Three Goals of Scientific Enterprise

• 1. Measurement and Description
• 2. Understanding and Prediction
• 3. Application and Control

Measurement and Description is?

Develop measurement techniques that make it possible to describe behavior clearly and precisely.

(ex. studying the effectiveness of muscle relaxation techniques in reducing anxiety, a psychologist must first develop a means of measuring anxiety.)

Understanding and Prediction is?

Forming a hypothesis about variables in an experiment; predicting how a variable or groups interact with each other.

Application and Control is?

Information gathered by scientists may be of some practical value in helping to solve problems in schools, businesses, mental health centers, etc. You use or apply the info you have found.

A tentative statement about the relationship between 2 or more variables is?

Hypothesis

Things that are observed or controlled in a study.

Variables

• A system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations.
• They are testable.
• They are the product of inductive logic.
• Allow scientists to move from description
• (goal 1 from prior slide) to understanding (goal 2 to form a hypothesis).

Theories

Operational Definition

is the actions/definitions of operations that will be used to measure or control a variable.

What are the two types of research methods?

1. Experimental approach
2. Descriptive/Correlation method

Manipulating a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observing the changes in a second variable defines what?

Experimental appraoch

Systematically observe two variables to see whether there is an association between them (. Ex. case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation—explanation to follow.)

Descriptive/Correlation Methods

Independent Variable

a condition or event manipulated by experimenter

Dependent Variable

variable that is believed to change only if the independent variable changes it; depends on independent variable to effect it.

Experimental Group

group in an experiment that receives treatment from independent variable.

Control Group

group that does not receive any treatment in order to see if independent variable has any effect.

Extraneous variables

factors besides independent variables that might affect the dependent variables, and need to be controlled.

Confounded variables

when two variables are linked and their individual effects cannot be separated out.

Random Assignment

placing subjects in experimental groups such that each subject has an equal probability of ending up in any experimental group.

Advantages of the Experimental Method:

• the ability to draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships from an experiment

Disadvantages of the Experimental Method:

• artificial
• ethical concerns
• practical issues

When a researcher engages in careful observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects - allowing researchers to study behavior under conditions that are less artificial than experiments.

Naturalistic observation

• can be used to study animals in their natural habitat

An in-depth and generally highly subjective or impressionistic report on a single individual that may be based on interviews, psychological testing, and so on. One of the main concerns with the case study method of research is that the experiences reported may not be representative of other cases.

A case study

Use questionnaires or interviews to find out about specific aspects of people’s backgrounds, attitudes or opinions. The tendency for participants to participate in survey research appears to have declined in recent decades.

Surveys

Advantages of Descriptive/Correlation methods:

able to study situations considered to be unethical in an experiment or not practical.

Disadvantages of Descriptive/Correlation methods:

clinical samples are often unrepresentative

cause and effect study cannot be proven

Positive Correlation

when two or more variables vary in the same pattern.

Negative Correlation

when two or more variables show patterns of variation directly opposite of one another.