Social/Behavioural Trend Analysis
• Locate an
article concerning a social and/or behavioral trend that impacts research
methods in the field of psychology. Examples of trends that affect how research
is conducted include increasing use of the internet, increasing use of cell
phones, increased public availability of large data sets, and so on. (We cannot
use ethical issues as a topic)
• Prepare a
700- to 1,050-word analysis of your selected article in which you do the
following items:
o Summarize
your selected article.
o Explain
the how psychological research methodology has been impacted by the trend
discussed in your selected article. (Note: we are not talking about library
research; we are talking about how data might be collected and analyzed).
This assignment is not about research on a particular trend
(for example, it is not about research on use of cell phones, or research about
use of the internet); the important question is how the trend has changed the
way that research is conducted. In other words, before the trend occurred
research was conducted one way; after the trend occurred research is conducted
differently. The vast majority of your paper should be about research methods
in psychology – selecting the sample, administering an intervention, collecting
the data, analyzing the data and so on.
Pick a social trend, something that impacts our everyday
lives. Now ask, has this trend changed the way psychologists conduct research?
Has it changed the way we recruit participants? conduct studies? control
variables? collect and analyze data? If yes, you are on the right track; write
about how the trend has changed research methods in these ways.
