chapter 1>> research methods in psychology
research methods in psychology
Activity 1: Scientific method
Choose one research question from those listed below
and complete a flow chart on the scientific method. Your
textbook may help you complete the chart.
Activity 2: Independent and dependent
variables
1
Define ‘independent variable’ (cause):
1
Does caffeine affect performance on an exam?
2
Are elderly people the worst drivers?
3
Does the presence of other people affect an athlete’s
performance?
4
Does depression impact on problem-solving skills?
5
Do sporty people have high self-esteem?
2
6
Do relaxation techniques reduce stress?
7
Does studying with an iPod affect test performance?
Define ‘dependent variable’ (effect):
Scientific method
Identify the area of
research and form a
research aim
Collect information
Design research
method to test the
hypothesis
Identify the research
question and
formulate hypothesis
3
Collect and analyse
the data
Draw a conclusion—
accept or reject the
hypothesis
Read the scenarios below and identify the
independent and dependent variables in each.
a
People will behave differently in a crowd from
the way they behave when alone.
IV:
Test the conclusion
Report findings
DV:
b
IV:
DV:
4
Warming up before exercise reduces injuries.
c
c
Aggressive play increases with age.
200 male VCE students who play sport after
school
IV:
Population:
DV:
d
d
Text messaging while driving causes accidents.
IV:
Population:
e
DV:
e
Drinking energy drinks increases your sports
performance.
350 IT workers with memory problems
Population:
2
IV:
Look at the scenarios below and create or determine
a likely sample.
DV:
a
f
Practising goal kicking improves accuracy.
b
DV:
g
c
d
Parents with high IQs will have children with
high IQs.
People who fear spiders will also fear snakes.
Sample:
e
IV:
DV:
Six-year-old girls who play with dolls will have
difficulties establishing friendships.
Sample:
Activity 3: Population and samples
Look at the scenarios below and identify a likely
population.
50 VCE Psychology students from the local high
school
Population:
b
Adults with schizophrenia will have impaired
memory abilities.
Sample:
DV:
a
Blue-eyed females have a lower IQ.
Sample:
Sleep deprivation causes stress.
IV:
h
Four-year-old boys who drink cordial will be
aggressive.
Sample:
IV:
1
400 mothers who have children under five years
of age, with allergies
120 male adults diagnosed with depression who
live in Victoria
Population:
Activity 4: Sampling procedures
1
Define the term ‘sample’:
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research methods in psychology
Three sampling techniques used for participant selection are random sampling, stratified sampling and
convenience sampling. Complete the table below on each.
Technique
Explanation
Advantage
Disadvantage
Random sampling
Stratified sampling
Convenience sampling
Activity 5: Control and experimental groups
1
What is an experimental group? What is its purpose?
What is meant by random allocation?
4
2
3
What is a control group? What is its purpose?
Look at the scenarios below and identify the
experimental group and the control group.
a
Experimental:
Control:
b
Students who listen to music while studying will
perform better on an exam than those students
who do not listen to music.
Males who have many friends on Facebook will
have lower self-esteem compared with those
males with fewer friends.
Experimental:
Control:
6
c
Girls who shop for five hours will have more
friends than girls who shop for less than five
hours.
Experimental:
Control:
d
Younger teachers will have better IT skills than
those teachers who are over 35 years of age.
Experimental:
Activity 6: Scales of measurement
Using your textbook, look at each scenario below and
identify the type of data it is: nominal, ordinal, interval or
ratio. Place a tick in the appropriate box.
Scenario
Nominal Ordinal Interval
Ratio
Eye colour
Temperature
Height of the
students in class
Control:
e
People who read seven or more hours per week
will perform better on a comprehension test
compared with those who do not read.
Experimental:
Control:
f
Older adults who eat three or more pieces of
fruit each day will have better memory abilities
than those who do not eat fruit.
Experimental:
Control:
Soccer ladder
Reaction time
Score on your
driving test
Long jump
results from the
class
Placing in
a karate
competition
Altitude
Activity 7: Descriptive statistics
Nursing is a highly stressful job. Below are the data for the number of days 30 nurses take off each year.
5, 2, 7, 7, 3, 5, 8, 10, 5, 6, 2, 4, 8, 9, 6, 10, 6, 5, 2, 4, 7, 9, 3, 2, 5, 6, 8, 1, 9, 3
1
Using the data above create a frequency distribution.
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chapter 1>> research methods in psychology
2
Create a histogram for the data above.
3
Calculate the mean for this data.
Activity 8: Inferential statistics
1
2
4
Calculate the median for this data.
3
8
Calculate the mode for this data.
What is meant by p-value?
5
What are inferential statistics?
What p-value do psychologists tend to use to
indicate statistical significance? What does this
mean?
4
The following p-values were found in research.
