Research Methods

1. Experimental research
2. Correlational research
3. Descriptive research Non- Experimental research

3.1 Survey research

4. Quasi Experimental Research

I. Experimental Research Design
 Strengths
 Can tease out cause and effect
 Allows for strict control of variables
 Weaknesses
 Many questions may not be able to be answered using this
method – i.v. cannot be varied (e.g. sex, age, birth order,
effects of child abuse)
 May be artificial and limited
 Causal effects may not hold when the complexity of actual
human behavior is considered
 Involves brief exposures and may miss important processes
that occur over time
 I. Experimental Research Design
Allows us to determine cause and effect

Defining characteristics:
1. Manipulation of variables
 Independent variable
 Dependent variable
2. Experimental control of other variables
3. Random assignment to groups
Example from the news/class activity
 EXAMPLE 1:
 "MARRIAGE SLOWS CANCER DEATHS"
 Evidence that married people have a better
chance of surviving cancer than do singles
means that the unmarried might be good
targets for cancer-prevention programs.
Married people with cancer had a 23% higher
overall survival rate than the unmarried.
 Another example
 Example 2:
 Children who are aggressive tend to watch a
higher proportion of violent television than
children who are not highly violent or
aggressive
 II. Non-Experimental Research
 Describing the collected data about such
subject and determining their relationships or
connections with one another.
 No treatment or condition.
 There is a measuring of variables.
 Deals with both Qualitative and Quantitative
data.
 When to conduct Non-
Experimental Research
 When the researcher desires to discover
people’s thoughts, views, feelings and attitudes
about a certain societal issue, object, place, or
event.
 Characteristics of Non
Experimental Research
 It is incapable of establishing cause-effect
relationships; by itself.
 Involves various ways of data analysis:
1. Primary – analysis of data collected by the researcher
himself.
2. Secondary – examination of data collected bu other
people
3. Meta- analysis- analysis of data expressed
numerically.
 Characteristics of Non
Experimental Research
 It uses research method that is applicable to
both quantitative and qualitative data.
 It collects data through survey, observation,
historical studies, case studies, documentary
analysis, and so on.

Suter, 2012 ; Sarantakos, 2013

 Correlational Design
= a study that assesses the extent to which two
variables are related
 Defines the relationship in quantitative terms
 Correlational (“co-related”)

When one variable changes in value, what

happens to the other variable?
 Correlation Example
Is there a relationship between self-esteem and GPA?

1. Need to have different levels of my first variable:

self-esteem

Very high self-esteem -------- ?

Moderately high self-esteem--?
Average self-esteem -----------?
Moderately low self-esteem --?
Very low self-esteem ----------?
 Correlation Example
Raw Data:
Self-esteem score GPA
Tim 42 3.8
Bart 10 1.4
Kelsey 15 2.5
Kim 22 3.1
Etc.
 Correlation Example
See scatterplot of data

Self-esteem and GPA data

3.5

2.5
GPA

2 Series1

1.5

0.5

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
self-esteem
 Direction of Correlation
 Scatterplot showed a positive correlation
 As one variable increased, the second variable also increased
 As self-esteem goes up, academic achievement also goes up
 Think of some examples of positively correlated variables

 Negative (inverse) correlation

 As on variable increases, the second variable decreases (i.e. one gets
bigger, the other gets smaller)
 As amount of alcohol intake increases, motor control decreases
 Think of examples of negatively correlated variables

= direction of the correlation

 Strength of Correlation
How strongly related are the two variables of
interest?
 the “sloppiness” of association
 Degree of accuracy with which you can make a
prediction about 2nd variable given value of the
first variable
 Ranges from -1 to 1
 -1 and 1 are very strong (perfect) correlations
 0 is no correlation; no relationship
Correlation – strength and direction
 Correlation Example
 High Self-esteem and GPA

Does (A) lead to (B)? Or is the other way around? Or, are
there other factors that lead to both (A) and (B)?

 Two independent carefully conducted studies found that there

is no causal relationship between these two factors. They are
correlated because both of them are correlated to some other
factors: intelligence and family social status.

 **Correlations do NOT tell us that one variable CAUSES the

other variable.
 Correlational research
 Strengths
 Can study a broad range of variables
 Can look at multiple variables at one time
 Large samples are easily obtained
 Weaknesses
 Relationships established are associational, not causal
 Individuals not studies in-depth
 Potential problems with reliability and validity of self-
report measures
 Descriptive
Research Design
Meaning
Descriptive research methods are used when the researcher
wants to describe specific behavior as it occurs in the
environment. There are a variety of descriptive research
methods available, the nature of the question that needs to
be answered drives which method is used. It does not
answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics
occurred. Rather it addresses the "what" question (what are
the characteristics of the population or situation being
studied?).
The characteristics used to describe the situation or
population are usually some kind of categorical scheme also
known as descriptive categories. Eg: Periodic Table.
Types of Descriptive
Research
Observational Method

