PREPARED BY:

MAILLEN GRACE G. QUILALA

INSTRUCTOR
 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
• Research has several purposes:
1. It allows us to escape the
realm of pure speculation
or appeal to authority.
2. It helps us extend and
modify our theories as well
as establish their parsimony
and utility.
METHODS
O B S E R VAT I O N
• Observation is the most basic
and pervasive of all research
methods.
• Experimental, case study, and
naturalistic approaches all
involve making observations of
what someone is doing or has
done.
a. Unsystematic observation
- It includes casual observation of behavior.
- Casual observation does little by itself to establish a strong base of
knowledge and can lead people to erroneous conclusions.
- However, it is through such observation that we develop hypotheses that
can eventually be tested more systematically.
b. Naturalistic observation
- Behavior is observed as it occurs naturally, where the observer does not
interfere in any way.
- Although this is carried out in real-life settings, it is more systematic and
rigorous than unsystematic observation.
c. Controlled observation
- It is likely to be carried out in psychology laboratory.
- While the research may also be carried out in the field or in relatively
natural settings, the investigator exerts some degree of control over the
events.
d. Case Studies
- The case study method involves the intensive study of a client or patient
who is in treatment.
- Under the heading of case studies we include material from interviews,
test responses, and treatment accounts.
- Such material might also include biographical and autobiographical
data, letters, diaries, life-course information, medical histories, and so on.
 EPIDEMIOLOGICAL METHODS
• Epidemiology is the study of the
incidence, prevalence, and distribution
of illness or disease in given
population.
• Incidence refers to the rate of new cases
of illness that develop within a given
period of time.
• Prevalence refers to the overall rate of
cases (old or new) within a given period.
• Historically, epidemiology has been most closely associated with
medical research designed to help and control the major epidemic
diseases.
• Much epidemiological research is based on surveys or interviews.
However, survey and interview data present a number of issues and
potential problems.
➢the respondents may get caught up in the need to say “the right
thing.” They may want to report only socially desirable things and
deny other, less socially desirable experiences.
➢some respondents may be asked to remember things from several
years ago.
C O R R E L AT I O N A L M E T H O D S
• Epidemiology often relies on
correlational methods as it assesses
the correlates (risk factors) of an illness
or disorder.
• These techniques enable us to
determine whether variable X is related
to variable Y. For example, are
particular patient characteristics related
to therapy outcomes?
CROSS-SECTIONAL VERSUS
LONGITUDINAL APPROACHES
• A cross-sectional design is one that evaluates or compares individuals,
perhaps of different age groups, at the same point in time.
• A longitudinal design follows the same subjects over time.
• Cross-sectional approaches are correlational because the investigator
cannot manipulate age nor can participants be assigned to different age
groups.
• Longitudinal studies are those in which we collect data on the same people
over time, wherein they allow us to gain insight into how behavior or mental
processes change with age.
E X P E R I M E N TA L M E T H O D S
• Experimental methods are used to
determine cause-effect relationships
among events.
• Experimental group – consists of
participants who are exposed to a
particular manipulation of the
independent variable.
• Control group – consists of participants
who do not receive any experimental
method.
• Independent variable – one that is supposed to be under the control
of the investigator.
• Dependent variable – one that changes as a result of independent
variable manipulation.
• In experiment, participants must be assigned randomly to
experimental and control groups.
• Between-group design – two separate sets of participants, each of
which receives a different kind of treatment or intervention.
• Within-group design – comparison might be made on the same
patient at different points in time.
• Internal validity – refers to the degree of confidence
that the causal relationship being tested is
trustworthy and not influenced by other factors or
variables.
• External validity – refers to the extent to which
results from a study can be applied (generalized) to
other situations, groups or events.
• The question of generalization of results is
particularly salient for analog studies---studies that
are conducted in the laboratory, where control is
easier to exert, but whose conditions are said to be
“analogous” to real life.
SINGLE-CASE DESIGNS
• Single case design (single subject design) – an evaluation method that can be
used to rigorously test the success of an intervention or treatment on a
particular case (i.e., person, school, community).
