RESEARCH METHODS IN
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
 Importance of research in
Educational Psychology
 The methods
7:24 PM
7:24 PM
Importance of research in educational
psychology
 Explain students’ behavior and the learning
process, so their behavior patterns can be
understood.
 Get insight on students’ developmental and
learning difficulties and their causes.
 Analyze developmental and leaning needs of
students.
 A basis for decision making and planning for
students’ learning.
 provides systematic and well informed solutions
for learning and developmental problems.
7:24 PM
Research Methods
 Various research methods are applied in
educational psychology for studying behavior,
development and the learning process.
 Method of investigation is chosen according
to the nature of the problem, objectives of
investigation and scope.
METHODS
2.
3.
4.
5.
Observation
Case studies
Survey
Correlation
Experimental
7:24 PM
1.
7:24 PM
Observation method
 Watching, listening and recording behavior
appearing in a particular setting (in classroom,
in library, in playground or in sports groups).
 General objective of observation method is to
describe the behavior (what & how it occurs)
 It is not concerned with giving explanations or
reasons.
 No need for intervention (during observation)
or asking questions.
 Types
7:24 PM
of observation: Naturalistic and laboratory
observation
 Naturalistic observation: watching and recording
behavior in a natural setting.
 Laboratory observation: observing and recording
behavior in a specially designed and controlled
situation.
Examples of naturalistic observation:
 how the students behave when they are given new
learning materials in class.
 how they behave when they work in groups
7:24 PM
Ways/ techniques of recording
 Observation method requires special
techniques, strategies or tools for
recording and describing behavior.
One or more of the following can be used:
 Checklist
 Rating scale
 Anecdotal records
 Running records
7:24 PM
Checklist
 Checklist: a list of behavior, characteristic s or
events to be checked their occurrence.
 The list is prepared before observation
schedule.
 During observation, the researcher just checks
the items in the list and tick or cross where
relevant.
 Checklist directs the attention of the researcher
on the behavior, event or characteristic to be
observed.
 It ensures accuracy in recording.
A CHECKLIST
Behavior
Occurrence
Teacher asks questions
x
Teacher uses language I
Students work together
Students give examples
Teacher clarifies tasks
7:24 PM
Classroom interaction
 It
Rating scale
7:24 PM
records and describes quality and frequency
of the characteristic observed; how frequent or
how good the behavior occurs.
 A rating scale has two parts; a
statement/phrase and a set of options.
 Options which represent the quality of
variables can be phrasal or in the form of
numbers.
 It is more detailed and in-depth technique of
recording than checklist.
Behavior
Scale
very frequently
Students work in
groups
Students give examples
Teacher clarifies tasks
Teacher asks questions
sometimes rarely Not use
7:24 PM
Teacher uses Language
I
frequently
7:24 PM
Anecdotal records
 Anecdotes are actual events that occur in
the observation setting.
 This techniques involves taking
anecdotes of events that appear unique,
important or interesting.
 The behavior is not specified in advance.
 It shows the actual behavior very clearly.
 It allows accurate analysis to be done
later.
7:24 PM
Running records
 A researcher records almost everything
that occurs in the event, process or
situation.
 Specification of data to be observed is not
done in advance. What to record is
determined in the process.
 Not everything can be recorded. Some
important and key data may be lost.
 This technique requires note book and
some short hand skills and /or aided by an
audio and/or video recorder.
 It
7:24 PM
is a tedious technique of collecting
data.
 Recorded data may be difficult to analyze.
Comments on observation method
 Observer bias
 It only describes behavior. It does not
explain reasons of the occurrence of
behavior.
 It is a basis for more in-depth studies
 Useful for developing hypotheses
CASE STUDIES
detailed and in-depth study of a
single case; an individual, a
homogeneous group, a school, a class, a
process, a programme or a situation.
 In a school, a teacher can study a single
child in depth on various aspects;
emotional, intellectual, social, moral and
personal.
