Select

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Overview of Class Activities
Ethics
Develop Hypothesis
Research Design
Review Research
Communicate Results
Data Analyses
Select Question
Measurement
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Our Current Focus
Develop Hypothesis
Describing the research Activity
Choosing a Research Question Activity
Review Research
PsycInfo Assignment
Select Question
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Describing the research Developing a Hypothesis
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Describing the research

• Examples
• A journalists description of a study
• Executive summary of a technical report
• Abstract of an academic journal article
• Lets examine how they are
• Different
• Similar

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Journalist description

• Flynn studied 161 engineers working for a
  telecoms firm They work in eight teams, but each
  individually sorts out detailed engineering
  problems sent in from around the country. (He)
  asked each employee to report how often they
  swapped help with each member of the teamhelp
  such as technical advice or taking a second look
  at a recommended solutionand who, in each case,
  had given relatively more in their exchanges.
  Thus, he looked separately at the frequency with
  which individual workers made such swaps and at
  how one-sidedly generous they were. He also asked
  employees to rate how highly they regarded one
  another.

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Journalist description

• (He) correlated the answers he got with
  information from the firm on employees'
  productivity. He found that generous employees
  who get little in exchange are well-regarded by
  colleagues. Employees who helped colleagues
  generously but did not receive help in exchange
  were less productive. Those who receive as well
  as give were relatively more productive,
  particularly those who helped each other most
  often. A pattern of frequent giving and receiving
  boosted both productivity and social standing.

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Abstract in academic article

• Data collected from 161 employees of a large firm
  suggest that perceived generosity is positively
  related to individual social status, but
  maintaining an equitable balance is positively
  related to individual productivity. Employees may
  address this dilemma by increasing how often they
  exchange favors rather than by seeking exchange
  equity. Frequent favor exchange was positively
  related to both status and productivity and
  strengthened the generosity-status and the
  balance-productivity relationships. Findings
  highlight the value of studying employees,
  particularly the favor exchange among peer
  frequency of exchange.

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Describing is not explaining

• E.g., Why should productivity rise when employees
  frequently swap help? Mr Flynn has two
  explanations. First, as employees learn more
  about the resources they can offer each other,
  they develop a more efficient pattern of
  requesting and giving help. Second, helpful
  employees learn to trust each other more, and so
  become willing to do bigger favours because they
  feel more sure about the likelihood of
  reciprocation. And, of course, it is nicer to
  work with helpful people than with the other sort

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Describing with a diagram
Productivity
Frequency of Help
Social Status
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Explaining with a diagram
Productivity
Efficiency in resource exchange
Information about others interests
Frequency of Help
Liking for helper
Social Status
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Describing vs. explaining

• Describing What occurred?
• Explaining Why it occurred?

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Features of a description

• The Variables measured in the study
• The results How the variables are related (i.e.,
  the hypothesis)
• Number kind of participants

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Examples of features of a description

• Hypothesis, Variables results
• perceived generosity is positively related to
  individual social statusFrequent favor exchange
  was positively related to both status and
  productivity
• Description of participants
• Data collected from 161 employees of a large
  firm..

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One feature of a description

• Hypothesis, Variables results
• perceived generosity is positively related to
  individual social statusFrequent favor exchange
  was positively related to both status and
  productivity

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What is a variable

• Examples
• Frequency of giving help
• Productivity
• Social Status

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What is not a variable

• e.g., Instructor gender
• But gender breakdown of class is a variable
• E.g., Address of the university
• A non variable is something that does not change
  values

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A second feature of a description

• Hypothesis, Variables results
• perceived generosity is positively related to
  individual social statusFrequent favor exchange
  was positively related to both status and
  productivity

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What is a hypothesis

• Examples
• Frequent giving and receiving boosts productivity
  and social standing
• Perceived generosity is positively related to
  social status

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A Diagram of a Hypothesis
Productivity
Frequency of Help
Social Status
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What is not a hypothesisA variable, a result

• Examples
• The level of frequent giving was high (i.e., a
  result)
• The level of productivity (i.e., a variable) was
  low

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Variables vs. Hypothesis vs. Results

• A hypothesis is a guess about the way in which
  variables are related
• A result is an empirical statement about whether
  the hypothesis was supported (i.e., whether the
  variables were related)
• A result can also be an empirical statement about
  a variable

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Features of a hypothesis

• Must be empirically testable
• At least two variables must be involved

Sekaran, Saks
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Examples of features of a hypothesis

• Consider whether the following examples are
  empirically testable involve two variables
• The instructors gender is female
• The level of productivity is high
• Frequent giving and receiving boosts productivity
  and social standing

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What we learned so farStudents answer orally
using the Conference Board Paper Executive
Summary Handout

• Explaining
• Describing
• Variable
• Hypothesis
• Results

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More about Variables
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Types of Variables

• Independent (Aka Predictor, Cause)
• E.g., frequency of help, one-sidedness of help
• Dependent (Aka Criterion, Effect)
• E.g., productivity, perceived social status

Sekaran, Saks
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Examples of Independent Dependent Variables
A researcher thinks that smaller groups will be
more cohesive than larger groups Independent
variable Group size Dependent variable Level
of cohesion
Number of Group Members
3 5 7 9 11 13
Cohesiveness rating 87 77 65 60 60 58
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Examples of Independent Dependent Variables
A researcher thinks that setting goals will
increase the number of orders that are upsized
at McBurger King Independent variable Setting
of goals (yes or no) Dependent variable of
upsized orders
Group type
No Goals Goals
of upsized orders 18 79
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Independent vs. dependent variable

• The Independent variable is the variable that is
  assumed to explain changes in the value of the
  dependent variable
• Ways to solidify the assumption
• Type of independent variable e.g., Gender,
• Degree of control over independent variable
  e.g., Group Size, Number of goals

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What we learned so far..Students complete
handouts answer orally

• From the descriptions of studies in the handouts,
  identify
• Independent variables
• Dependent variables

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More about Hypotheses
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Types of Hypotheses

• Null
• E.g., There is no relationship between frequency
  of help and productivity
• Alternative
• E.g., There is a relationship between frequency
  of help and productivity

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Types of alternative hypotheses

• Non directional
• E.g., There is a relationship between frequency
  of help and productivity
• Directional
• E.g., There is a positive relationship between
  frequency of help and productivity

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What we learned so far..Students complete
handouts answer orally

• From the descriptions of studies in the handouts,
  identify
• Null hypotheses
• Alternative Directional hypotheses
• Alternative non directional hypotheses

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Putting it all together.Students examine
questionnaire completed in first day of class
answer orally

• Illustrate the difference between
• A dependent independent variable
• An alternate null hypothesis
• A directional non directional hypothesis
• A result a hypothesis
• A variable a result

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Whats next

• During this week
• Describing the research you found toward your
  project
• In the next class
• Ways you can solidify the assumption that the
  independent variable in your project explains the
  dependent variable