Module I

LESSON 2: Doing Psychological Research

Things you should accomplish!

1. Explain the utility of learning about research

methods in social psychology
2. Explain how operational definitions are used to test
conceptual variables. Summarize self-report and
observational research practices, including
advantages and disadvantages of each. Define
construct validity and interrater reliability.
3. Explain the usefulness of archival studies and
surveys. Define random sampling, and explain its
importance.
4. Contrast correlational research with descriptive
research. Define correlational coefficient, and explain
what it means to say that two variables are negatively
correlated, positively correlated, or uncorrelated.
Differentiate concurrent and prospective
correlations. Summarize the advantages and an
important disadvantage of correlational research.
5. Explain the importance of control and random
assignment in experimental research. Differentiate
random sampling from random assignment, and
laboratory experiments from field experiments.
6. Define the following terms associated with
experimental research: independent variable,
dependent variable, subject variable, main effect, and
interaction.
7. Explain the importance of statistical significance,
internal validity, and external validity. Describe
deception, and the use of confederate. Define meta-
analysis.
8. Discuss the function of ethics in social psychological
research. Describe the roles of institutional review
boards, informed consent, and debriefing in
protecting the welfare of human participants.
Summarize the competing points of view about the
role of values in science.

Module I
5 BASIC ISSUES OR PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH
1. Learning about social psychology research methods should
enable you to better understand the material presented in the
textbook, as well as to improve your reasoning about real-life
events.
2. The research process in social psychology begins with coming up
with ideas, asking questions about one’s social world, and
searching the relevant literature to determine what research has
already been done on these issues. Social psychologists develop
testable hypotheses and theories. An important aspect of social
psychological hypotheses and theories is that they can be put on
to the test and eventually improved upon. Social psychologists
test their hypotheses and theories both in basic and applied
settings.
3. A challenging part of the research process is developing specific
definitions and measurements of social psychological variables.
Researchers typically begin with rather vague, abstract
conceptualizations of the variables of interest and eventually
make them more concrete and specific. Researchers may
measure variables using self-report or observational techniques;
each of these approaches has its strengths and potential
weaknesses.
4. Social psychological researches use descriptive, correlational,
experimental, and meta-analytic methods to test their ideas. The
goal of descriptive research is to describe people and their
behavior. Correlational research examines the association
between variables. Experimental research examines the cause-
and-effect relationship between variables. Research analyze the
results of their research and evaluate the research in terms of
internal and external validity. Meta-analysis involves using
statistical techniques to combine results of a number of other
studies that have already been conducted.
5. Ethical issues must always be considered when research is
conducted. In social psychology, the use of deception can be of
particular ethical concern. Through institutional review boards,
informed consent, and debriefing, social psychologists try to
ensure the welfare of their research participants. The issue of
values is also important in social psychological research. There
are differences in opinion about whether social psychological
research-like other research-can or even be value free.

Module I
 KEY TERM EXERCISE: CONCEPTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
To help you better understand these concepts, rather
than just memorize them, write a definition for each term
in your own words.

Key Terms
1. Internal validity
2. theory
3. debriefing
4. experimental realism
5. correlational research
6. dependent variables
7. mundane realism
8. interrater reliability
9. meta-analysis
10. hypothesis
11. experiment
12. random sampling
13. basic research
14. experimenter expectancy effects
15. random assignment
16. subject variables
17. deception
18. external validity
19. correlation coefficient
20. informed consent
21. independent variables
22. construct validity
23. applied research
24. confederates
25. operational definition
26. main effect
27. interaction

Module I