Research Methods In Psychology
Psychologists who take part in research aim to meet four goals: describe a
phenomenon, predict future or past behavior, control current or future behavior
and thinking, and explain now and why a phenomenon happened. To accomplish
these goals, psychologists use five different research methods: naturalistic
observations, case studies, surveys/interviews, correlational studies, and
experiments, defined below. The first three (naturalistic observations, case studies,
and surveys) are examples of a larger category referred to as descriptive studies,
whose goal is to describe the behavior being studied.
Research Methods
Naturalistic
observation
Case study
Surveys
Correlational study
Definition
Watching
participants in their
natural
environment.
Example
Advantage
Disadvantage
Lucinda
conducts her
research at the
local mall and
observes how
parents interact
with their
children in a
public setting.
The researcher
can observe the
subject in his or
her natural
environment.
The researcher may have
to infer information based
on his or her
observations.
An in-depth
examination of a
rare phenomenon
that occurred with
an individual, small
group, or situation.
Trevor was
recently involved
in an accident
that destroyed a
portion of his
brain.
The researcher
can examine, in
depth, the rare
occurrence.
The administration
of questionnaires or
interviews; used to
identify attitudes,
beliefs, and
opinions.
Ron calls 1,500
people to hear
their opinions on
global warming.
The researcher
can obtain
information from a
large number of
subjects.
Subjects may lie or deceive
the researcher.
Examining the
relationship
between two or
more variables.
Jamal records the
GPAs and the
number of miles
each high school
student drives
each day to see if
the two variables
are related
The researcher
can see whether
the variables are
related.
Just because two or more
variables appear to be
related does not mean that
one variable caused the
other variable (correlation
does not equal causation).
The researcher cannot
control the environment
or any outside factors
that may influence the
outcome.
The researcher can’t
generalize his or her
findings to the entire
population.
The event or situation may
never occur again, thus
making it impossible to
formulate an exact theory.
Subjects who answered
may not represent the entire
population.
Experiments
Attempting to prove
causation by
allowing the
researcher to
manipulate one or
more variables and
measure their
outcome.
Bailey believes
that chocolate
improves
memory. She
administers
chocolate to one
group but not to
the other. After a
memory test,
Bailey records the
data and
formulates her
theory.
The researcher
can prove whether
one variable
causes a
particular
outcome.
The researcher cannot
always account for outside
influences (confounding
variables) that may impact
or skew the overall results.
It is also difficult to apply
what occurs in a controlled
lab setting to the real world.
Experiments: An In-Depth Look
Because experiments are the only accurate way to prove cause and effect, psychologists use
them in the laboratory setting. Being able to control variables allows psychologists to gain a
better understanding of the phenomenon being tested.
There are two variables in most experiments: the independent variable, the variable
that is manipulated/changed by the experimenter that causes, the dependent variable, the
measurable outcome or resulting effect of the manipulated variable. In every experiment, there
are confounding variables, variables that cannot be controlled by the researcher, but may
influence the results. These must be limited as much as possible through things like double blind
procedure and random assignment.