Experiment vs Non-Experimental Methods

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Protect identity of participant

Right to withdraw information at any time

Interviewers must always be professional

Ethical Guidelines

Confidentiality and withdrawal rights of participants must be upheld

Must respect general psychological guidelines

No deception; consent needed; no physical/mental harm

Participants must know true aims and purpose of experiment by the end

Inductive Approach

Analyze/theorize connections in data after it is gathered

how people experience situations "describe meanings attributed to events by the participants themselves"

Gather qualitative data through research questions

Deductive Approach

Independent and Dependent Variables

"A claim tested against empirical evidence that can be accepted or rejected"

Goal: test a theory/hypothesis

Gather empirical data through experiments

Research Methods in Psychology

Experimental Methods

Types of Experiments

Natural Experiments

Done in medical research

Research behavior of children who have been kept in isolation by their parents

Cannot always be sure cause-and-effect variables observed are correct

No doubt that cause and effects seen are ecologically accurate

No manipulation/control of variables

Researchers only sit and observe

Takes place in natural environment

Laboratory Experiments

Scientists must be able manipulate variables so certain theories can be tested (not always natural)

Mice made to run through maze multiple times to test reactions to decision making under pressure

Participants may react differently to natural environment than they do in laboratory environment

"Artificial environment"

Experiments are easy to replicate

Strict control variables

Takes place in a laboratory

Field Experiments

Used in social experiments

Setup to see if people in a subway train would hep an "intoxicated veteran" versus a "lame veteran"

Errors/confusion of causation may occur

Cannot control all variables

Great ecological value Findings occur in real conditions/environments

Researchers can manipulate variables

Take place in natural environment

Non-Experimental Methods

Types of Interviews

Unstructured Interviews

Used when specific information needed is unspecified/unnecessary

Study on why students choose to go to IB schools in the United States

May collect different information for each interview

Difficult to analyze data

Interviewer can elaborate or further inquire into topics/questions

Reveals participant's motivations and interests

Interviewer can change/ invent questions throughout interview

Very informal

Only time and topic are predetermined

Semi-Structured Interviews

Used when elaboration is needed from participants

Conducting a study on depression affects on teenagers, aged 13-19

May have difficulty analyzing data

Possible to collect information that was not collected from all participants

Information about participant can be obtained while keeping focus of study

Preferred in modern psychology!

"Conversation" between interviewer and participant

Questions can be both open-ended or closed

Structured Interviews

Example

Used when yes/no data is needed and compared

Conducting a study on television viewership for high school students in East Hartford, CT

Strengths and Weaknesses

Limitation of questions: Interviewer can only ask preset questions

Very "artificial"

Does not show particpant's personality

Same format for every interview

Data is extremely easy to analyze and compare with other interviews

Key Ideas

Interviewer may only provide guidance to participant

Predetermined order and format of questions

Very formal