CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY:Scientific Method

<< INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY:Social Psychology and Sociology

CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY:Evaluate Ethics >>

Social Psychology (PSY403)

Lesson 03

CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Aims:

To make students understand how to conduct social psychology research using diverse methodologies.

Objectives:

1. Describe empirical research and scientific method

2. Discuss basic steps in conducting social psychology research

General Introduction of this topic spreading over six lectures

Conducting social psychology research will be complete in almost 6 lectures. Apart from discussing

characteristics of empirical research and scientific method, this section of syllabus will concentrate on un

folding basic steps involved in conducting research. Starting from selection of research problem, and

defining and explaining variables, it will concentrate on discussion about ethical issues, methods of data

collection, and various research designs. While discussing various sampling techniques, representative

sampling procedures will be stressed as an ideal. However, this will also be acknowledged through various

actual research presentations that young white college students are over-represented in much of social

research. Correlational and experimental approaches to the study of behavior are compared, as are

laboratory and field research. Data sources, including self-report, behavioral observation, and archival are

contrasted, with a new discussion of the pros and cons of Internet data collection. Sources of bias inherent

in research are acknowledged, and this section concludes with the basic considerations of writing a

scientific research report.

What is Scientific Research?

According to Aristotle, "The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows. This seems very

appropriate as knowledge gives power and information which we obtain from research reduces uncertainty

and ambiguity

Research can be defined as "Research is the method of asking and answering a question with a set of

systematic procedures which assist researchers in avoiding biases".

Characteristics of Empirical Research

· Well-planned

· Controlled for errors

· Internally and externally consistent

· Replicable

When do you conduct research?

When do you conduct research?

The

decision

about

conducting

research

depends on the cost and

benefit

analysis.

The

Availability of Data

Benefits

following diagrams1 and 2

Time Constraints

Nature of the Decision

vs. Costs

illustrate this more clearly

Does the value

whether to conduct research

Is sufficient time

Is the infor-

Is the research Yes

of the research Yes

Yes

Conduct

available for

mation already

question of

information

or not:

Research

conducting

on hand

considerable

exceed the cost

research?

inadequate?

importance?

of conducting

research?

Figure 1

Do Not Conduct Research

Social Psychology (PSY403)

Figure 2

These diagrams show that the

Value Should Exceed

value of the research should

Estimated Costs

exceed the estimated Costs

involved in the research.

Costs

Social Psychology Research

Value

·Research

· Research in social

expenditures

psychology poses

·Decreased

uncertainty

challenges not found in

·Does not add to

other sciences because the

knowledge

·Increased likelihood

behaviors of interests

of a correct decision

·Possible erroneous

aren't as tangible as the

research results

elements found in a

·Improved relations/

business/ health/

physicist's laboratory

performance

Compared to other

disciplines, social

psychology relies on a

wide range of creative

research methodologies, e.g., lab experiments, field studies, surveys, questionnaires, archival data

Scientific Method

Like all sciences, social psychology relies on the scientific method. After 100 years of its practice,

Scientific method is still the basis for investigation, and is different from nonscientific method "everyday

approach". For social psychologists to effectively study social behavior--be it basic or applied research--

they must carefully plan and execute their research projects (Sansone et al, 2004). In doing so, social

psychologists employ the scientific method, which consists of a set of procedures used to gather, analyze,

and interpret information in a way that reduces error and leads to dependable generalizations. The

characteristics of scientific method are as under:

Requires a certain level of explanation

Relies on empirical evidence rather than intuition: Scientific method is characterized by a reliance

on empirical procedures, rather than intuition, and by an attempt to control those factors believed

responsible for a phenomena.

Relies on direct observation & experimentation

Goals of Scientific Method

· Description: Describing, classifying, cataloguing events and relationships. For example, describing

events and relationships, by using nomothetic approach and quantitative analysis. Nomothetic

approach seeks to identify the similarities rather than differences. Levine et al. (1990) desired to

investigate "Pace of life" in various cultures and countries. They decided to indicate pedestrian

walking speed and accuracy of a country's bank clocks, etc. to decide about the tempo of life of

that nation. The results showed that the citizens of Japan had the fastest pace followed by

American, while Indonesians appeared to be the slowest. Prediction

· Prediction: Description provides basis for prediction. Prediction when assessed by by correlational

relationships can not determine the causation. Examples of making predictions can be: prediction

of later performance on the basis of early success; or "whether early deprivation can cause a

deterioration in IQ"

· Understanding: Description and prediction are the only first steps in understanding a phenomenon.

It is achieved when causes of a phenomenon are identified. Three important conditions are essential

to understand causal inferences: time-order relationship, other explanations:

Social Psychology (PSY403)

1. Co variation of events: Understand what variables change in interaction to each other

2. Time-order relationship: (the presumed cause must occur before the presumed effect)

3. Elimination of possible explanations: Example: "active learning strategies help students

learn", other explanations could be motivation, I.Q., gender, etc.

Basic & Applied Research

Social psychologists conduct both basic and applied research. The goal in basic research is to

simply increase knowledge about social behavior, knowledge for knowledge's sake (Fiske, 2004). No

attempt is made to solve a specific social or psychological problem. In contrast, applied research is

designed to increase the understanding of and solutions to real-world problems by using current social

psychological knowledge (Maruyama, 2004) Although many social psychologists label themselves as

either basic or applied searchers, the efforts of one group often influence those of the other. Kurt Lewin

resolves this controversy of the relative importance of applied and pure research by indicating that "no

action without research, no research without action".

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

The Research Process Involves a Series of Sequential Steps:

For social psychologists to effectively study social behavior--be it basic or applied research--they

must carefully plan and execute their research projects (Sansone et al, 2004). In doing so, social

psychologists employ the scientific method. This entire process of scientific inquiry unfolds in eight basic

steps.

Develop a research question & review literature

Develop a research theory/ hypothesis

Variables and operational definitions

Choose a research design

Evaluate the ethics

Collect data

Analyze data and form conclusions

Report research results

Step 1: Develop a research Question & review literature

Research ideas do not develop in a vacuum. In selecting a topic to study, inspiration could come

from someone else's research, from an incident in the daily news, or from some personal experience in

the researcher's own life. Social psychologists generally investigate topics that have relevance to their

own lives and culture.

Once a topic has been chosen, the researcher must search the scientific literature to determine

whether prior investigations of the topic exist. The findings from these previous studies generally shape the

course of the current investigation. Today, literature searches can be vastly accelerated by using a number

of computer-based searching programs that catalog even the most recently published studies. In addition,

social psychologists can often instantly obtain unpublished articles from researchers at other universities

either through next computer networks or fax machines.

Important points in selection of question:

It is important to go beyond a general description of a problem by narrowing and zeroing in on

what you want to study.

Generate questions Read theories on your topic, consider own experience, think of exceptions,

note inconsistencies in previous research

Scientific theory guides research by suggesting testable hypotheses.

A real world problem: incident/ news/ personal experience/

The research question usually has a relevance to researchers's culture and experience

Social Psychology (PSY403)

The research question comes from:

· Previous research

· Real world

Sources of Literature:

Books

Research Articles

Electronic databases, e.g., PsycINFO, etc.

Unpublished material

Reference

6. Franzoi, S.L. (2006). Social Psychology. New York: McGraw Hill. Chapter 2.

Table of Contents: