Psychological Research Methods I

The primary objective of this course is to teach students the basics of quantitative research methods that are commonly used in behavioral research. Research methods in behavioral research can be categorized into archival, survey, and (field) experimental, theory and qualitative methods. This course will focus on the basics of archival, survey, and field experimental methods. Therefore, the course will cover the following aspects:

Research Design

• You will become familiar with the Libboy Box framework, which will help you structure your research question and think about the conceptual and empirical level of your research.
• You will learn about the design of a survey, which will help you identify the right participants, ask the right questions and obtain responses with a low degree of response bias.
• You will learn about the design of a field experiment, which will help you select the right participants and take care of common problems and issues with field experiments already in the design phase.

Univariate Analysis

• You will learn about the commonly used univariate analyses used in behavioral research papers and how to interpret them, particularly descriptive statistics, correlation matrices and construct validity.

Multivariate Analysis

• You will learn how to apply and interpret different linear regression models.
• You will learn how to use structural equation modelling techniques to evaluate measurement models and how to model paths between variables.
• You will learn about difference-in-difference analysis and how to interpret the results.

Throughout the course, we will discuss relevant Concepts and Guidelines, and use Exercises to apply these concepts and guidelines.