Determine which are statistically significant (SS) and
which are not (NS) when p=0.05.
a
p=.06
b
p=.003
c
p=.02
d
p=.10
e
p=.70
f
p=.08
g
p=.005
Activity 9: Correlation
3
Look at the following studies and determine if there
would be a positive or a negative correlation.
1
The more energy drinks a swimmer drinks the faster
he or she swims.
Adults who drink four or more alcoholic beverages
will have a lower score on a memory test.
4
The more people interact with different cultural
groups the lower the number of racist incidents.
2
People who have seven or more hours of sleep will
perform better on a driving test.
5
The more vitamin B a person consumes the higher
their intelligence.
Activity 10: Ethical considerations in psychological research
Using your textbook, complete the table below, outlining the code of ethics published by the Australian Psychological
Society.
Ethics
Explanation
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chapter 1>> research methods in psychology
Activity 11: Review questions
1
6
List the three different experimental designs
psychologists can use for research.
What is a variable?
7
2
What is the difference between independent and
dependent variables?
What is the placebo effect? How can it be
eliminated? Explain.
3
What is a hypothesis?
8
4
What is an extraneous variable?
5
What is the experimenter effect? How can it be
eliminated? Explain.
In what way are participants allocated to groups in
psychological research? Explain.
9
10
What is the difference between qualitative and
quantitative data? Provide an example of each.
10 Why are reliability and validity important in
psychological research?
2
11 What is the difference between descriptive and
inferential statistics?
3
12 When data is plotted on a graph, a psychologist
often will see a skew in the graph. Explain the types
of skewed graphs that a psychologist may see.
4
David decided to conduct a study on the VCE
Psychology students at his school. He wanted a
sample, so he placed all the
names of the VCE students in a hat and drew out the
first 50 to be his participants.
a
stratified
b
confounded
c
random
d
independent
Mr C. Lown decided to conduct a study on the
effects of music on memory. He asked his music
class to study for two hours each night with music
playing. After the first week he tested them on a
memory test. In the second week he asked the same
students to study two hours each night but with
no music. Again at the end of the week he tested
them on a memory test. This is an example of a
experimental design.
a
independent groups
b
repeated measures
c
random
d
convenience
The experimenter effect refers to:
a
the participant’s behaviour being influenced by
their expectation of how they should behave
b
the participant’s behaviour being influenced by
the other participants in the room
c
the experimenter’s behaviour in conducting
research
d
the outcome of the experiment being
unintentionally influenced by the experimenter.
Activity 12: Multiple choice questions
1
In research the
variable is
deliberately manipulated and the
variable is measured.
a
extraneous; dependent
b
independent; dependent
c
dependent; independent
d
independent; extraneous
5
To eliminate the experimenter effect it is best to use:
a
a double blind procedure
b
a single blind procedure
c
counterbalancing
d
either a or b.
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research methods in psychology
Tony conducted research on the benefits of school
uniforms. He asked 100 students and 30 teachers
from his school to give their opinion on school
uniform. This is an example of:
a
qualitative and subjective data
b
quantitative and subjective data
c
subjective and objective data
d
qualitative and objective data.
Sometimes researchers go to kindergartens or day
care centres to conduct research on children. Often
they just observe their behaviours. This type of data
collection is known as a/an:
a
controlled observation
b
interview
c
naturalistic observation
d
questionnaire.
Researchers have been conducting studies on the
impact of divorce on children. They have been
following the lives of 100 children over 15 years. This
is an example of:
a
interviews
b
a cross-sectional study
c
questionnaires
d
a longitudinal study.
Test-retest reliability refers to:
a
a test being checked to ensure that it produces
the same result if readministered to the same
person under the same conditions
b
a test being administered to several different
people to check that it is accurate
c
whether a test item measures what it is
supposed to measure
d
whether the test can be used to support the
theory.
10 Measures of central tendency show:
a
12
how the data are central to research
b
how the data are clustered near the central
point of the dataset
c
how the data are represented in graphs
d
all of the above.
11 A generalisation is:
a
the final decision about what the results mean
b
a judgment about the sample
c
a judgment about the results and central
tendencies
d
a judgment about the extent to which the
research findings can be applied to the
population represented by the sample.
12 A correlational study was conducted to study the
effects of TV on children. It was hypothesised that
children who watch three hours of TV will perform
poorly on tests. It is likely that researchers will see a
correlation.
a
positive
b
bimodal
c
negative
d
dependent
13 Mr B. Ored wants to conduct research on the
children in his school. In order to do this he needs
to consider all psychological ethics. Because the
children are under 18 he must obtain:
a
withdrawal rights
b
debriefing
c
parental informed consent
d
psychological harm.
14 While conducting his research Mr B. Ored discovers
that several of his participants want to leave the
experiment and take their data with them. The
participants are exercising:
a
informed consent
b
withdrawal rights
c
deception
d
voluntary participation.