EXPERIMENTAL PSYCH  Is the basic tool of theory-building.

A theory is a set of
general principles that can be used to explain and
CHAPTER 1 - FORMULATING HYPOTHESIS
predict behaviour.

 Aristotelian model
HYPOTHESIS
The process of induction involves the following:
 The thesis, or main idea, of an experiment
 Observe events;
 The statement of a research hypothesis is designed to fit
 Organize them into a classification scheme and;
the type of research design that has been selected.
 Look for patterns and relationships that suggest yet
 A hypothesis is a suggested answer to a problem
undiscovered events that will confirm as well as enlarge
the scheme.

NONEXPERIMENTAL HYPOTHESIS

 Is a statement of your predictions of how events, traits, DEDUCTIVE MODEL

or behaviors might be related–not a statement about
 Formulating hypothesis, the process of reasoning from
cause and effect.
general principles to make predictions about specific
 Phenomenology, case studies, naturalistic observations instances.

 Raymond Cattell

Characteristics of an experimental hypothesis

1. Synthetic Statements – are those that can be either INTUITION

true or false.
 May be defined as knowing without reasoning.
“Hungry students read slowly”
 We may feel by intuition that a close relative had died,
“I am pregnant” but because the feeling cannot be specified in
observable, quantifiable terms, it seems out of place in
“I have a brother and I do not have a brother” the scientific context.
“if … then” form FORMATION OF HYPOTHESIS
Expressing the potential relationship between the A hypothesis is a suggested answer to a problem.
antecedent and the behavior to be measured.
Requirement:
“if you look at an appealing photograph, then your pupils will
dilate”  It must be an adequate answer to the specific problem.

 A hypothesis must be the simplest answer to the

problem
2. Testable Statements – means for manipulating
antecedent conditions and measuring the resulting  A hypothesis must be verified
behavior must exist.

3. Falsifiable Statement - hypothesis need to be worded

NULL HYPOTHESIS
so that failures to find the predicted effect must be
considered evidence that the hypothesis is indeed false.  The null hypothesis is zero hypothesis

4. Parsimonious Statements – means that the simplest  (e.g. there is no significant relationship between
explanation is preferred. academic performance and mental ability.)

5. Fruitful Statements – leads to new studies.  The formulation of a hypothesis starts from the
knowledge of facts and theory.

 At this stage, a person has a theory and is now ready to

INDUCTIVE MODEL
go beyond facts.
 Formulating hypothesis, the process of reasoning from
specific cases to more general principles.
VARIABLES
 Independent variable - is the factor manipulated by the
experimenter in attempting to ascertain its relationship
to an observed phenomenon.
 Dependent variable - is the factor which appears,
disappears or varies as the experimenter introduces,
removes or varies the independent variable.
SIMPLE TEST OF HYPOTHESIS
 Formulate the hypothesis (Ho) that if disproved would
help establish the research hypothesis
 Select an accepted level of significance in the study.
 Determine the test to be employed.
 Decide on the basis of known sampling distribution of
the statistics employed.
CHAPTER 2 - RESEARCH ETHICS
RESEARCH ETHICS
 The researcher’s foremost concern in recruiting and
using subjects is treating them ethically and responsibly.
 Research that is harmful to participants is undesirable
even though it may increase wisdom.
 A researcher is also legally responsible for what happens
to research participants.
THREE IMPORTANT REASONS WHY POOR DESIGNED
RESEARCH CAN BE UNETHICAL (Rosenthal, 1994)
 Students’, teachers’, and administrators’ time will be
taken from potentially more beneficial educational
experiences.
 Poorly designed research can lead to unwarranted and
inaccurate conclusions that may be damaging to the
society that directly or indirectly pays for the research.
 Allocating time and money to poor-quality will keep
those finite resources from better-quality science.
INFORMED CONSENT
 The subject agrees to participate after having been fully
informed about the nature of the study.
1. Individuals must give their consent freely, without the
use of force, duress or coercion.
2. They must be free to drop out of the experiment at any
time.
3. Researchers must give subjects a full explanation of the
procedures to be followed and offer to answer any
questions about them.
4. Researchers must make clear the potential risks and
benefits to the experiment.
5. Researchers must provide assurances that all data will
remain private and confidential.
6. Subjects may not be asked to release the researchers
(or study sponsors, institutions or other agents) from
liability or to waive the legal rights in the case of injury.
 Consent forms need to be written in clear,
understandable language at the appropriate reading
level for participants.
 Consent forms provides subjects with information
relevant to their participation in the experiment:
1. Nature of the experiment
2. Overview of the procedures that will occur
3. How long it will take
4. Potential risks and benefits
5. What they will be required to do.
DECEPTION AND FULL DISCLOSURE
 In general, deception is not acceptable in human studies.
Occasionally, it is necessary to mislead the participants
who are subjects of a study in order to obtain unbiased
information.
 The impact of deception on research participants do not
perceived that they are harmed and do not seem to
mind being misled.
 Deception experiments are actually perceived by
subjects to be more enjoyable and more beneficial than
non-deception experiments, and apparently, research
professionals are much more bothered by deception
than subjects are.
ANONIMITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
 It is our responsibility to protect the privacy of research
participants.
 In actual practice, we do not need to identify subjects by
name.
 Subjects’ reaction in experiments do not become items
of gossip to be shared with friends.
  A good introduction tells readers what are you doing
and why.

 Think about what readers should get out of it.

CHAPTER 3 - WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT
 Guiding Questions:

 What problem are you studying?

 Research reports are written in a scientific writing style.
 Why is it important?
 Fact-filled, highly structured and more concise
 What does the prior literature in the area say about
 To provide objective information the problem?
 You must avoid seemingly opinionated about your topic  What is your hypothesis?
 Avoid using I or we  What thinking led up to that hypothesis?

 An introduction usually begins with a description of the

general topic area your research falls under.
MAJOR SECTIONS
 Begin with broad topic area and gradually narrow the
Title
focus of your writing to the specific research hypothesis.
Abstract

Introduction
METHOD
Method Section
 Tells readers how you went about doing the
Results Section experiment.

Discussion Section  Describe the materials and procedures used.

List of References  Participants:

 How many participants did you have?

 What are their characteristics?

TITLE  How were participants recruited or selected?

 Reports need a descriptive TITLE that gives readers an
idea of what the report is about.
 State both independent and dependent variables
 State the relationship between them
 12 words or less; concise
1. Measures: Include descriptions of the measures used
for data collection (e.g. questionnaires, behavioral
observations, interview etc.)
2. Manipulations: Describe the content of treatments or
interventions utilized in each condition of the
experiment. Assignment of different groups.

3. Design: For complex factorial design Between-subject,

Within-subject and Mixed
ABSTRACT

 It is a summary of report
 Typically ranges from 150 – 250 words.
 Must be written in past tense
 Contains: SOP, Method, Result and Conclusion
 The abstract is probably the most frequently read
portion of any article
RESULT
 Statistical procedures used and what you found
 Describe the statistical tests you used to evaluate the
data, along with the obtained values of test statistics.
 Descriptive stat
 Inferential stat

INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
 Evaluate the experiment and interpret the data
obtained

REFERENCES

 Any articles or books mentioned in the report should be

listed in the references section at the end.