Social Psychology: An Empirical Science
Scientific Method
METHODOLOGY
Social Psychology: An Empirical Science
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a specific prediction about how one variable is related to another.
Must be falsifiable. Must be operationally defined.
Stated in observable, measurable terms. Allows for replication.
Types of Research Strategies
The Observational Method: Describing Social Behavior
Researchers measure and record observable behavior of participants as it occurs in its natural state or habitat. Can obtain data about a natural behavior, rather than about a behavior that is a reaction to an artificial experimental situation. It is important to establish interjudge reliability, which is the level of agreement between two or more people who independently observe and code a set of data. Archival Analysis
A form of the observational method in which the researcher examines accumulated documents (archives).
Types of Research Strategies
Limits of the Observational Method
Certain kinds of behavior are difficult to observe because they occur only rarely or only in private. With archival analysis, the original writers may not have included all the information researchers would later need. Social psychologists want to do more than just describe behavior. They want to predict and explain it.
Types of Research Strategies
The Correlational Method: Predicting Social Behavior The researcher does not manipulate any variable but observes and measures two or more variables to find relationships (i.e., how much one can be predicted from the other) between them. If there is a correlation between two variables, a change in one variable is accompanied by a change in another.
A positive correlation is one in which the two variables move in the same direction. A negative correlation is one in which the two variables move in opposite directions.
Correlation does not imply causation.
Does not tell us in any direct way whether a change in one variable is the cause of change in another.
METHODOLOGY
Social Psychology: An Empirical Science
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a specific prediction about how one variable is related to another.
Must be falsifiable. Must be operationally defined.
Stated in observable, measurable terms. Allows for replication.
Types of Research Strategies
The Observational Method: Describing Social Behavior
Researchers measure and record observable behavior of participants as it occurs in its natural state or habitat. Can obtain data about a natural behavior, rather than about a behavior that is a reaction to an artificial experimental situation. It is important to establish interjudge reliability, which is the level of agreement between two or more people who independently observe and code a set of data. Archival Analysis
A form of the observational method in which the researcher examines accumulated documents (archives).
Types of Research Strategies
Limits of the Observational Method
Certain kinds of behavior are difficult to observe because they occur only rarely or only in private. With archival analysis, the original writers may not have included all the information researchers would later need. Social psychologists want to do more than just describe behavior. They want to predict and explain it.
Types of Research Strategies
The Correlational Method: Predicting Social Behavior The researcher does not manipulate any variable but observes and measures two or more variables to find relationships (i.e., how much one can be predicted from the other) between them. If there is a correlation between two variables, a change in one variable is accompanied by a change in another.
A positive correlation is one in which the two variables move in the same direction. A negative correlation is one in which the two variables move in opposite directions.
Correlation does not imply causation.
Does not tell us in any direct way whether a change in one variable is the cause of change in another.