Introduction to Research

Methods in Psychology
Designing Observational Research For Your Report

Dr Paul Faulkner
 Overview

We will discuss…

The various methods in observational research

Your observational research report (due 14/12/18)

 Experimental vs Non-Experimental Research

Experimental research requires exerting control

Experimenters assign subjects to groups and ‘manipulate’ a variable
e.g. Administering a drug - ‘manipulate’ who receives the drug
e.g. Alter the difficulty of a cognitive task

Non-experimental research allows for much less control

Experimenters don’t assign subjects to groups or manipulate variables
Instead they simply observe naturally-occurring behaviours
 Observational Research

The researcher observes behaviour without influencing it

Goals:
To describe behaviour as it naturally occurs
To assess relationships among visible variables
e.g. Do young people spend more time on their
phones than old people?
 Observational Research

There are four main approaches to observational research:

1. Naturalistic observation
2. Participant-observer research
3. Structured observation
4. Field Experiments
 Overview

Observational Research

Participant- Structured Field

Naturalistic
observer observation experiments
 Overview

Observational Research

1.
Participant- Structured Field
Naturalistic
observer observation experiments
 1. Naturalistic Observation

Observing natural phenomena that cannot be created in a lab, for

practical or ethical reasons

The effects can be observed when such events occur naturally

e.g. ‘Where do paths in the snow go?’

 Naturalistic Observation - Example

Observe the interactions between students and the lecturer

in a class setting

Performing this research in a laboratory, experimental setting

would likely influence the behaviour of the subjects

By observing these interactions in the natural setting (i.e. a real-life

classroom), you can get a better look at them
 Naturalistic Observation – Psychology Example

The effect of early childhood isolation on later psychological

development

We cannot isolate children from others to study them

- Unethical

But we can use naturalistic observation when we discover such cases

 Naturalistic Observation – More Examples

Candland (1993): Descriptions of feral children (raised outside

human cultures)

Curtiss (1977): Case studies of children subjected to unusual

isolation by parents (e.g., Genie)

Spitz (1965): Observation of institutionalized children. Showed

effects of deprivation of stimulation during infancy and early
childhood
 Overview

Observational Research

2.
Participant- Structured Field
Naturalistic
observer observation experiments
 2. Participant Observer Research

Here the observer joins a group for the purpose of studying group
members

Undisguised vs Disguised

Why have a disguised observation?

To access all behaviours and situations

Potential cost to objectivity when interpreting results!

 Overview

Observational Research

3.
Participant- Structured Field
Naturalistic
observer observation experiments
 Structured Observation Research

Researcher exerts some control

Solomon Asch studies on conformity (VIDEO -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDDyT1lDhA)

Eleanor Gibson’s visual cliff studies

 Overview

Observational Research

4.
Participant- Structured Field
Naturalistic
observer observation experiments
 Field Experiment

Researcher manipulates one or more variables in a natural setting to

determine the effect on behaviour

Experimenter is exerting the most amount of control possible in a natural

setting

E.g.: Crusco & Wetzel (1984) - effect of touching on restaurant customers

 Field Experiment
Crusco & Wetzel (1984) - effect of touching on restaurant customers

Compared No Touch with Fleeting Touch and Shoulder Touch conditions

Independent Variable: ‘Touch type’ was the independent variable

Dependent Variable: Tip amount

Men tipped more than women

Both men and women tipped more after being touched during their meal.
Your Report
 Your Report

1500-word scientific report

Sections:
1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. References
 Your Observational Report

For the ‘Quantitative’ aspect of this module, you will submit a report
1500 words
I will explain the structure in the next lecture
Due by December 14th 2018, @2pm

This will detail an ‘Observational’ study that you will perform

 Your Observational Study

Must be Naturalistic observational research:

Must not involve any kind of interaction with those being observed

You must not use a questionnaire or engage in questioning participants

There must be no interaction whatsoever

You are limited to observations of public behaviour

We will analyse the data using the Chi-Square Test of Association

 Your Research Question:

You must devise a question that surrounds smoking behaviours

Remember that your research question is maybe the most

important part of the research process

Bad question = pointless research study

 Your Research Question: Chi-Square Test

Question must be answerable by using a Chi-Square Test

Construct two categorical variables (one is smokers/non-smokers)

The other categorical variable is up to you
Each categorical variable should have two-levels
 How To Answer Your Question: Observational Study

Permitted locations: You must collect data off University grounds

You may not collect data on any private or commercially-owned

property

You must collect data in groups or pairs at all times

YOU MUST NOT COLLECT DATA ALONE
 Data Collection

As a group, you should obtain 80+ observations (each cell must

contain at least 10 observations)

You must have collected all data by next week’s class so that you can
analyse it in the workshop that week

Before collecting data, you will need to agree on a coding system to

ensure consistency in your data collection
 Designing Your Study In The Workshops

In the workshops you will discuss:

The aims for your research project

The methodology of your project
The location for data collection
Construct your contingency table
How you decide whether somebody is a smoker
Discuss ethical implications
Hypotheses
 Ethical Points

British Psychological Society (BPS) guidelines

‘Unless informed consent has been obtained, restrict research based upon
observations of public behaviour to those situations in which persons being studied
would reasonably expect to be observed by stranger, with reference to local cultural
values and to the privacy of persons who, even while in a public space, may believe
they are unobserved’ (BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct 2009, pg13)

Projects must therefore NOT involve any kind of interaction

 You should now…

… know the various methods used in observational research

… be able to design an observational research methods

… understand a little more about the research report (due 14/12/18)

… start designing your observational research project for this report

Thanks for listening!

Any questions?