7:24 PM
A
 It
7:24 PM
combines various strategies of collecting data;
 tests;
 interviews;
 observation;
 assessment records;
 personality testing;
 portfolio;
 cumulative records;
 intelligent tests; and
 anything available and useful for understanding
a case.
7:24 PM
Case study continues………..
 The study can give a detailed information about
a unit/case but it cannot yield cause-effect
relationship
 The results can not be generalized to another
case but prediction can be made.
 Case studies are applied when a problem has
occurred or a progress of certain treatment.
7:24 PM
Survey method
 The objective is to study behavior,
opinion, experiences, attitude or
demographic data among many people.
 It involves a large number of people and
sometimes a wide geographical area.
 Self-reported technique which
includes questionnaire and interview
is a key data collection technique.
 So, sampling and construction of
questions is important.
A researcher chooses a representative
sample from the larger population.
 Findings can be generalized to the
larger population as this is the main
focus and purpose.

7:24 PM
 Describe
Correlation studies
7:24 PM
the degree of relationship between
two or more variables (behavior, events or
characteristics).
 Variables are studied as they are (no artificial
situation is created) to see how much they are
related.
Example:
• Scores of students and time take for revision
• Performance in subject A and subject B
 Variables can be negatively or positively
correlated
 Positive
7:24 PM
correlation: when increase in one
variable shows increase in another variable or
vice-versa.
 Negative correlation: when one variable
increases, another variable decreases.
 Zero correlation: It happens where there is no
indication of correspondence between two
variables.
 Do not seek to find out the causes and effect of
such relationship.
 They do not tell us what causes what but they
help to predict situations.
 The
result can be used for intervention or
controlling behavior not wanted to occur.
7:24 PM
7:24 PM
Experimental studies
 The objective of experimental studies is to
establish cause-effect relationship of
behavior.
 Two variables are measured to determine if
one causes another.
 The cause is always manipulated. If the
change in the manipulated behavior causes
changes in another variable (effect) we can say
that there is cause-effect relationship.
 Experiments are carefully designed and
conducted in a carefully regulated and
controlled setting.
 An
7:24 PM
experiment is guided by a hypothesis
which consists of independent and
dependent variables.
Example:
 Objective: To find out ‘if severe
punishments to students cause them to
develop negative attitude towards learning’
 Hypothesis: ‘students who are severely
punished will develop more negative
attitudes towards learning than those who
are slightly punished’.
 Independent
7:24 PM
variable: the manipulated,
influential factor hypothesized as having effect
on the dependent variable (severe punishment).
Dependent variable: A variable which is
expected to change when independent variable
is manipulated (negative attitudes toward
learning)
 Experiment must consist of at least two groups
of subjects; experimental group and control
group.
 Experimental group: A group that receives
treatment or manipulation in the experiment.
 Control
7:24 PM
group: A group that receives no
treatment in the experiment.
 Control group is used to compare the results
with the experimental group and gives the
experimenter confidence that the observed
changes has been caused by the independent
variable.
 If changes are observed only in the
experimental group and not in the control
group, it can be concluded that the
manipulation of the independent variable has
caused changes.
1. Which one of the following psychological research
methods would you use if you want to measure the
cause-effect relationship of behavior of children
2. When observers want to record pre-determined
specific events or behavior in the observation
schedule, they use:
Rating scale
B. Checklist
C. Anecdotal records
D. Running records
A.
7:24 PM
Experimental method
B. Case study method
C. Correlation method
D. Observation method
A.
3. An in-depth and intensive study of a single case is known as:
A.
B.
C.
4. The objective of this study is to measure the degree of relation
between two variables like performance of subject A and subject
B.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Observation method
Case study method
Experimental method
Correlation method
5. The function of a rating scale in recording behaviour is to:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Describe whether the behaviour has occurred
Measure the quality or the frequency of behaviour
Record actual interesting events observed
Record everything that occurs in the situation.
7:24 PM
D.
Survey
Experimental study
Case study
Correlation study