• Single case designs bear similarities to experimental and case study methods.
• Single-case studies allow the experimenter to establish cause-effect
relationships.
• Also, one practical reason for using these designs is that it is often extremely
difficult in clinical settings to find enough participants for matching or random
assignment to control groups.
THE ABAB DESIGN
• The ABAB design permits measurement of a treatment’s effectiveness
by systematic observation of changes in the participant’s behavior as
treatment and no-treatment conditions alternate.
• It is called the ABAB design because the initial period (A) is followed
by a treatment period (B), a return to the baseline (A), and then a
second treatment period (B).
• One difficulty with the ABAB procedure is that withdrawing treatment
could pose some ethical problems.
M U LT I P L E B A S E L I N E D E S I G N
• Multiple base design – two or more behaviors are assessed to determine their
initial stable expression and then an intervention or manipulation is applied to
one of the behaviors while the others are unaffected.
• In some cases, it is impossible to use a reversal period as there may be ethical
constraints.
• Also, in clinical research settings, therapists may be unwilling to have their
clients reexperience situations that could reinstate the very behaviors they are
seeking to eradicate.
MIXED DESIGNS
• Experimental and correlational techniques
are sometimes combined to a mixed
design.
• Here, participants who can be divided into
specific populations (e.g., schizophrenic vs.
normal) are assigned as groups to each
experimental condition.
• In this way, variables such as psychosis or
normality are not manipulated or induced
by the investigator.
RESEARCH AND ETHICS
• In 2002, the American Psychological Association published an
expanded and updated set of ethical standards for research with
human participants. These standards require that investigators:
1. Plan and conduct research according to recognized standards of
scientific competence and ethical principles.
2. Obtain informed consent from participants in research
3. Use deception as part of their procedures only when it is not
possible to use alternative methods.
4. Take great care, in offering inducements for research participation, that
the nature of the compensation is made clear and that financial or
other types of inducements are not so excessive as to coerce
participation.
5. Do not fabricate data and give proper credit to others for their
contributions.
6. Inform research participants of the anticipated use of the data and of
the possibility of sharing the data with other investigators or any
unanticipated future uses.
7. Provide participants with information at the close of the research to
erase any misconceptions that may have arisen.
INFORMED CONSENT
• Good ethical practice and requirements demand
that participants give their formal informed consent
(usually in writing) prior to their participation in
research.
• Researchers inform the participants of any risks,
discomforts, or limitation on confidentiality.
• Further, researchers inform the participants of any
compensation for their participation.
• In the process, the researcher agrees to guarantee
the participant’s privacy, safety, and freedom to
withdraw.
 CONFIDENT IALITY
• Participants’ individual data and responses should
be confidential and guarded from public scrutiny.
• Instead of names, code numbers are typically used
to protect anonymity.
• While the results of the research are usually open to
the public, they are presented in such a way that no
one can identify a specific participant ‘s data.
• Clinical psychologists must obtain consent before
disclosing any confidential or personally identifiable
information in the psychologist’s writing, lectures, or
presentations in any other public media.
DECEPT ION
• Deception should be used only when the
research is important and there is no
alternative to the deception.
• When deception is used, extreme care
must be taken that participants do not
leave the research setting feeling
exploited or disillusioned.
• It is important that careful debriefing be
undertaken so that participants are
exactly why the deception was necessary.
 DEBRIEFING
• Because the participants have a right to know why
researchers are interested in studying their behavior,
a debriefing at the end of the research is mandatory.
• It should be explained to participants why the
research is being carried out, why it is important, and
what the results have been.
• In some cases, it is not possible to discuss results
because the research is still in progress.
• But subjects can be told what kinds of results are
expected and that they may return at a later date for
a complete briefing if they wish.
F R A U D U L E N T DA T A
• It hardly seems necessary to mention that investigators
are under the strictest standards of honesty in reporting
their data.
• Under no circumstances may they alter obtained data in
any way.
• To do so can bring charges of fraud and create
enormous legal, professional, and ethical problem for
the investigator.
• Although the frequency of fraud in psychological
research has so far been minimal, we must be on guard.