A.

TOPIC CONTENT/NOTES
LECTURE 2

METHODS OF STUDY IN PSYCHOLOGY

2.1 Introduction

In the previous lecture, we defined psychology and discussed how it

developed into a true science with its own methods of study. In this
lecture, we are going to discuss some of the methods that have

contributed to the knowledge we have in psychology today. The methods

that we are going to discuss are experimental and non-experimental

methods.

2.2 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lecture you should be able to:

• Differentiate between various methods of studying behaviour.

• Give the advantages and disadvantages of various methods of

studying human behaviour.

• Discuss some of the ethical considerations to be made when

studying human behaviour.

• Apply various methods of study in the investigations of

problems in the profession of a police.

2.3 Experimental Research

What is experimental research? Weiten (1989:38) defines experimental

research as a “Method in which the investigator manipulates a variable

under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether there are

changes in a second variable as a result”. Through an experiment a

researcher is able to isolate a single factor and examine its effect on a

particular behaviour. Let us look at some of the major components of

experimental research.

The Hypothesis

Research in psychology begins by formulating a hypothesis which is an

educated or informed guess or a possible explanation for a behaviour

being studied. It is usually expressed as a prediction or a statement of

cause and effect. A scientific hypothesis is based on facts and theories

that have been gathered and investigated by previous researchers. A

theory is an interrelated set of concepts that is developed in an attempt

to explain a body of data and generate testable hypotheses (Huffman,

Vernoy, M. and Vernoy, J., 1995). A hypothesis is posed in a way that

indicates how the results can be measured. It may or may not be correct

because it is just a possible explanation of behaviour. Thus, it is subject to

proof/verification through scientific study. For example, there is a

relationship between a police officer’s morale and performance at the

work place.

Learning Activity:

Give more relevant examples of hypotheses.

Variables

A variable is a factor that may vary or change. It can assume more than

one value, for example factors such as, weight, height, scores on a test,
motivation, and so on. An independent variable is the factor that is

selected and manipulated by an experimenter and is independent of

anything the subject does. The experimenter can vary it as he thinks is

necessary in terms of what he wants to achieve. The second variable is the

dependent variable. Dependent variable refers to a measurable

behaviour or outcome exhibited by the subject and is affected by the

independent variable. In other words, its value is dependent on the

independent variable. It is what you measure after varying or

manipulating the independent variable. For example, let us assume that

the level of professional training of police officers have a direct effect on

their performance in law enforcement. The level of training would be the

independent variable whereas the performance in the battle field would

be the dependent variable.

Learning Activities:

Give a definition and examples of the following components of

experimental research:

• Hypothesis

• Dependent, independent and extraneous variables

• Experimental controls
The third type of variables is extraneous variable, that is, factors that may

influence the results if they are not adequately controlled. In the example

given, such factors would include intelligence, age, past experience and
fatigue. Extraneous variables get in the way of the study and make it look

as though we found what we expected, even though we did not. They

confound (confuse) the results.

Experimental Controls

In an experiment, the researcher randomly assigns subjects to

experimental and control groups. The experimental group receives

treatment with the aim of discovering whether the treatment has a

predictable effect on some outcome or behaviour (dependent variable).

The control group (non-treatment group) does not receive such treatment

so as to ensure that any changes in the dependent variable are due to the
treatment administered. The two groups are expected to have similar

attributes or characteristics. The effect of the treatment is assessed by

comparing the two groups after treatment is given to the experimental

group.

2.4 Non-Experimental Research Methods

What are the non-experimental research techniques and what are their

advantages and disadvantages? Sometimes it may not be feasible for

ethical or practical reasons to study behaviour experimentally. For this

reason, a number of non-experimental techniques have been devised.

These include naturalistic observations, surveys, case studies and

correlational studies. Although none of these techniques can be used to

determine cause and effect in behaviour beyond doubt, they are useful in

determining relationships between variables and in providing information

vital to make predictions about future behaviour.

Learning Activity:

List the risks of carrying out a study to find out how confinement of an

innocent person to jail could affect behavior.

Naturalistic Observation

Naturalistic observation involves observing subjects without interfering

with their natural situations or environments. For example, observing the

behaviour of police officers manning a road block. The researcher,

systematically records the behaviour of the subjects in their natural state

or habitat. The subjects should not detect that they are being observed

or studied because their behaviour becomes unnatural when they know

that they are being observed. However, in other cases the observer may
interact with the subjects being observed in which case the behaviour may

change and consequently lower the reliability of the findings.

Learning Activity:

Make an observation checklist that you can use to differentiate between

an innocent and a guilty suspect.
Survey Research Method

In this method, a relatively large number of cases are studied in less depth.

In a survey, the subjects are asked specific questions about their behaviour
or opinion, attitudes etc. Although a small portion of the population is

studied, a careful survey can provide accurate information about how the

large group of people feel about a particular issue. For example, one can
conduct a survey to find out how Kenyans feel about the behavior of police

officers, free education, and examination system.