Case Study Method

Survey Method
Survey Method
• The most used non-experimental research
in the field of Sociology, Psychology, and
Humanities.
 Purposes of Survey Research
1. To obtain information about people’s
opinions, and feelings about an issue.
2. To identify present condition, needs, or
problems of people in a short span of time.
3. To seek answers to social problems.
Survey Method
A survey is defined as a brief interview or
discussion with individuals about a specific
topic. Survey research is often used to assess
thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Survey
research can be specific and limited, or it can
have more global, widespread goals.
A survey consists of a predetermined set of
questions that is given to a sample. With a
representative sample, that is, one that is
representative of the larger population of
interest, one can describe the attitudes of
the population from which the sample was
drawn.
3 Techniques of Survey Research are:
 Questionnaires

 Interviews

 Survey
 Techniques of Survey
Research
Questionnaires Interviews Survey
• A series of • Questions • Brief interviews
written posed to an and discussions
questions a individual to with individuals
participant obtain about a specific
answers. information topic.
about him or
• This method • A survey is a quick
her.
gathers interview, with
responses to • This type of the surveyor
questions that survey is like a asking only a few
are essay or job interview, questions.
agree/neutral/di with one
sagree style. person asking
another a load
of questions.
Quasi-Experimental
Design
 Definition of Experimental
Design
 A structured, organized method
 To determine whether some program or treatment
causes some outcome or outcomes to occur.
 If X, then Y
 Because there may be lots of reasons, other than
the program, for why you observed the outcome,
 If not X, then not Y needs to be addressed, too
 Process of Experimental Design
 To show that there is a casual relationship,
 Two “equivalent” groups
 The program or treatment group gets the program
 The comparison or control group does not
 The groups are treated the same in all other respects
 Differences in outcomes between two groups must
be due to “the program”
 A Key Point of Experimental
Design
 How do we create two groups that are
“equivalent”?
 Assign people randomly from a common pool of
people into the two groups
 The experiment relies on the idea of “random
assignment” to obtain two similar groups.
 A key to the success of the experiment

 Assume that two groups are “probabilistically

equivalent”
 Types of Designs
Is random assignment used?
No
Yes

Randomized or
Is there a control group or
True experiment multiple measures?
Yes No

Quasi-experiment Non-experiment
 Quasi-Experimental Design
 Similar to the experimental design, but lacks
the key ingredient, “random assignment”
 Easily and more frequently implemented
 Extensively used in the social sciences
 A useful method for measuring social variables
 Strengths of Quasi-Experimental
Design
 Useful in generating results for general trends
in social sciences
 Difficult pre-selection and randomization of
groups
 Easily integrated with individual case studies
 Generated results can reinforce the findings in a
case study
 Allow statistical analysis to take place
 Enable to reduce the time and resources
required for experimentation
 Not required extensive pre-screening and
randomization
 Weaknesses of Quasi-Experimental
Design
 Without proper randomization, statistical tests
can be meaningless
 Do not explain any pre-existing factors and
influences outside of the experiment
 The researcher needs to control additional factors that
may have affected the results
 Some form of pre-testing or random selection may be
necessary to explain statistical results thoroughly
 Quasi-experiments vs. Non-
experiments to address similar
questions
 Both designs are applicable when the subjects are not able
to be randomized
 Some variables cannot ethically be randomized
 e.g. Studying the effect of maternal alcohol use when the mother is
pregnant

Quasi-experiments Non-experiments

Enable to compare with Enable to focus on one

Strengths other groups variable

Unexpected factors might Interpretations might be

Weaknesses affect the results improper
 Time-Series
 A time series design is one in which the
researcher observes or tests one group of
subjects repeatedly both before and after the
administration of treatment. This type of
design is chosen when attempting to
demonstrate long term effects.
 Time Series
 For example, if a school district wanted to
examine the effects of a new curriculum on
standardized test scores, it would be useful to
examine the yearly test scores for a period of
years both before and after the adoption of the
new curriculum. Examination of several years
of test scores prior to the new curriculum helps
establish a baseline that can be compared with
results over time following the treatment.
 Must Remember:
 Quasi-experimental research involves the manipulation of an
independent variable without the random assignment of
participants to conditions or orders of conditions.
 Categorize
 I randomly assign children with behavior problems to
two types of play groups: one group is structured and
organized and the other group has no rules. I measure
the number of aggressive behaviors in each group.
 What type of research is this?
 What are the independent and dependent variables?
 Does the type of research change if I look at children
with behavior problems and compare them to
children without behavior problems?
 Categorize
 Over the course of several years, I interview
three adolescents who live in poverty. I am
interested in the impact that poverty has on
their lives.
 What type of study?
 Sources:
 Jung Eun Hong (2009)
 Baraceros, E. (2016)