Respond to one of the following questions
Select at least 2 research methods from the text e.g. observations, case study, experiments etc. and explain each methods purpose in social psychology. Next identify at least one situation in which you could apply one of the chosen method in your daily life.
Explore the Stanford prison experiment website located at: http://www.prisonexp.org. Next identify at least two ethical consideration involved in miligrams experiment at zimbardos experiment. Provide two examples form either experiment to illustrate why ethics are important consideration in social psychology research.
Research methods in psychology
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Observational research method
This is a method that involves observation on the behavior of different subjects and people. It entails the use of various methods of research observations such as naturalistic, laboratory, participant or non-participant method (Friedman, & Wilson, 1975). Participant observations involves the linking the certain group that is being studied then observe what they are seeing and take notes on what is happening. This takes place in two ways either under cover, where the researcher does not reveal his identity and pretends to be a group member or overt where he reveals his identity and asks for permission to do the observations. Naturalistic methods study on the behaviors occurring in natural environments without being manipulated by the observer thus making observation to have validity (Demonbrun, Finelli, & Shekhar, 2015). This method is vital since it is used when generating new ideas. The researchers use unobtrusive method to prevent interference with the observation. The two methods are reliable. In Laboratory Observation the research is done in a laboratory using equipment’s to measure then record the observed results.
Example of a Participant observation; A mystery shopper goes to a bank to observe and measure the quality of service offered by the employees. He pretends to be a customer and sits queuing at the reception area. He listens and gathers the information about the products being offered but does not put it down at that time to avoid interference and suspicion. Later when he goes out of the bank he puts down information from the moment he entered the bank, how the customer service attendants welcomed and served him until he left the bank.
Survey Research method
A survey is a method used to get information about a particular type of event, experience or behavior. In this method, the researchers tend to issue questionnaires or interview people in order to obtain information. There are subjects that fill out their surveys and they are known as self- report data. They can be misleading since at times they may give answer regarding wishes other than the true research or may not understand the survey question as well as may forget to describe some parts of experience. Survey is a significant method of research since it yields a lot of information within a very short time and provides a better way for generating hypothesis (Tourangeau & Rasinski, 2000). In addition, it provides information about a multitude since it is easy and cheap to do. The purpose of survey is that it intrudes as a foreign component in the social setting of describing, creating and measuring attitudes. In addition the survey stimulate atypical character and reaction, with limitation to the people that are accessible and are willing to cooperate. The response collected are made in part by dimensions of specific variances unrelated.
An Example of Survey research method; A branding company has a new product of orange juice with pulp and without pulp. A sample of people are given each to taste the juice labeled in (A) with pulp and (B) without pulp. Then the people are supposed to answer a set of questions regarding the two brands. For instance, between the given samples which juice did you enjoy drinking? Which one tastes like a real orange fruit? How much 500ml should be sold? And more. This acknowledges the company on how people will receive their product.
References
Demonbrun, R., Finelli, C., & Shekhar, P. (n.d.). Methods for Establishing Validity and
Reliability of Observation Protocols. 2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings.
Friedman, M. P., & Wilson, R. W. (1975). Application of unobtrusive measures to the study of
Textbook usage by college students. Journal of Applied Psychology, (60), 659-662.
Tourangeau, R., Rips, L., & Rasinski, K. (n.d.). Respondents’ Understanding of Survey
Questions. The Psychology of Survey Response, 23-61.
