nonexperimental

DES
Alt
IG
er
N
natives to Experimentation
 Nonexperimental Approaches
are used in situations in which an experiment
is not practical or desirable.

Nonexperimental Methods
are used to study behaviors in natural
settings (child playing) to explore unique or
rare occurrences or to sample personal
information.
DESCRIBING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
The Degree of Manipulation of Antecedent Conditions:
theoretically varies from low to high, from letting things
happen as they will to setting up carefully controlled
conditions.

The Degree of Imposition of Units:

refers to the extent to which the researcher constrains,
or limits, the responses a subject may contribute to the
data
DESCRIBING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
 5 common nonexperimental
approaches

1. Phenomenology
2. Case Studies
3. Field Studies
4. Archival Studies
5. Qualitative Studies
phenomenology
is the description of an individuals
immediate experience. Rather than
looking at the behaviors and events
that are external to us, we begin with
personal experience as a source of
data
EXAMPLES OF PHENOMENOLOGY

Johannes Purkinje was interested in the physiology of

vision and he noticed that colors seemed to change as
twilight deepened; red appeared black but blue retained
its hue.

In his Principles of Psychology, William James dealt with

basic psychological issues, including habits, emotions,
and consciousness, and the stream of thoughts.
This type of approach precludes experimental
manipulation, comparison of behaviors is not
required, we simply attend to our own
experience.
 LIMITATIONS

Phenomenology cannot be used to understand

the cause of behavior. It describes, but cannot
explain the occurrence of behaviors.
case study
is a descriptive record of a single
individual’s experiences or behaviors,
kept by an outside observer. Like
phenomenology, this method involves
no manipulation of antecedent
conditions.
5 Major purposes of case studies
(kazdin 2003)

1. They are sources of inferences, hypotheses, and theories.

2. They are a source for developing therapy techniques
3. They allow the study of rare phenomena
4. They provide exceptions, or counterinstances, to accept
ideas, theories or practices
5. They have persuasive and motivational value.
EXAMPLES OF CASE STUDY

Freud’s case study of Little Hans (1993) is an example of

how an individual case may suggest a developmental
success.

Freud’s analysis of Han’s conversation with his

father and the dreams he reported suggested that
the fear of horses was a symbol for Han’s fear
of his father and anxiety about castration.
EXAMPLES OF CASE STUDY

case studies have been used to evaluate techniques of

psychotherapy for depression

the “talking cure” in psychotherapy began as a

result of treatment of hysterical symptoms in
Anna O. One of Freud’s early cases.
EXAMPLES OF CASE STUDY

one interesting recent case involved the influences of

testosterone therapy on a female-to-male transgendered
individual.

The researcher compared the subject’s diary

entries over a 2-year period looking for
difference in writing style during the cycle
between injection of testosterone.
EXAMPLES OF CASE STUDY

case studies can provide evidence that cast doubt on

theories or generally accepted theories.

the psychoanalytic notion that it could be harmful

to treat overt symptoms of dysfunction without
treating their base was negated as
counterinstances accumulated.
EXAMPLES OF CASE STUDY

case studies are sometimes a dramatic way to illustrate

abstract concept

In evaluative case study, we can compare our

case against some hypothetical standard of
“normal” behavior and then compare to other
cases to assess the degree of similarity and
difference.
 The Deviant Case Analysis

cases of deviant and normal individuals

are compared for significant differences.

Mednick and his colleagues have used this

procedure to study the etiology of
schizophrenia
 LIMITATIONS OF CASE STUDY

We cannot be sure the people we are evaluating are

representative of the general population
if we cannot observe the individual all the time, we
cannot be sure if we are of all the relevant aspects of
that person’s life.
subject providing data for case studies might neglect to
mention important info
 LIMITATIONS OF CASE STUDY

RETROSPECTIVE DATA
is the data collected in the present that are based on
recollections of past events

people cannot accurately remember all that happened at

a particular point in time.
retrospective data can also be biased by the situation
like the mood of the data provider
FIELD STUDY are non- experimental approaches
used in the field or in real life
settings.

