What steps do psychologists follow in conducting research

Conducting your own psychological research means analyzing data, designing and executing surveys or experiments, and drawing conclusions from your findings. Conducting original or primary research is how scholars and students contribute to the body of scholarly knowledge. Below are links to funding resources for financing your research projects and the SAGE Research Methods database that has comprehensive information on designing and executing a study with resources on a plethora of research methods. Additionally, you may find the psychological tests & assessments and databases that include datasets on this page helpful during your research process.

• Research Funding

  This page includes new funding announcements issued by federal agencies and federally affiliated organizations supporting research and training in areas including psychological science. Also included are grants, scholarships, and award information from the APA and other psychology-related organizations.

• SAGE Research Methods 

  An award-winning tool designed to help you create research projects and understand the methods behind them. See the Help - Sage Research Methods page for help using the platform.

Institutional Review Board

Institutional review boards are committees formed to review and monitor biomedical and behavioral research with human subjects. All research involving human subjects must be approved by the IRB before research begins. Visit the SNHU IRB site to learn more, review the research submission process, and download the forms you'll need to get started.

Psychological Tests and Assessments

Researchers use various tools to measure particular psychological and social phenomenon. These tools or tests are stringently reviewed for validity and reliability. When searching for tests, be sure to locate the accompanying reviews to substantiate your choice of tool prior to submitting your research proposal to the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Databases

You may find tests listed in these databases that are available only in print format or from the creator. Check the availability and permissions to see how you might access a copy of the instrument.

• PsycTESTS - EBSCO

  Professionally indexed, the PsycTESTS® database is an extensive collection of psychological measures, scales, surveys, and other instruments essential to the research needs of professionals, students, and educators across the behavioral and social sciences.

• PsycINFO - EBSCO

  From the APA, contains citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines

• Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print - EBSCO

  • 

  Comprehensive guide to over 2,000 contemporary testing instruments

• Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Sciences (MIDSS)

  The Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Sciences (MIDSS) is designed to be a repository for instruments that are used to collect data from across the social sciences. Use the site to discover instruments you can use in your own research.

• PSI CHI Research Measures Database

  Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, maintains a database of various websites linking to research measures, tools, and instruments. There are multiple ways to use this website. All of the resources are tagged by category and by keywords, so you can retrieve lists of resources related to various topical domains (e.g., affective, social, cognitive) or search by keywords.

• Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Research Network: The Measures

  The SOBC Research Network has identified specific potential targets for behavior change interventions in the three broad domains of self-regulation, stress reactivity and stress resilience, and interpersonal and social processes. As of January, 2022, there are 186 measures available with more being added monthly. The SOBC Repository is the source for behavioral science measures that have been validated (or are in the process of being validated) in accordance with the SOBC Experimental Medicine Approach. The Open Science Framework (OSF) hosts the full details of the validation process for each measure posted in the SOBC Repository, to increase the openness and transparency of this science.

• National Institute of Health: NIH Toolbox

  The NIH Toolbox® is a comprehensive set of neuro-behavioral measurements that quickly assess cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions from the convenience of an iPad.

Books

You may also find information about psychological measures in books. Below are some examples:

Data Sets 

Research may be conducted using existing data sets. Demographic data sets may be used to frame further research. The library subscribes to some databases containing data sets. Others are available freely online.

Databases

• Data-Planet Statistical Datasets

  Provides access to more than 18.9 billion data points from more than 70 source organizations.

• EASI Analytic Software: The Right Site

  Demographic and market analysis reports. To access: Contact the Reference Desk (ext. 2161) or for username and password, please provide your student ID number.

• SAGE Stats

  SAGE Stats is a data download and visualization tool hosting social science data about U.S. states, counties, cities, and metropolitan statistical areas from more than 200 different government and non-government sources. It spans topics like employment, crime, religion, and education.

• Statista

  Statista is one of the leading statistics companies on the internet. With a team of over 200 statisticians, database experts, analysts, and editors, Statista provides users with an innovative and intuitive tool for researching quantitative data, statistics and related information.

• Statistical Abstract of the U.S. - ProQuest 

  Comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.

• Statistical Insight - ProQuest

  The Statistical Insight Collection spans millions of full-text reports and more than 1 million published tables on thousands of different topics. It provides fast and easy access to statistical information produced by U.S. federal agencies, states, private organizations, and major intergovernmental organizations. It also offers broad perspectives and insight on long-term national trends and implications paired with the ability to narrow results.

• USA.gov

  Premier search engine that retrieves information from all the web sites of the U.S. federal government

• U.S. Political Stats - SAGE

  U.S. Political Stats is a powerful data download and visualization tool covering all three branches of the United States government. Bringing together valued content from sources like CQ Roll Call and CQ Press, users will discover a wealth of information on election returns, congressional floor votes, Supreme Court decisions, plus presidential performance and economic indicators, as well as diverse demographics.

Online Data Sets

What is Open Data?
In simple terms, Open Data means the kind of data which is open for anyone and everyone for access, modification, reuse, and sharing. Open Data derives its base from various “open movements” such as open-source, open hardware, open government, open science, etc. Governments, independent organizations, and agencies have come forward to open the floodgates of data to create more and more open data for free and easy access.(Definition from freeCodeCamp.org)

SNHU Undergraduate Research

SNHU hosts an annual Undergraduate Research Day on campus to showcase research done by undergraduates during the year. Students select a mentor, submit a proposal by the deadline, and if accepted, conduct their research and present on the first Wednesday of April at Undergraduate Research Day. At this point in time, only students who attend SNHU on campus are eligible to participate. Students conducting research using human subjects are required to submit a proposal to the IRB (see box above) prior to submitting their proposal to UGR. 

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