Chap 2- Research In IO Psychology Flashcards
Why research methods in I/O?
They use social scientific methods to study specific issues objectively
Objectivity is
the scientific approach that is unbiased to observation and interpretation of behavior
The goal of IO psychology includes
the ability to describe, explain, and predict phenomena.
IO is an applied science therefore has the goal of attempting to control, alter, change behavior to achieve the desired outcomes.
research methods will equip you with
better knowledge and skills in how to explain, predict, explore, change, and build desired behavior at work
The research methods procedure goes as follows:
- Formation of the problem
- Creating hypothesis
- Choosing an experimental design
- Data collection
- Statistical analysis of data collected
- Interpretation of results and drawing conclusions
- Implementation of findings.
The first step in conducting research is to
identify the problem and issue to be studied
The second step is
is to take those elements the researcher intends to measure and develop the hypothesis
Hypothesis testing is an act in statistics whereby an analyst
tests an assumption regarding a population parameter. The methodology employed by the analyst depends on the nature of the data used and the reason for the analysis.
it is used to assess the plausibility of a hypothesis by using sample data.
Such data may come from a larger population, or from a data-generating process.
The word “population” will be used for both of these cases in the following descriptions.
There two major types of variables
– Independent and dependent.
Hypothesis are statement about the supposed relationship between or among those variables
Variables are the elements measure in the research process
By testing hypothesis, researchers may be able to
develop a model or theory
A theory or model is an organization of beliefs into a representation of factors affecting a certain behavior
the third step in IO research methods
Selecting the research/experimental design
Research design will depend on several factors such as
a- Research questions
b- Research settings
c- The control the researcher has on variables
The data collection involves several steps:
- Sampling which is the selection of representative group from the population (larger group of the study)
- Random sampling refer to the selection of research participants from the population so that each individual has equal change or probability of being chosen
- Stratified sampling is the selection of research participants based on categories representing important characteristics of the population
There are other sampling procedures such as:
-Snowball sampling
- objective sampling
- systematic sampling
- Cluster sampling
- Convenience
Statistical analysis of data collected
The fifth step in research process is data analysis.
Once data are collected, they can be analyzed using deferent ways.
In quantitative research, data are analysed using statistical methods
In Qualitative research,
data are analyzed by identifying themes and analyze them using those themes.
Statistics are used to describe data and test hypothesis
Interpretation of results and drawing conclusions
The final step in the research process is the interpretation of the results.
Researchers draw conclusions about the meanings of the findings and their relevance to the actual work behavior
In this step researchers do also identify the limitation of the current study and propose future research directions.
IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation of findings.
The objective of research is to identify the facts.
Subsequently, those facts need to be implemented for better outcomes in future.
THE MAJOR RESEARCH DESIGNS
EXPERIEMENTAL DESIGN
Is a research design characterized with high degree of control over research setting to allow determination of cause and effect relationships among variables.
Necessary feature of this design are:
- Random sampling and
- manipulated independent variables
The independent variable is
the one manipiulated by a researcher
The dependent is
the one influenced intentionally by independent variables
Normally we will have two groups of participants:
- Research group
- Control group
Variables
Treatment group is subject to changes in independent variable
Control group is the one receiving no treatment or changes independent variable.
Extraneous variables are those variables other than independent variables that are likely to have influence on the depended variable.
Experimental design
The key to success of experimental method is to hold all extraneous variable constant (without influence).
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Most times, in this method a researcher does not have a control over the situation experimented to run the actual experiment.
Quasi-experiment methods involves the pre-existing groups where random assignment of participants is not possible.
The unit of analysis in this research might be a group or organization instead of individuals
The other major research design is the correlation design
The other major research design is the correlation design
It examines the relationship between variables as they occur naturally.
No manipulation of variables is involved
Researchers observe two variables and measure their statistical association
The main advantage of correlation design is that it is easier to implement in many settings including work places
Meta-analysis design
It involved combination of several results of different research to be combined and summarized.
It mainly rely on the magnitude of effect- size which indicates the magnitude of the relationship or effect found on the previous studies.
