the study is covert.

Limitation: There is less control over extraneous variables that might bias the
results. This makes it difficult for another researcher to replicate the study in
exactly the same way.

3. Natural Experiment

Natural experiments are conducted in the everyday (i.e. real life) environment
of the participants, but here the experimenter has no control over the IV as it
occurs naturally in real life.

For example, Hodges and Tizard's attachment research (1989) compared the
long term development of children who have been adopted, fostered or
returned to their mothers with a control group of children who had spent all
their lives in their biological families.

Strength: Behavior in a natural experiment is more likely to reflect real life

because of its natural setting, i.e. very high ecological validity.

Strength: There is less likelihood of demand characteristics affecting the

results, as participants may not know they are being studied.
Strength: Can be used in situations in which it would be ethically unacceptable
to manipulate the independent variable, e.g. researching stress.

Limitation: They may be more expensive and time consuming than lab
experiments.

Limitation: There is no control over extraneous variables that might bias the
results. This makes it difficult for another researcher to replicate the study in
exactly the same way.

Key Terminology
1.Ecological validity

The degree to which an investigation represents real-life experiences.

2.Experimenter effects

These are the ways that the experimenter can accidentally influence the
participant through their appearance or behavior.

3.Demand characteristics

The clues in an experiment that lead the participants to think they know what
the researcher is looking for (e.g. experimenter’s body language).

4.Independent variable (IV)

Variable the experimenter manipulates (i.e. changes) – assumed to have a

direct effect on the dependent variable.

5.Dependent variable (DV)

Variable the experimenter measures. This is the outcome (i.e. result) of a

study.

6.xtraneous variables (EV)

All variables, which are not the independent variable, but could affect the
results (DV) of the experiment. EVs should be controlled where possible.

7.Confounding variables

Variable(s) that have affected the results (DV), apart from the IV. A
confounding variable could be an extraneous variable that has not been
controlled.

8.Random Allocation

Randomly allocating participants to independent variable conditions means

that all participants should have an equal chance of taking part in each
condition.The principle of random allocation is to avoid bias in the way the
experiment is carried out and to limit the effects of participant variables.

9.Order effects

Changes in participants’ performance due to their repeating the same or

similar test more than once. Examples of order effects include:

(i) practice effect: an improvement in performance on a task due to repetition,

for example, because of familiarity with the task;
(ii) fatigue effect: a decrease in performance of a task due to repetition, for
example, because of boredom or tiredness.
What are
Independent and
Dependent Variables?
By Saul McLeod, updated 2019

Variable are given a special name that only

applies to experimental investigations. One is
called the dependent variable and the other the
independent variable.

The independent variable is the variable the

experimenter changes or controls and is
assumed to have a direct effect on the
dependent variable.

The dependent variable is the variable being

tested and measured in an experiment, and is
'dependent' on the independent variable.
In an experiment, the researcher is looking for
the possible effect on the dependent variable
that might be caused by changing the
independent variable.

Independent and
Dependent Variable
Example
For example, we might change the type of
information (e.g. organized or random) given
to participants to see what effect this might
have on the amount of information
remembered.

In this particular example the type of

information is the independent variable
(because it changes) and the amount of
information remembered is the dependent
variable (because this is being measured).

Operationalizing
Variables
It is very important in psychological research to
clearly define what you mean by both your
independent and dependent variables.

Operational variables (or operationalizing

definitions) refer to how you will define and
measure a specific variable as it is used in your
study.

For example, if we are concerned with the effect

of media violence on aggression, then we need
to be very clear what we mean by the different
terms. In this case, we must state what we
mean by the terms “media violence" and
“aggression" as we will study them.

Therefore, you could state that “media

violence" is operationally defined (in your
experiment) as ‘exposure to a 15 minute film
showing scenes of physical assault’;
“aggression" is operationally defined as ‘levels
of electrical shocks administered to a second
‘participant’ in another room’.

In another example, the hypothesis “Young

participants will have significantly better
memories than older participants" is not
operationalized. How do we define "young",
“old" or "memory"? "Participants aged between
16 - 30 will recall significantly more nouns
from a list if twenty than participants aged
between 55 - 70" is operationalized.

The key point here is that we have made it

absolutely clear what we mean by the terms as
they were studied and measured in our
experiment. If we didn’t do this then it would
be very difficult (if not impossible) to compare
the findings of different studies into the same
behavior.

Operationalization has the great advantage that

it generally provides a clear and objective
definition of even complex variables. It also
makes it easier for other researchers to
replicate a study and check for reliability.