 Research is the systematic process of

collecting and analyzing information in order

to increase our understanding of the
phenomenon with which we are interested.

 So, It provides the key to understanding the

degree to which hypotheses are accurate.
 Research methods are general strategies for
conducting studies.

 The two basic types of methods used in

psychology are:
 Experimental Research
 Descriptive/Correlational Research
 The experiment is a research method in which
the investigator manipulates a variable under
carefully controlled conditions and observes
whether any changes occur in a second
variable as a result.

 It allows researchers to detect cause-and-

effect relationships.
 Treatment :
 The manipulation implemented by the
experimenter.
 Experimental group :
 Any group participating in an experiment that
receives a treatment in regard to the independent
variable.
 Control group:
 A group participating in an experiment that
receives no treatment given to the experimental
group.
 Independent variable
 It is a condition or event that an experimenter
varies in order to see its impact on another
variable.
OR
 The variable that is manipulated by an
experimenter.
 Dependent variable
 It is the variable that is thought to be affected
by manipulation of the independent variable.
OR
 The variable that is measured and is expected
to change as a result of changes caused by the
experimenter’s manipulation of the
independent variable.
 The independent variable is called
independent because it is free to be varied by
the experimenter.

 The dependent variable is called dependent

because it is thought to depend on
manipulations of the independent variable.

 In psychology studies, the dependent variable

is usually a measurement of some aspect of
the participants’ behavior.
 An experiment was conducted by Schachter.
Participants were told that they would be
participating in a study on “the physiological
effects of electric shock”. They were further
informed that during the experiment they
would receive a series of electric shocks while
their pulse and blood pressure were being
monitored.
Half of the subjects were warned that the
shocks would be very painful. They made up
the high-anxiety group. The other half of the
participants (the low-anxiety group) were told
that the shocks would be mild and painless. In
reality, there was no plan to shock anyone at
any time. These orientation procedures were
simply intended to evoke “different levels of
anxiety”.
 In Schachter’s experiment, the “independent
variable” was the “subjects’ anxiety level”.
Because anxiety level was manipulated. After
the orientation, the experimenter indicated
that there would be a delay while he prepared
the shock apparatus for use. The participants
were asked whether they would prefer to wait
alone or in the company of others. The
“participants’ desire to affiliate with others
was the “dependent variable”.
 In the Schachter study, the participants in the
high-anxiety condition constituted the
“experimental group”. They received a
special treatment designed to create an
unusually high level of anxiety. The
participants in the low-anxiety condition
served as the “control group”. They were not
exposed to the special anxiety-arousing
procedure.

 Result indicated that high level of anxiety

causes high need for affiliation.
 The experiment is a powerful research
method. Its principal advantage is that it
permits conclusions about cause-and-effect
relationships between variables.

 Researchers are able to draw these

conclusions about causation because the
precise control available.
 As experiments are conducted in an artificial
environment so doubts arise about the
applicability of findings to everyday behavior
outside the experimental laboratory.

 Some factors cannot be manipulated as

independent variables because of ethical
concerns or practical realities.
 For instance, you might be interested in
whether a nutritionally poor diet during
pregnancy increases the likelihood of birth
defects. This clearly is a significant issue.
However, you obviously cannot select 100
pregnant women and assign 50 of them to a
condition in which they consume an
inadequate diet. The potential risk to the
health of the women and their unborn children
would make this research strategy unethical.
 It is a research method in which the
relationship between two sets of variables is
examined to determine whether they are
associated, or “correlated”.

 The researcher cannot manipulate the

variables under study.
 This lack of control means that these methods
cannot be used to demonstrate cause-and-
effect relationships between variables.

 These methods include naturalistic

observation, case studies, and surveys.
 Research in which an investigator simply
observes some naturally occurring behavior
and does not make a change in the situation.
 For instance
1) To investigate the accuracy of public clocks.
2) A researcher investigating helping behavior
might observe the kind of help given to
victims in a and high-crime area of a city
 A case study is an in-depth investigation of an
individual subject or small group of people.

 For instance, What portion of people who

attempt suicide suffer from psychological
disorders? Which disorders are most common
among people who attempt suicide?
A variety of data collection techniques can be
used in case studies. Typical techniques
include interviewing the subjects,
interviewing people who are close to the
subjects, direct observation of the subjects,
examination of records, and psychological
testing.
 Research in which people chosen to represent a
larger population are asked a series of questions
about their behavior, thoughts, or attitudes.

 This is a straightforward way of finding out what

people think, feel, and do by asking them
directly.

 In a survey researchers use questionnaires or

interviews to gather information
 Surveys are often used to obtain information
on aspects of behavior that are difficult to
observe directly.

 Surveys also make it relatively easy to collect

data on attitudes and opinions from large
samples of participants.

 The major problem with surveys is that they

depend on self-report data.
 Advantage is that it allow psychologists to
explore issues that might not be open to
experimental investigation due to ethical
concerns or practical realities.

 Unfortunately, descriptive methods have one

significant disadvantage: Investigators cannot
control events to isolate cause and effect.
 Select a Topic
 Formulate a testable hypothesis
 Select the research method
 Collect the data
 Analyze the data and draw conclusion
 Report the findings
 The first step of a research is to select a
topic
 Selection of a topic is not an easy task,
You have to read a lot of stuff.
 Previous researches or literature reviews
help us selecting of a topic.
 The first step in a scientific investigation is to
translate a theory or an intuitive idea into a
testable hypothesis.

 A hypothesis is a prediction stated in a way that

allows it to be tested.

 Example
 High anxiety level will cause high need for
affiliation.
 The various methods are experiments, case
studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, and
so forth.

 The researcher has to ponder the pros and

cons and then select the strategy that appears
to be the most appropriate , practical and
according to the nature of question under
study.
 Researchers use a variety of data collection
techniques, which are procedures for making
observations and measurements.

 Commonly used techniques include direct

observation, questionnaires, interviews,
psychological tests and physiological
recordings,.
 For example, questionnaires are well suited
for studying attitudes, psychological tests for
studying personality, and physiological
recordings for studying the biological bases of
behavior.

 Depending on the nature and complexity of

the study, data collection can often take
months, and it sometimes requires years of
work.
 The observations made in previous step are
usually converted into numbers, which
constitute the raw data of the study.

 Researchers use statistics to analyze their data

and to decide whether their hypotheses have
been supported.
 Scientific progress can be achieved only if
researchers share their findings with one
another and with the general public.

 Therefore, the final step in a scientific

investigation is to write up a concise summary
of the study for publication.