Research Methods Part 1:

Psychology and the Scientific Method

Week-3

Khadeeja Munawar (Lecturer, MUM)

Email: khadeeja.munawar1@monash.edu*
*Please post your lecture-related questions in the discussion
forum
Learning objectives
▪ Explain the importance of studying the scientific method.
▪ Differentiate the scientific method from other sources of knowledge (non-
scientific).
▪ What are the attributes of science as a way of knowing?.
▪ How is pseudoscientific thinking different to scientific thinking?
▪ Describe the main goals of research and distinguish between hypotheses and
theories

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Prescribed Readings

▪ Whole of Chapter 1 (The Scientific Method) of your second prescribed

textbook:
▪ Burton, Lorelle. & Goodwin, C. James. & Goodwin, Kerri A. & Jose, Paul.
(2018). Psychology research methods. Milton, QLD : John Wiley and Sons
Australia, Ltd

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History of Psychology Research Methods

▪ Philosophical origins of psychology

▪ Wundt (1874) established psychology as a science.
▪ To study the mind scientifically, however, generally agreed‐on methods had to
be developed and taught.
▪ Manuals based on Titchener’s experimental methods used in lab courses in
the 1930s were instrumental in training a generation of Australian research
psychologists (Tweney, 1987).

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Benefits of Research Methods

▪ How to do research in psychology

▪ Acquire research skills you can apply
▪ Critical Thinking
▪ Evaluate claims
▪ Scientist-Practitioner model

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Ways of Knowing (non-scientific)

▪ How do we collect information about the world?

Authority Use of reason Experience

• Primary • Logic • Empiricism

source of • apriori • Belief
knowledge approach perseverance
• Don’t
question
authority
• Experts

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Ways of Knowing (non-scientific) Cont’d

▪ Availability Heuristic
▪ Tversky & Kahneman (1973) found that twice as many people thought k
occurred at the beginning of words than in the third position of words
▪ K in first position 105 (69.1%)
▪ K in third position 47 (30.9%)
▪ But this is wrong….Why?
▪ Because words where k is at the beginning come to mind easily when you’re
thinking of the letter k. They are more readily available in your memory.
Availability influences influence your perceived frequency.

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Problems with Non-Scientific Approaches to Acquiring Knowledge

▪ Collecting information using reasoning based on authority and experience

may appear sound (for certain purposes, at least), but taken individually, each
approach has pitfalls deriving from issues such as:
– Erroneous beliefs
– Inaccurate information
– Flaws in logical reasoning (which are extremely common)
– Perceptions biased by prior experiences

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Psychological science and pseudoscience

▪ Characteristics of Pseudoscience:
– Reliance on anecdotal evidence
– Sidesteps the falsification requirement
– Reduces complex phenomena into simplistic
– explanations

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Recognizing Pseudoscience

▪ Sigmund Freud studied hypnosis under Jean-Martin Charcot, a neurologist

known throughout Europe for his use of hypnosis to treat hysterics. When
Freud returned to Vienna from Paris, he realized that he could convince
patients to talk just by putting them in relaxing positions (on a couch, for
example) and encouraging them to say whatever came into their heads (free
association).
▪ Identify the method by which Freud acquired this information?

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Ways of Knowing: Scientific Method
13
Ways of Knowing:
Scientific Research
Cycle

Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, Fourth Edition by Frederick J Gravetter and Lori-Ann B. Forzano Copyright ©
2016 Wadsworth Publishing, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
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The Scientific Method (Cont’d)

▪ Steps involved in the scientific – 4. Use your hypothesis to make a testable

method approach to acquiring prediction and use observations to support,
refute or refine
knowledge:
– 5. Data Based conclusions
– 1. Assume determinism
▪ a. conclusions supported by quantitative data
▪ a. Statistical determinism
– 6 Tentative Conclusions
– 2. Systematic observations of
▪ a. conclusion subject to revision in future
phenomena research
▪ a. precise definitions of phenomena
▪ b. not authoritative
▪ b. reliable and valid tools to measure
– 7. Public Knowledge (published research)
data
▪ a. allows public verification
▪ c. accepted methodologies
(experiment) ▪ b. allows replication
▪ d. system of logic to form a tentative
answer or explanation (a hypothesis)

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Why Study research methods?

▪ To understand how and why people think, feel, and behave the way they do,
we need to draw upon the scientific method in order to gain accurate
knowledge
▪ Therefore, scientific research is integral to acquiring psychological insights
▪ By studying Research methods, you will develop scientific literacy to:
– Read, understand, and evaluate information
– Make informed decisions
– Conduct research of your own to further the knowledgebase of psychology

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The Goals of Science

▪ The goal of all scientific research is to either describe, predict, explain,

understand and apply nature/events
– Description: Researchers seek to define or classify phenomena or events and their
relationships.
– Prediction: Description often provides the basis for predicting behaviour; adding to our
knowledge of a particular phenomenon and also helpful in the prevention and treatment of
psychological disorders.
– Explanation or Understanding: Description and prediction lead to
explanation/understanding orunderstanding the causal factors involved in behavior.
– Application – Applying what is learned from research.

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Explanation / Understanding

▪ Explanation / understanding can be sought by:

– Examining covariation of events
▪ i.e., a change in one event is associated with a change in another event
▪ Examining time-order relationships
– i.e., see how an event changes over time
▪ Elimination of possible alternative causes
– i.e., when you have ruled out all but one cause for an event

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Example Questions

▪ Each specialty within psychology has its own particular approach to research,
but the major goals are consistent across the different areas. Read the
following description of a research study and identify the goal it addresses.

