1. PSBE2-08
Research Methods
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2. Course Objectives
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3. • Discuss the nature of the scientific process and
how it applies to Psychology.
• Discuss the principles of experimental design.
• Highlight the ethical issues involved in conducting
psychological research.
• Discuss the methods and techniques involved in
data acquisition and processing, in psychological
research.
• Identify the research designs best suited to
answering a range of research questions.
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4. Course Literature
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5. Chapters:
1–9
and
Chapter 13
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6. Custom publication by
McGraw-Hill
Available now from:
VIP
Selexyz
Library (original sources)
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7. • Suggested Reading:
– “Rival Hypotheses” (Huck and Sandler)
– “Evaluating Research Methods in Psychology”
(Dunbar)
– www.badscience.net
– www.sciencedaily.com/news/mind_brain/psychology/
– Use Nestor to post articles for discussion
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8. Podcasts
Every week
Available on Nestor
… but don’t stop coming
to the lectures
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9. Assessment
• One exam (no partials):
– Multiple-choice exam on week 14
– 60 questions, 3 alternatives
– Must register for the exam on ProgressWWW
• Course evaluation
– At the time of the last exam
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10. What’s New
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11. • No more Chapter 6 (“Questionnaires,
Interviews, and Diaries”)
• More on ethics
• More interactive segments/discussions
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12. What’s Old
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13. • The book stays the same
• The lectures will not focus more on the book
• We stay with mp3s, not videos
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14. The week’s reading
Chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 1 – 60)
and
Chapter 13 (pp. 292 – 299)
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15. Pt 1. Introduction
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16. The Scientific Method
• An approach to asking questions
• A method of obtaining answers
• Two important aspects:
– Empirical approach
• Direct observation
• Systematic control through experimentation
– Sceptical attitude
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17. Thinking Like a Researcher
• Be sceptical of any and all claims
• Be open-minded
• The strongest evidence is converging evidence
from multiple studies
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18. 18

19. The Habits of A Good Researcher
• Enthusiasm
• Open-mindedness
• Common sense
• Role-taking ability
• Inventiveness
• Confidence in own judgment
• Consistency and care for details
• Ability to communicate
• Honesty
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20. Getting Started Doing Research
• What should I study?
– Choose a research topic by reviewing:
• psychology journals
• textbooks
• courses
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21. Getting Started Doing Research
• Research hypotheses
A hypothesis (plural: hypotheses) is
– a tentative explanation for a phenomenon
– often stated as a conditional statement
(if theory X is correct, then under these conditions
we expect behaviour Y)
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22. Getting Started Doing Research
• How to develop a hypothesis
– Consider exceptions from a general trend
– Imagine how you would behave in a situation
– Consider similar problems and responses
– Perform sustained observations of a person or
phenomenon
– Consider counterexamples for an obvious conclusion
– Use ideas or theories from other disciplines
– Read reports of psychological research
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23. Vilayanur Ramachandran
Neuroscientist at UCSD
“look for the odd cases”
http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind.html
and
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/16550045/VS-Ramachandran-Profile

24. Getting Started Doing Research
• How to develop a hypothesis
– Consider exceptions from a general trend
– Imagine how you would behave in a situation
– Consider similar problems and responses
– Perform sustained observations of a person or
phenomenon
– Consider counterexamples for an obvious conclusion
– Use ideas or theories from other disciplines
– Read reports of psychological research
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25. Getting Started Doing Research
• Is the research question a good one?
– scientifically important?
– scope?
– likely outcomes?
– psychological science advanced?
– anyone interested in the results?
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26. The Research Process
• Develop a research question
• Generate a research hypothesis
• Form operational definitions
• Choose a research design
• Evaluate the ethical issues
• Collect and analyze data; form conclusions
• Report research results
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27. Break!
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28. Null Hypothesis Significance
Testing
and
Power
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29. Null Hypothesis Significance
Testing
• Goal
– determine whether mean differences among groups
in an experiment are greater than differences
expected simply because of chance (error variation)
• First step
– assume that the groups do not differ (H0)
• = null hypothesis
• assume the independent variable did not have an effect
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30. Null Hypothesis Significance
Testing
• Next steps
– Probability theory: estimate likelihood of observed
outcome, while assuming null hypothesis is true.
– “statistically significant”
• outcome has small likelihood of occurring under H0
• reject H0
• conclude IV had an effect on DV
– difference between means is larger than what would be expected
if error variation alone caused the outcome
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31. 31

32. probability
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
“heads” count
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33. probability
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
“heads” count
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