Steps in the Research Process

1. Define the Problem and review Literature and Theories

2. Select a Theory and formulate Hypothesis

3. Select Scientific Method

Select Research Design

Obtain approval

Sampling

4. Collect Data

5. Analyze Data and interpret Results

6. Report Research Findings

Initiation of further Research ==>

Methods in Social Psychology

The logic of an empirical study

Deduction: conclude from the general (abstract) to the concrete (specific)

Induction: conclude from the concrete to the general

Theory: abstract

Hypothesis: more concrete

Observation: concrete

We deduce hypothesis from theories.

Testing theories we compare hypothesis with actual observations.

If we find one actual observation that contradicts our hypothesis, our theory is falsified.

overhead

A Theory has to:

be empirical,

fallible,

follow a causal or explanatory framework,

and has to be general.

Empirical: must refer to phenomena of the real world. Things must be observable

Fallible: must be formulated that it can be disconfirmed (Popper).

Causal or explanatory: a framework has to provide a logical explanation. Theories have to be predictive in the sense that they provide cause-and-effect sequences

General: the statement concerns a general class of people: e.g. why do teenagers commit suicide. Not: why did Herbert commit suicide?

If a theory fulfills these four prerequisites it is considered as correct as long no empirical counterevidence is found.

• Theories can only be disconfirmed with counterevidence
• Strictly speaking, they are not confirmed by supporting evidence

overhead

Variables and their relationships

Independent variable: x

Dependent variable: y

Causal relationship: x =>y

Intervening variable (z):  x => z => y

Reciprocal relationship: x => y and y => x

Examples

Intervening variable:  occupational achievement of fathers (x) correlates with the occupational level of sons (y) though the intervening variable of education (z)

Reciprocal relationship:  we form our environment, and our environment influences us.

Overhead

Potential problem with misinterpretation of

non-causal relationships

Stork – Babies example

z: the region (urban versus rural), influences both,

x: number of storks and

y: number of birth

causal or genuine relation between z and x

z => x

causal or genuine relation between z and y

z => y

spurious association between x and y

Main Methods in Social Psychology

1. Experiments
2. Field Research
3. Surveys

overhead

1. Experiments:

we systematically vary the independent variable (x) and

observe the changes in the dependent variable (y)

A) Laboratory Experiments

B) Field Experiment

Example of a laboratory experiment : Milgram experiment

Cover story for the subject:

learning experiment, where the subject is the teacher who has to apply electric shocks to a student.

Reality: A person exercises authority over the subject to punish the student who, in reality, is an actor.

independent variable: social distance of authority figure

dependent variable: shock intensity given by the subject

Overhead

Milgram Experiment

“The authority system at work in the laboratory is less persuasive than the prepotent system embodied in the totalitarian structures of Stalin and Hitler, in which subordinates were profoundly submerged in their roles”(p.155).

“The laboratory experiment takes an hour, the Nazi calamity unfolds over more than a decade. Is the obedience observed in the laboratory in any way comparable to that seen in Nazi Germany?”(p.175).

Milgram, Stanley. 1974.  Obedience to Authority: An experimental View. New York: Harper & Row.

overhead

Laboratory experiments

• Maximum control over the variation of the independent variable.
• Control over the selection of subjects

Cons:

• No natural environment
• Demand characteristics of the experimental situation
• Subject effects
• Experimenter effects

B. Field Experiment

Example: The impact of TV adds can be tested with cable T.V., and credit card information.

• Independent Variable: One part of the population receives a specific TV add.

• Dependent Variable: people's buying behavior

• Control: buying behavior of people people who have not seen the add
  
  

Field Experiment

Pro:

• Natural environment
• Phenomena can be researched that cannot or should not be replicated in laboratory settings. 

Con:

• The independent variable is hard to control.
• Intervening variables are harder to control.

Field Study: Participant Observation

• stresses the understanding of a phenomena

• explorative, rather than cause-effect related as the typical laboratory experiment

Examples: Whyte's study of the Norton gang. Humphreys' study of sexual behavior in public restrooms 

Surveys

2. phone versus face-to-face

4. open ended versus structured

Back to the homepage of Dr. Andreas Schneider http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider/

Disclaimer: The documents linked to other sources on the WWW, others than http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider/ ,  http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Schneider2/ and its subdirectories, do not necessarily express the views of Texas Tech University or Dr. Schneider. @Copyright 2008 Andreas Schneider