examples: observational studies by

ethologist, studies of child development
,market research and studies of
organization
Naturalistic the technique of observing behaviors
observation as they occur spontaneously in
natural setting.

note: no manipulation of anteccedent

ethology
“Gorillas in the Mist” -Dian Fossey
 SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION

researchers use a prearrange strategy for recording in

which each observation is recorded using specific rules
or guidelines so that observations are more objective.
 SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION

reactivity- the tendency of subjects to alter their

behavior or responsesn when they are aware of an
observer’s presence
unobtrusive measures- behavioral indicator’s can be
observed without subject’s knowledge
 PARTICIPANT-OBSERVER STUDIES
researcher’s are part of the group being studied

do not include systematic observation or measurement

techniques instead they tend to use qualitative
problematic

Body Builders and Drug Use - A participant observer Study

(Auge and Auge 1999)
researcher Auge&Auge were part of the body building
club
Archival
Study
a descriptive research method in
which already existing records are re-
examined for a new purpose.
low cost
QUALITATIVE relies on words rather than numbers

RESEARCH
for the data being collected.
self report. people’s narrative and
expression of ideas, memories,
feelings and thoughts.
paradigm- a set of attitudes,
values, beliefs and procedures that
are generally accepted within a
particular discipline at a certain
point of time.
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
relies on words rather than numbers
for the data being collected.
used to study phenomena that are
contextual
 ALTERNATIVES TO
EXPERIMENTATION:

SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS

 SURVEY
is a useful way of obtaining
RESEARCH
information about people’s
opinions, attitudes, preferences,
and behaviors simply by asking.
Written questionnaires and
face-to-face interviews are
the two most common
survey techniques in
psychology research.
 Constructing a good survey is much more
CONSTRUCTING
than a matter of sitting down for an
SURVEYS hour and writing out a bunch of
questions.

Poor surveys frequently do more harm

than good.
 STEPS THAT NEED
TO BE FOLLOWED IN
CONSTRUCTING A
GOOD SURVEY:
 map out your research objectives (make
STEP 1 them as specific as possible).
STEP 2 design the survey items.
 decide how you are going to address the imposition of

units.

STEP 2.1 closed-ended questions (structured questions) - must be answered by one

of a limited number of alternatives (yes/no).
open-ended questions (open questions) - solicit information about opinions
and feelings by asking the question in such a way that the person must
respond with more than a yes, no, or 1-10 rating.
STEP 3 determine the method of data collection.
 Content Analysis
responses are assigned to categories
that are created from the data
according to objective rules or
guidelines.
TIPS FOR CONSTRUCTING
QUESTIONS PROPERLY:

1. KEEP ITEMS SIMPLE.

2. KEEP PEOPLE INVOLVED.
 Level of measurement - the kind of scale
MEASURING used to measure a response.

RESPONSES
4 Levels of Measurement:
nominal
ordinal
interval
ratio
 NOMINAL SCALE

simplest level of measurement.

classifies response items into two or more distinct
categories on the basis of some common feature.
‘nominal’ a Latin word that means ‘name’.
example: true or false test.
provides no information about magnitude.
 ORDINAL SCALE
a rank ordering of response items.
magnitude of each value is measured in the form of
ranks.
example: satisfaction rating (extremely dislike, dislike,
neutral, like, extremely like).
does not quantify the magnitude of differences
between survey responses.
 INTERVAL SCALE
measures magnitude or quantitative size using
measures with equal intervals between the values.
has no true zero point.
example: common number scales (1-4, 0-100).
interval between any two numbers is equal, but even
if a zero is listed as one of the options, it is not a true
zero point.
 RATIO SCALE
highest level of measurement.
has equal intervals between all values and a true zero
point.
example: height and weight.
as we move from lower to higher scales of
measurement, we gain more precise information about
the magnitude of variables or their quantitative size.
 SELECTING The best type of scale to use will depend on two
things:
LEVELS OF
(1) the nature of the variable you are studying; and
MEASUREMENT (2) how much measurement precision you desire.

