Psycological method

*Qualitative and quantitative research

(producing qualitative and quantitative data)

Qualitative psychological research include: interviews, first-hand observation,

and participant observation, case study etc.
Quantitative psychological research include: experiment, quasi-experiment, crosssectional study, case-control study, and longitudinal study. The measurement
and operationalization are essential parts of this type of research.
Experimental method is the most widely used method in psychology. It is structured
observation involving systematic manipulations of one or more I.V and the
measurement of the effect of manipulation on D.V. It enables us to find out about
causes of things. It is not good to only use this method.
There are several types of experimental method: lab. Experiment, field experiment
and quasi experiment. Each of them has their advantages and disadvantages.

Lab. Experiments/Controlled experiments :Experimental psychological research is

conducted in a laboratory under controlled conditions. This method of research
relies on the application of the scientific method to understand behavior.

Observation in natural settings/Field and quasi experiments: Sometimes the

participants are aware they are being observed and other times it is covert: the
participants do not know they are being observed. Ethical guidelines need to be
taken into consideration when covert observation is being carried out.

Experimental design is comparing the performance of people in one condition to

their performance in second condition.
There are 3 basic ways of designing: repeated measure design, independent
measure design and factorial design.

Non experimental methods

Observation (controlled, natural, participant), case studies, correlations,
questioning.
These are carried out using questionnaires and surveys (Statistical surveys are used

in psychology for measuring attitudes and traits, monitoring changes in mood,

checking the validity of experimental manipulations, and for a wide variety of other
psychological topics), interviews and diary method.

Analysis of pre-existing materials Secondary analysis or re-use of qualitative data

meta-analysis: combines the results of several studies that address a set of related
research hypotheses.
analysis of text and other media
case studies: ( an intensive analysis of an individual unit (e.g., a person, group, or
event)
psychotermic testing: ( the field of study concerned with the theory and technique
of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge,
abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement)

Others:
Neuropsychological methods (Neuropsychology seeks to connect aspects of
behavior and mental activity with the structure and function of the brain).
Computational modeling (Computational modeling is a tool often used
in mathematical psychology and cognitive psychology to simulate a particular
behavior using a computer).
Animal studies (Animal learning experiments aid in investigating the biological basis
of teaching, memory and behavior.)

Longitudinal studies ( Longitudinal studies are often used in psychology to study

developmental trends across the life span, and in sociology to study life events
throughout lifetimes or generations).

Transversal studies (Used to study behavior in a current time or in a point of time

(one hour, one day etc.)