This method employs various techniques of data collection such as

telephone, questionnaires and interviews.

Learning Activities:
Respond to the following survey questions:

i. Have you ever solicited for a bribe? YES/NO

ii. Have you ever lied to you partner? YES/NO

iii. Have you ever forced a suspect to give evidence? YES/NO

iv. Why would a suspect be tempted to give false information?

In a survey, it is important that the sample used is representative of the

target population to which the results are going to be generalized.

Case Study Method

A case study involves an in-depth or detailed investigation of a single

research subject or a limited number of subjects. In a case study, many

aspects of a subject are studied in detail in order to account for the

possible causes and effects of the behaviour under investigation. For

example, you may conduct a case study to find out why police officers go

wild and kill themselves. In your study, you may try to gather information
about his/her home background, intellectual ability, professional habits

and skills, peer influence, motivation, interests and aspirations and so on.

Another good example is that of studying the behaviour of a police officer

suffering from work related trauma.

Correlational Studies

What is involved in the correlational method of studying behaviour? A

correlation study involves finding out the extend to which two sets of

variables or factors are related. Correlation refers to the relationship

between variables. It looks at whether two variables are correlated or

associated and provides information about cause-and-effect. The

correlation between the two sets of variables is indicated by means of a

correlation coefficient (numerical index of the degree of relationship

between two variables) which may be either positive or negative. A

correlation coefficient of zero indicates lack of relationship between the

two sets of variables. A positive correlation ranges from 0 to +1.0, whereas

a negative one ranges from 0 to –1.0. A correlation coefficient of +1.0

indicates perfect positive relationship. A correlation coefficient of –1.0

indicates perfect negative relationship. The method of calculating

correlation coefficient will be discussed in a different module in the course

of your study. However, if you are interested on how it is done, you can

refer to any statistics book.

A positive correlation implies that scores of both variables increases

correspondingly as opposed to negative correlation in which an increase

in scores of one variable means a decrease in scores of the other variable.

For example, a positive correlation would be expected between:

• level of training and efficiency of the police force.

• high morale and the efficiency of the police force

• performance in Kenya Certificate of Education (K.C.S.E.) examination

and academic performance in police science programme.

• learning facilities and academic performance.

• level of education and one’s income.

• Condition of working environment and job satisfaction.

Learning Activity:

List as many factors as possible that may correlate positively with

criminal behavior.

On the other hand, a negative correlation may be expected between:

• Low morale and the efficiency of the police force.

• Indiscipline and academic performance.

• Cost of education and learners’ dropout. This implies that the higher

the cost of education the bigger the number of children who will drop

out of school.
An example of a situation where you may expect zero correlation would

be between a policeman’s height and accuracy in shooting. This means

that one’s knowledge about a policeman’s height cannot be used to

predict his/her accuracy in shooting. However, a correlation between two

variables does not necessarily imply that one variable causes the other. A

third variable that was not taken into account may have contributed to the
observed relationship.

2.5 Ethics in Psychological Research

Why should study in psychology be governed by various ethics?

Psychologists mostly use human beings in their investigations.

Experiments involving human beings may often entail exposing them to

painful, stressful or unpleasant experiences. The nature of a research may

expose subjects to risk or negatively affect the lives of the research

participants. For example, it would be unethical to conduct experiments

to find out how false accusation and confinement can affect a person.

To deal with problem of ethics in research, organizations such as the

American Psychological Association (APA) have developed a code of

ethics for research in order to protect the subjects and avoid violating

human rights.

Some of the ethical considerations are:

• The right to privacy: Subjects have a right to conceal information about

themselves that they feel may be sensitive and private. To safeguard

the privacy of subjects, the researcher should obtain consent for

 participation from adults and consent from parents or teachers for

children.

• The right to non-participation: A subject has the right to decline or

discontinue from participating in a research at any time.

• The right to remain anonymous: Subjects have the right to insist that

their identities be concealed. The identities of participants should not

be a salient feature of the research. To ensure this, researchers focus

their interest in group data rather than individual data. Subjects can

also be identified by numbers rather than by names.

• The right to confidentiality: Participants have a right to insist that data

collected from them be treated with confidentiality. To ensure this,

researchers should list data by numbers rather than by names and

destroy the original questionnaires as soon as the study is completed.

• The right to be protected from physical or psychological harm: The

researcher should be sensitive to human dignity. He/she should ensure

that subjects are not hurt by their participation.

• The researcher should be open and honest to the participants. If the

study requires concealment or deception, the investigator should

explain to the subjects the reasons for this action and make an attempt

to correct any undesirable consequences on the side of the

participants.

Psychologists who conduct research on animals are supposed to ensure

that animals are not subjected to unnecessary suffering unless the

research findings are going to alleviate human suffering.