Often, psychological variables lend themselves to

different levels of measurement because they
represent a continuous dimension.
 imp or ta n t
cons ider at io ns for
survey i tem s
The first questions of the questionnaire
should have these characteristics:

1. Relevant to the central topic

2. Easy to answer
3. Interesting
4. Answerable by most respondents
5. Closed format
The first few questions should be the
ones that:

1. Subjects don’t need to think too hard; no

open ended questions.
2. Subjects are able to answer without saying
“I don’t know”.
3. Subjects will believe that certain aspects are
important to the topic of the survey.
 IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER IN MAKING YOUR
SURVEY ITEMS:

Collection of demographic information should be placed at the

end of the questionnaire

The person’s Social Security Number may be illegal to collect

Do not collect information if it’s not necessary

Use income ranges to estimate socioeconomic status

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER IN MAKING YOUR
SURVEY ITEMS:

Utilize commonly used response options

Make sure the questions are not value laden

Always be sure of the ethical guidelines when you writ

questions

Avoid questions that could make responses embarrassin

undesirable
 EXAMPLE:

Version 1 - Do you believe doctors should be allowed to kill

unborn babies during the first trimester of pregnancy?

Version 2 - Do you believe doctors should be allowed to

terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester?
response
styles
the various ways in which
respondents approach and
provide answers to survey
questions
People’s different response styles:

1. Willingness to answer
2. Position preference
3. Answers to true or false
questions
 EXAMPLE:

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)

People’s different response styles:

4. Manifest content
5. Yea-sayers (response
acquiescence) and nay-sayers
(response deviation)
warwick & lininger designed questions that force the
subject to think more about the answer.

Item 1 - Do you agree or disagree that the cost of living has

gone up in the last year?

Item 2 - In your opinion have prices gone up, gone down, or

stayed about the same in the past year, or you don’t know?
 EXAMPLE:

two versions of the Unfounded Optimism Inventory

 CONTEXT EFFECTS:
The position of a question within the question order can
influence how the question is interpreted.

EXAMPLE:
Imagine that you want subjects to rate Britney Spears on the following semantic
differential item:
collect ing survey
data
self-administered questionnaires

The surveys that individuals

complete on their own
without the presence of an
interviewer.
 THINGS TO REMEMBER IN WRITING SELF-
ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES:

Be sure the instructions are simple and clear when using written
questionnaires

Let the subjects answer in private

Do not ask subjects to identify themselves on their questionnaires

Weigh the pros and cons of group sessions

 SOCIAL
DESIRABILITY Response styles can reduce
RESPONSE SET the validity of responses.

MANIFEST CONTENT
plain meaning behind the question

LATENT CONTENT
hidden meaning behind the question
MANIFEST CONTENT:
On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the taste of the food.
How would you rate the friendliness of the staff?

LATENT CONTENT:
How did the dining experience make you feel?
Did the interactions with the staff impact your overall dining
experience?
 mail surveys

Involves sending questionnaires

or surveys to participants
through postal mail, allowing them
to complete the survey at their
convenience and return it
via mail.
 THINGS TO REMEMBER IN WRITING MAIL SURVEYS:

Include a polite and professional cover letter

Make sure the questionnaire protect the subject’s confidentiality

Always keep mail surveys as short as possible

Including a small gift can increase the return rate

computer and internet surveys

Computerized self-administered
questionnaires that are
accessed through the web.
 EXAMPLE:

Online customer satisfaction surveys sent by businesses via email

Web-based employee feedback surveys distributed within

organizations

Online surveys sent via email or posted on research websites for

academic studies
telephone surveys

Interviewers contact
respondents via telephone to
conduct an interview by
asking the respondents a list
of predetermined questions.
 THINGS TO REMEMBER IN CONDUCTING
TELEPHONE SURVEYS:

Sent out an advance mailings describing the survey and its

purposes before contact is attempted.

