Understanding Investigation Design and Data Types

In Psychology there are two different ways to conduct an investigation.

Experimental: Manipulating the Independent Variable with random allocation of the participants to group by the investigator.

Observational: The investigator observes peoples as they are in their natural setting. They cannot apply an Independent Variable.

In Psychology, the data you obtain can be QUALITATIVE or QUANTITATIVE.

In Psychology, the data you obtain can be OBJECTIVE or SUBJECTIVE.

Objective: The data is not based on someone’s opinion. All investigators would obtain the same result or measurement.

Subjective: The data is based on someone’s individual opinion or experience.

Read through the following experimental designs and decide which design is being used, and what type of data will be obtained.

Scenario #1: The experimenter places the participants into two groups: those that consume sugar and those that do not. The heart rate of
participants is measured after periods of exercise.

Experimental or Observational Qualitative or Quantitative Objective or Subjective

Scenario #2: The psychologist investigates the effect of excessive video gaming on memory. He invites students who play video games
for more than 4 hours a day to take part in the investigation. He asks them to record their perceived level of memory on a numbered scale.

Experimental or Observational Qualitative or Quantitative Objective or Subjective

Scenario #3: The experimenter wants to investigate the effect of praise on self-esteem. He divides the participants into two groups; one
group that receives praise and one group that does not. After a week he interviews participants about their self-esteem and self-worth.

Experimental or Observational Qualitative or Quantitative Objective or Subjective

Scenario #4: A psychologist is interested in animal behaviour. She goes to the local zoo and records how many times the lions engage in
playful behaviour over a two-hour period.

Experimental or Observational Qualitative or Quantitative Objective or Subjective

Scenario #5: A psychologist enters a kindergarten to investigate the violent behaviour in pre-school children. She determines which
children are the most violent and verbally interviews them about why they partake in this violent behaviour.

Experimental or Observational Qualitative or Quantitative Objective or Subjective

Scenario #6: A psychologist conducts focus groups to gain information about opinions on Tony Abbott’s effectiveness as leader of
Australia. The opinions given are based on participant’s past experiences with politics and their personal opinion. In each focus group,
there is a scribe who records notes of the discussion.

Experimental or Observational Qualitative or Quantitative Objective or Subjective

Scenario #7: A teacher is interested in the attitudes of her students towards her Psychology class. She watches the students carefully
over the course of the lesson and decides which ones are looking bored. She records how many students appear disengaged.

Experimental or Observational Qualitative or Quantitative Objective or Subjective