– Jorm (2000) reviewed previously published studies to determine if suffering from

depression is a risk factor for developing dementia later in life. Based on the available
evidence, Jorm concluded that there is an association between the two conditions. Those
who suffer from depression in early adulthood tended to be at slightly higher risk for
developing dementia, though the precise relationship between the two conditions is
unknown.

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The Research
Process

Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, Fourth Edition by Frederick J Gravetter and Lori-Ann B.
Forzano Copyright © 2016 Wadsworth Publishing, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
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Research methods is not only Statistics

▪ Research methods is about a lot more than just statistics

▪ Research design and analysis or RDA is a method of logical thought
▪ Notice from the previous slide that far more emphasis is placed on using
constructs and logic to plan, design, and conduct the research, than on
statistics (which only appear in steps 8 and 9)
▪ Without good research design, statistics are useless

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Step 1 of the Research Process:
Find a Research Idea

▪ Select a topic and find a question

– Identify a general topic that you would like to explore and review the background literature
to find a specific research idea or unanswered question
▪ When getting started with research, it is important that you (Gravetter &
Forzano, 2016):
– Choose a topic that interests you
– Invest a fair amount of time in gathering background information
– Maintain objectivity
– Take it one step at a time

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Sources of Research Ideas

▪ Common sense: a valuable way to start out

– e.g., why do some people think it is safe to eat food that’s been dropped on
the floor as long as they pick it up within five seconds?

▪ Observation: curiosity aroused by one’s own observation of an

event, or something one has read about
– e.g., you’ve observed that pressure points can be used to treat anxiety and
wonder if it really works, and if so, how?

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Sources of Research Ideas
▪ Practical problems: the need to find solutions to immediate problems often
stimulates research
– e.g., how can we increase job satisfaction without increasing pay?
▪ Past research: information and ideas derived from published research
– e.g., I wonder what would happen if I replicated Asch’s conformity experiment with children
instead of adults?
▪ Theories: systematic ideas about how the world works
– e.g., which theory best explains bystander nonintervention – pluralistic ignorance or
diffusion of responsibility?
▪ Research may be either BASIC (i.e., aimed at gathering knowledge or
addressing theoretical questions) or APPLIED (i.e., aimed at solving practical
problems or addressing a practical questions), but both are ultimately
grounded in theory.

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What is a Theory?

▪ A framework within which seemingly related knowledge is brought together in

a logical way to provide an explanation for something (e.g., why people
think, feel, or behave a certain way)
▪ A theory is an interconnected set of statements, not a single statement
▪ Theories are also organising frameworks, and mechanisms by which
research is guided and developed
▪ Theories can be used to form hypotheses testable through experimentation

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Properties of a Good Theory

▪ The quality of a theory is often evaluated on the basis of certain

characteristics:
– Parsimony – the preferred theory is the one which contains the least assumptions. Simple
explanations are preferred over complex.
– Precision of predictions – predictions of behaviour are more valuable if they are precise
rather than general.
– Rigorous testing – a good theory will survive testing of its propositions; rigorous testing
will seek to falsify the propositions rather than to confirm them

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Step 2 of the Research Process:
Form a Hypothesis

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Example Questions

▪ How frequently can scientists prove that their hypotheses are true?
▪ A. Sometimes
▪ B. Always
▪ C. Never
▪ D. Often

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Examples of Good Hypotheses

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Step 3 of the Research Process:
Define and Measure Variables

▪ A variable is any characteristic or condition that can have more than one
value, or that can vary across organisms, situations, or environments (e.g.,
age, intelligence, stress level, extroversion, performance)
▪ An empirical study involves observing, manipulating, and measuring
variables in various conditions, and under varying degrees of control
▪ These variables need to be precisely defined
▪ The nature of the variables of interest plays an important role in research
design

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Step 4 of the Research Process:
Identify Participants or Subjects

Statistical inference refers to the process by which we derive generalisations

about populations on the basis of sample data
▪ The key to statistical inference is sampling theory
– Sampling or sampling theory refers to the techniques we use to draw representative
samples from populations

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Step 5 of the Research Process:
Selecting a Research Strategy

▪ A research strategy refers to the general research approach you will use to
address your research question
– strategy choice largely depends upon whether the research goal is description,
prediction, or explanation
– e.g., experimental, quasi-experimental, nonexperimental, correlational, or descriptive
▪ Research participants must be treated in an ethical manner, and therefore,
ethics also plays a crucial role in determining the appropriate research
strategy to use

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Step 6 of the Research Process:
Research Design

▪ Research design refers to formulating “a general plan for implementing a

research strategy” (Gravetter & Forzano, 2016)
▪ Research design involves making decisions about (Gravetter & Forzano,
2016):
– whether to examine groups or an individual,
– whether to use the same individuals or different individuals in each group, and
– how many variables to include in the study

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Step 7 of the Research Process:
Conduct the Study

▪ Recruit participants
▪ Implement your research design
▪ Collect your data!

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Steps 8 and 9 of the Research Process:
Evaluate the Data & Report the Results

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Step 10 of the Research Process:
Refine or Reformulate Your Research Idea

▪ If your hypothesis is supported:

– What are the practical the theoretical implications?
– Can the idea be generalised to other situations / contexts / populations?

▪ If your hypothesis is not supported:

– What are some possible reasons why not?
– Can these be investigated by further research?

▪ Refine or reformulate your research idea, and re-start the research process!

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Next Time in Research Methods

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