Chapter 1
Research Methods
![The Scientific Method](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11018.jpg)
Research is what makes the difference between facts and opinions. Facts are observable realities, and opinions are personal judgments, conclusions,…
![Case Studies](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11019.jpg)
There are many research methods available to psychologists in their efforts to understand, describe, and explain behavior and the cognitive and…
![Surveys](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11021.jpg)
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be…
![Archival Research](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11022.jpg)
Some researchers gain access to large amounts of data without interacting with a single research participant. Instead, they use existing records to…
![Cross-Sectional Research](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11024.jpg)
In cross-sectional research, a researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time. If they were interested in people's…
![Group Design](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11025.jpg)
The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same…
![The Placebo Effect](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11027.jpg)
The placebo effect occurs when people's expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation. In other words,…
![Blind Procedures](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11028.jpg)
Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in…
![Correlations](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11030.jpg)
Correlation means that there is a relationship between two or more variables (such as ice cream consumption and crime), but this relationship does…
![Cause and Effect](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11031.jpg)
While variables are sometimes correlated because one does cause the other, it could also be that some other factor, a confounding variable, is…
![Regression Toward the Mean](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11033.jpg)
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood…
![Measures of Central Tendency](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/11034.jpg)
The "center" of a data set is also a way of describing location. The two most widely used measures of the "center" of the data…
![The Simple Experiment: Two-group Design](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/10056.jpg)
The Simple Experiment: Two-group Design
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Source: Laboratories of Gary Lewandowski, Dave Strohmetz, and Natalie Ciarocco—Monmouth University
A two-group design is the simplest way to…
![Placebos in Research](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/10032.jpg)
Source: Laboratories of Gary Lewandowski, Dave Strohmetz, and Natalie Ciarocco—Monmouth University
Clinical research focuses on the efficacy…