Module 2: An Introduction to Research Methods Flashcards
Three types of descriptive methods
- Observational methods
- Case study method
- Survey method
Observational methods
Making observations of human or other animal behavior.
Two way to approach observational methods
- Naturalistic observation: how humans and animals behave in natural habitat.
- Laboratory observation: observing behaviour in a contrives and controlled situation
What are advantages and disadvantages of observational methods?
- A advantage is: flexibility to change what we are studying.
- Disadvantage: we have little control.
Case study method
In-depth study of one or more individuals.
Survey method
Questioning individuals on a topic or tipcs and then describing their responses.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Survey method?
a. Advantage is: it allows researchers to study larger groups of individuals more easily.
b. Disadvantages:
- The question is if the sample (participants in the group) is representative for the whole population. Can be overcome through random sampling.
- Wording of questions:
Are the questions easy to understand? Are they written in such a manner that they bias the respondents’ answers? Such concerns affect the validity of the data collected.
What are the two predictive (relational) methods?
- Correlational method
2. Quasi-Experimental method
Correlational method
Assesses the degree of relationschip between two measured variables.
If two variables are correlated with each other, then we can predict form one variable to the other with a certain degree of accuracy.
Quasi-experimental method
Allows us to describe and predict by permitting us to compare naturally occurring groups of individuals.
Negative relationship (correlation)
A relationship between two variables in which an increase in one is accompanied by a decrease in the other.
Positive relationship (correlation)
A relationship between two variables in which an increase in one is accompanied by an increase in the other.
Alternative explanation
The idea that another uncontrolled, extraneaous variable may be responsible for an observed relationship.
Explanatory method
- It allows researches not only to describe and predict but also to determine whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the variables of interest.
- Know when and why a behaviour occurs
What can Explanatory method be divided into?
- Independent variable
2. Dependent variable
Independent variable
The variable that is manipulated by the researcher.
Which groups has the explanatory method?
- Control group: the group of subjects who do not receive any level of the independent variable and serve as the baseline in a study.
- Experimental group: the group of subjects who receive some leve of the independent variable.
Dependent variable
The variable in a study that is measured by the researcher.
What concerns proof and disproof of a theory?
- Proof of a theory is logically impossible
- We test a hypothesis by attempting to falsify or disconfirm it.
o Falsifying a hypothesis doesn’t mean the hypothesis is false.
Participant (subject) variable
A characteristic of the participants that cannot be changed
Random assignment
Assigning participants to conditions in such a way that each has the same probability as any other participant of being placed in any condition.
Control
Manipulating the independent variable in an experiment or any other extraneous variables that could affect the results of a study.
Phrenology
In the early part of the 19th century many scientists believed that studying the bumps on a person s head allowed them to know something about the mind of the individual.
Sample
The group of people in the study
