Chapter 2: Research Strategies

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Chapter 2 Research Strategies

• Purposes of research
• Quantitative Qualitative
• Strategies
• Time short v. long-term
• Research Settings
• Tradeoffs
• Summary

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Chap 2 Research StrategiesPurposes

• Basic v. Applied
• Testing theory v. Finding solutions
• Give some examples
• Lab v. natural settings
• Experiments v. correlational
• Theory v. trial error

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Basic v. Applied

• Basic knowledge base
• Kitty in the City 1964 (Lassiter Dudley, 91)
• What happened / how did it stimulate interest in
  theory?
• To explain what?
• Identify potential applied problems
• Attribution theory self v. other causes
• Videotaped confessions? Do you believe what you
  see?
• Does focus on person or situation matter?
• (Lassiter Irvine, 86)
• How could this theory apply to other problems in
• Counseling, I/O psych?

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Purposes of Research

• Evaluation Research
• What are some programs that need it?
• Action Research (fig 2-1, p. 33)
• Define problem
• Research
• Collect data on possible causes
• Theories to explain them
• Find solutions
• Implement
• Evaluate implementation

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Chap 2 Quant v. Qual

• Which are typical methods for each?
• Case studies
• Interviews
• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Experiments
• Correlational studies

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Quant v. Qual

• Which is characterized by
• Ecological v. internal validity?
• Objectivity v. subjectivity
• Variables studied
• Theory or personal experience
• Piaget or Bowlby?
• Experiential v. cause effect?
• Which do you prefer? Why?

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Research Strategies Experimental, Correlational,
Case study

• Experimental
• Cause and effect
• Correlational
• Relationships, descriptive
• Case Study
• Observation,
• Usually long term, in depth
• Nomothetic v. idiographic?

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Corr v. ExperimentalB f (P,E) K. Lewin

• Individual differences
• Personality research
• Personal Traits (stable)
• What are some?

• Situational factors
• Social psychology
• Personal States (variable)
• What are some?

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Experimental v. Correlationaladvantages
disadvantages

• Control over variables
• Internal validity v. external
• Getting participants
• Manipulation, measuring
• Cause effect v. correlation
• Theory
• Ethical issues

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Exp. V Corr

• Experimental
• IV (Cause)
• Manipulate
• DV (effect)
• Measure
• Qual or quant Vars
• More theoretical
• WHY?

• Correlational
• Predictors
• Measure
• Outcomes (criteria)
• Measure
• Qual or quant vars
• Less theoretical
• WHY?

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B f (PE)

• Interaction of PE
• Main effects and interaction
• Can you use both experimental/corr?
• Yes/no?
• Example
• Counseling beh disorder therapy type
• I/O Need for approval (ind diff) Ldr style
• (leader stylelaissez faire, high oversight)

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Stats for each

• Experimental
• ANOVA
• ANCOVA

• Correlational
• Regression
• Multiple regression
• Factor analysis
• SEM
• structural equations modeling

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Cf of ANOVA Regression

• ANOVA special case of regression
• General Linear Model (GLM)
• Experimental psychologists
• ANOVA
• Individual psychologists
• Regression
• .e.g I/O (personnel v. org psych)

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Problem Exp or Corr? TV violence and Aggression

• Situational v. individual diff
• Manipulate v. measure
• Reciprocal relationship?
• Other variables? (lurking, confounding)
• What are other similar types of problems?
• Counseling
• I/O

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Time PerspectivesShort v. Long

• Short
• Cross/sectional
• Long term
• E.g. Developmental research
• Longitudinal
• Cohort-sequential
• Time-lagged comparisons
• Both e.g.
• Prior use reports of CDS for law enforcement

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Prospective Research

• IV at time 1 and DV at time 2 (table 2-3)
• To establish time precedence of IV
• Whats that??
• Type A stress lt-gt Coronary disease
• Which comes first?
• Problems
• Longitudinal
• Attrition, history and testing effects

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Outcome Evaluation(Program Evaluation p. 51)

• Examples
• Treatment programs
• Social programs
• Educational programs
• Organizational interventions
• Problems
• Attrition, history and testing effects

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Research StrategiesLab v. Field (p. 52)

• Strategies and settings
• Case study single-case in laboratory
• Experiments in
• Laboratory or
• Field (field experiments)
• Give an example of a psych experiment could
  investigate how drivers reactions to red-light
  cameras (IV and DVs)

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Research Settings

• Settings and Participants
• Target population and samples
• External validity v. theory testing
• Generalize theory or findings?
• Give an example Counseling/ I/O psych
• Convenience sample
• What is it? Why would you use one?

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Tradeoffs

• Samples
• Hetero v. homogeneous
• Control
• Lab v. natural setting
• Experiment v. Correlation
• Manipulation v. Measure
• Validity
• Internal validity v. external validity

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Research StrategiesSummary

• Basic v. Applied
• Which do you prefer?
• Quantitative v. Qualitative
• Which is better?
• Experiment v. Correlational
• Tradeoffs
• Time perspectives
• Short v. Long
• Populations and samples
• census or samples / homo or hetero
• Settings
• lab v. field