Interviewers should establish rapport quickly with strangers and

maintain a consistent interview style.

Survey items and response formats should be kept simple.

 EXAMPLE:

On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1
means 'completely disagree' and How would you rate the
7 means 'completely agree', cleanliness of the hospital
please rate your level of during your stay?
agreement with the following
statement: 'The hospital premises, 1. Very Poor
including patient rooms, 2. Poor
restrooms, and common areas,
3. Fair
are consistently maintained in a
hygienic and sanitary condition. 4. Good
1. Completely Disagree
5. Very Good
2. Strongly Disagree
3. Disagree
4. Neither Agree nor Disagree
5. Agree
6. Strongly Agree
7. Completely Agree
 interviews

A question-and-answer session
where one person asks
questions, and the other
person answers those
questions.
 THINGS TO REMEMBER IN CONDUCTING
FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS:

Build rapport

Researchers have found that female interviewers tend to be more

successful that male interviewers in gaining cooperation

Interviewer’s appearance and demeanor can affect the ways

subjects will respond
focus groups

A group interview of
approximately six to twelve
people who share similar
characteristics or common
interests.
evalu a tin g s ur vey s
and su rve y d at a
reliability
Reliability is the
extent to which the
survey is consistent
and repeatable.
 QUALITIES OF A RELIABLE SURVEY:

responses to similar questions in the survey should be

consistent

the survey should generate very similar responses across

different survey-givers

the survey should generate very similar responses if it is given

to the same person more than once
validity
Validity refers to the
accuracy of a measure.
 SEVERAL DIFFERENT QUESTIONS ABOUT VALIDITY:

Does the survey measure what you want it to measure?

Does performance on the survey predict actual behavior?

Does it give the same results as other surveys designed to

measure similar topics?

Do the individual survey items fairly capture all the important

aspects of the topic?
Sampling
 hat is sampling
W ?
Sampling is deciding and selecting
the group that you will actually
collect data from in your
research.
 pulation
Po
consists of all people, animals, or
objects that have at least one
characteristic in common
 Sample
a group that is a subset of the
population of interest
 presentativene
Re ss
how closely the sample
mirrors the entire population
General Sampling Approaches

Probab l i n g
ili t y S a m p
Non-P i n g
r o b a b ili t y S a m p l
 bab ilit y S a m pli
ro
P involves selecting the ng
subjects in such a way that
the odds of their being in the
study are known or can be
calculated
 andom Selectio
R n
involves selecting the
subjects in such a way that
the odds of their being in the
study are known or can be
calculated
 Random Samplin
ple g
Sim
all members of a population are
known and can be listed in an
unbiased way.
 c Random Sam
ati pli
em ng
st
Sy

samples are selected according

to a random starting point but
with a fixed, periodic interval.
 Ran d o m Sa m p li
ied n g
tif
ra
t
S samples are selected by first dividing
a population into smaller subgroups, or
strata, based on shared
characteristics of the members and
then randomly selecting among each
stratum to form the final sample.
 er Sampling
lust
C
samples are selected from entire
clusters, or naturally occurring
groups, that exist within the
population.
 robability Samp
onp ling
N
the subjects are not
chosen in random
 ta Sampling
Quo
samples are selected through
predetermined quotas that are
intended to reflect the makeup of
the population
 ience Sampling
ven
on
C
samples are selected using any
groups who happen to be available
 ive Sampling
pos
ur
P
samples are selected because the
individuals reflect a specific purpose
of the study
 wball Sampling
Sno
samples are selected by locating one
or a few people who fit the sample
criterion and asks these people to
locate or lead them to additional
individuals
Probability Sampling
ndom tic ified er
le Ra
tema
trat
lust
imp Sy
s S C
S

non-Probability Sampling
ota nience osive ball
Qu Conve
Purp
Snow
 porting Sample
Re s
A research report must
explain the type of sample
used and how subjects were
recruited so that the results
can be interpreted properly.
Thank you for taking the time to
learn about sampling with us!