Summary Research methods in psychology - Exam study guide

Research Methods Exam 1 Study Guide

 Chapters 1-3
 Definition of Psychology: the scientific study of the behavior of individuals and
their mental processes
 -We often directly observe behavior and inter-mental processes

 Scientific Knowledge vs. Ordinary Knowledge:
o Scientific Knowledge:
 Approach: empirical
 Observation: systematic, controlled
 Concepts: operational specificity
 Hypothesis: specific and testable
 Measurement: reliable and valid
 Attitude: critical and skeptical
 Ordinary knowledge:
 Approach: intuitive
 Observation: casual, uncontrolled
 Concepts: ambiguous
 Hypothesis: less specific and testable
 Measurement: not reliable/ valid
 Attitude: accepting

 Physical Sciences VS Social Sciences

 6 Steps of a research project
1. Ask a question – stems from theory
 Theory: attempts to understand precisely why certain events or
processes occur as they do
2. Develop a hypothesis
o Hypothesis: a specific and testable proposition that describes a
relationship between two or more variables (prediction)
3. Select a method and design the study
3. Collecting data – bigger sample = more power = more likely to support
hypothesis
3. Analyze data – draw conclusions – do I have support of hypothesis?
 Need to conduct statistical analysis before we draw conclusions;
cant just look at raw numbers – how many people did you talk to, etc?
6. Report findings


 Anatomy of a Research Article
o Abstract: summarize what you did in 140 words or less – easiest to write
last
o Introduction: hypothesis is clearly stated at end
 Review of research to support hypothesis

,  Method: 3 subheadings/sections
 Participants: how many, where did they come from, how were they
assigned to conditions, average age, race, gender – only need info that
is relevant to hypothesis
 Materials: things used: questionnaires, room set up
 Procedure: what did participants do from the time they arrived to
the time they left – don’t go on tangents
 Explain questionnaires, etc. in materials section
 Results: what were results
 Discussion: starts off narrow and then broadens
 Were the hypothesis supported or not
 Give summary of study – what did you do
 Any types of problems or limitations to study
 Future research?
 Write in past tense
 References: APA format

 Ethics: discipline dealing with good and evil moral duty
 Through research we want to seek information that could be used
for the greater good
 However, “evil” can occur → the effect it can have on participants:
psychological harm, physical harm, invasion of privacy
 Need to find the balance between the benefits/ good and the harm
 Time period and culture changes the standards of ethics

 -Milgram:
o Four prompts: the experiment requires that you continue, please continue,
you have no choice, you must go on
 Kept going unless the participant refuses after all four
 Shows the power of authority
 2/3rds of participants gave maximum shock

 -Animals in research: up for debate – personal opinion
o About 20 million animals are used in research each year
o 95% of psychological studies using animals use rats, mice, rabbits or birds
o Of all the cats and dogs euthanized each year by researchers and animals
shelters, only 2% of those are euthanized by researchers

 -Protecting Participants – minimize harm to participants by:
o IRB: institutional review board – made up of community members and
university members
 Have to submit forms with all research plans, forms, scripts, etc.
 Board members must approve research as ethically acceptable
before study can be administered
 Must consider:
 Importance of research vs. potential harm to participants