L1 - Introduction to Research Methods PDF

L1 - Introduction to Research Methods PSY 131 Lecture one Week one Learning Objectives By the end of the lecture, students will be able to: Know what a research is. Know the purpose of research. Understand how to select topics for research...

L1 - Introduction to Research Methods PSY 131 Lecture one Week one Learning Objectives By the end of the lecture, students will be able to: Know what a research is. Know the purpose of research. Understand how to select topics for research. Know how to narrow down research topics. Identify the difficulties of conducting research What is Research? Search for knowledge Systematic and methodical search for information on a specific topic All scientist have their own particular view of the purpose of research. What is the importance of Research? One of the most important feature of any degree course Offers you a measure of control and autonomy over what you learn Gives you an opportunity to confirm, clarify, pursue and discover new aspects of the subject or field. Purpose of Research Review or synthesize existing knowledge Investigate existing situations or problems Provide solutions to problems Explore and analyze more general issues Construct or create new procedures or systems Explain new phenomenon Generate new knowledge. …or a combination of any of the above  Research Process Identify the problem 1. Determine an area of interest Develop a plan 2. Review the literature. 3. Identify new ideas in your area of interest. 4. Develop a research hypothesis. The Generate new ideas Scientific Conduct the study/collect Method data Analyse and evaluate the Communicate the findings data  RESEARCH APPROACHES/METHODOLOGIES Quantitative Qualitative Mixed Methods Based on the Process of collecting, Research method that measurement of quantity analyzing, and interpreting combines and integrates or amount non-numerical data both qualitative and Eg: Experimental and Aims at discovering the quantitative research Non-experimental (such underlying motives and methods in a single study as surveys, correlational) desires, using in depth designs interviews for the purpose Variables of research Variable is a characteristic or feature that varies, or changes within a study across participants. Examples: If a study is investigating the differences between males and females, gender would be a variable. If a study has only female subjects, gender would not be a variable, since there would be only women If a study includes both males and females as subjects, but is not interested in differences between men and women - and does not compare them, gender would not be a variable in that study In an experimental study, generally, there are two kinds of variables of interest: Independent and dependent variables. Variable that can be manipulated. They are “independent” INDEPENDENT VARIABLE because researchers manipulate them in experiments and are thus independent of all other influences DEPENDENT VARIABLE outcomes or results influenced by the independent variables. CONTROLLED VARIABLE Variables that are held constant throughout the experiment. Eg: temperature of room  Identify the IV and DV Impact of colour of room on exam performance IV: colour of room (the thing that is being manipulated) DV: : the scores on the test performance measure (the thing that is being measured) Try yourself 1. Do changes in room temperature affect mood? 2. Effect of 10 mins of physical exercise on attention. 3. In an experiment, researcher divides the participants into two groups. One group has to consume 2 grams of sugar and the other group has to consume 5 grams of sugar. Afterwards, all participants did a memory test. Identify the IV and DV Identify the IV and DV A study investigates the effects of exercise and social support on mood enhancement. Participants are randomly assigned to one of the four conditions: aerobic exercise + high support, aerobic exercise + low support, stretching exercises + high support, and stretching exercises + low support. Mood assessments are conducted before and after the intervention period using standardized questionnaires Research Setting Where the study takes place; where data is collected. Naturalistic vs. Controlled setting Naturalistic Controlled Conducted in the everyday environment of the Conducted in a well-controlled environment participants. – not necessarily a laboratory and therefore For example, comparing the long-term accurate measurements are possible development of children who have been adopted with children who had spent all their lives with their biological families Advantages: Naturalistic and controlled Naturalistic Controlled Behavior in a natural experiment Easier to replicate a laboratory is more likely to reflect life real experiment. because of it natural setting Allow for precise control of Can be used in situations in extraneous and independent which it would be ethically variables. This allows a cause unacceptable to manipulate the and effect relationship to be IV established. Limitations: Naturalistic and controlled Naturalistic Controlled May be time consuming May produce unnatural There is no control over behavior that does not extraneous variables that reflect real life, i.e. low might bias the results validity. makes it difficult for another experimenter effects may researcher to replicate the bias the results study Selecting a topic Before considering what literature to use in a project, first identify a topic to study and reflect on whether it is practical and useful to undertake the study. The topic is the subject or subject matter of a proposed study, such as "faculty teaching," "organizational creativity," or "psychological stress." Keywords + literature search Broader to narrower working title - Assign limits to your topic/ defining the scope. “wh” questions Topic can be narrowed by: time, place, population, viewpoint, relationship - depending on your research approach Be brief and avoid wasting words - “A study of”  Narrowing down research topic What happens if topic is too broad? Too much information Too general information - Difficult to develop a framework to examine the research problem Difficult to identify proper methods Topic can be narrowed by: time, place, population, viewpoint, relationship - depending on your research approach  Narrowing down research topic Narrow by Original topic Sample narrowing questions Narrowed topics Time Trade relations During what time span? During Trade relations between Maldives between Maldives current year? and India between 2019 and 2021 and India Place The decline of sea In what country or Decline of sea turtle population in turtle population geographical region? the Maldives Population Voting trends in What is the gender, age, Voting trends among 18-24 yr old Maldives population, educational level? females in the Maldives Viewpoint Steroid abuse What are ethical, medical, What are the psychological among athletes social, economic ,legal, aspects of steroid abuse? political, biological or psychological aspects? Activity In pairs/groups Brainstorm a list of broad topics that interests you and choose 2 from the list. Produce a title, keeping the “what” “who” “where” “how” (relationship? effect? explore? ) in mind. Share with the class Difficulties conducting research Difficulties encountered by the students/ researchers Cooperation of respondents Time management Stress management Financial problems Identification of researchable issue and construction of research title Constructions of interpretation, analysis, findings, conclusions and recommendations Types of Relationships in Research Correlational: Statistical measure (expressed as a number) that describes the size and direction of a relationship between two or more variables **A correlation between variables does not automatically mean that the change in one variable is the cause of the change in the values of the other variable Causational: one variable causes the other variable - also referred to as cause and effect. Causation indicates that one event is the result of the occurrence of the other event; Use of a controlled study is the most effective way of establishing causality between variables Correlation In a correlational study, a “correlation coefficient” is generated to determine whether a relationship exists between the variables. The coefficient can range from –1.00 to +1.00. Three main patterns in a correlation study: No relationship (0) Positive correlation (above 0 to +1) ○ Increase in one variable is associated with increase in the other variable. Eg: Height and weight Negative correlation (below 0 to -1) ○ Increase in one variable is associated with decrease in the other variable. Eg: Number of absences and CGPA Correlation vs Causation Theoretically, the difference between the two types of relationships are easy to identify: An action or occurrence can cause another (e.g. smoking causes an increase in the risk of developing lung cancer), or It can correlate with another (e.g. smoking is correlated with alcoholism, but it does not cause alcoholism). In practice, however, it remains difficult to clearly establish cause and effect, compared with establishing correlation. Why are correlation and causation important? Objective of many researches is to identify the extent to which one variable relates to another variable. For example: ○ Is there a relationship between a person's education level and their health? ○ Is pet ownership associated with living longer? ○ Is sleep associated with better mood? These and other questions are exploring whether a correlation exists between the two variables, and if there is a correlation then this may guide further research into investigating whether one action causes the other Theories and Models - Inductive and deductive Some researchers start with a theory or conceptual model. The result of research are used to reject, modify or lend credence to the theory For other researchers, theory is the product of the research. The goal is to arrive at a theory that explains phenomena Deduction and Induction - examples Deductive: “Every mammal has lungs”