Psychology: Understanding Psychology: Student Web Activity: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Psychological Research Methods and Statistics

"Researching Bullies"

Introduction
Finding the latest results on research topics from adolescence to weight loss is as easy as connecting to the Internet. At the American Psychological Association's News Release Web site, psychologists' studies and results are described in detail. Recently, three studies were conducted to examine the role of bullies in middle school-aged children. The studies used surveys, a longitudinal study, and interviews to research the bullying environment in middle school. Not only do the reports give you an idea of how researchers collect data, but what they found out about bullies may surprise you!

Destination Title: APA News Release/Bullying
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Directions

Start at the APA News Release/Bullying Web site.
Browse through the site, taking notes as you go.

Read through the information, and then answer the following questions.

1. What pre-research questions did researchers ask in each of the three main studies?

2. Describe the sample groups in each of the studies.

3. In each of the studies, what methods of research were used? Why do you think the researchers chose those methods?

4. What new hypotheses did the research generate? What correlations resulted?

5. Imagine you are a researcher continuing the research undertaken in these studies. Select a new hypothesis generated by the research and, on a separate sheet of paper, create a survey of five questions. Indicate your pre-research question at the top of the page and describe which of the three sample groups you will survey.