Conducting Psychological

ResearchThe Dos and the Don’ts!

Choosing a Sample• Population: The entire group of people you want

your research to apply to• Sample: the small group of subjects, out of the

total number possible, that a researcher studiesMust be representative!

• Random sample: each individual has a equal chance of being represented

• Stratified sample: subgroups in the population are represented proportionally

• Group assignment (for formal experiments only) Experimental Group & Control Group

Variables• Variables are the things you measure in your

research.

Formal Experiment• Independent Variable: the variable the

researcher controls to measures it’s effect on human behavior

• Dependent Variable: The behavior you are observing

• Make sure to use the same independent variable for all subjects!

• Measure dependent variable consistently!

Non-Experimental Methods

• Correlation is NOT necessarily cause and effect! If you are not conducting a formal experiment, you can only show relationships between variables.

1. Content Analysis2. Case Study3. Surveys and Interviews4. Field Study/ Naturalistic Observation5. Laboratory Observation6. Psychological Tests

Placebo Effect• A change in a participants illness or behavior the

results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect, rather than the actual treatment

Self-fulfilling Prophecy• Single blind experiment: an experiment where

the subjects are unaware of which participants receive the treatment (independent variable)

• Double blind experiment: an experiment where neither the experimenter nor the participants know who receives the treatment (independent variable)

Ethics in research• Informed consent• Debrief• Protection of participants• Deception• Confidentiality• Option to withdraw from an investigation