Research Methods in Psychology

Research in psychology is conducted in broad accord with the standards of the

scientific method, including both qualitative and quantitative statistical modalities to
generate and evaluate explanatory hypotheses with regard to psychological
phenomena. These methods vary by the sources of information that are drawn on, how
that information is sampled, and the types of instruments that are used in data
collection. Methods also vary by whether they collect qualitative data, quantitative data
or both.
Rules and Regulations for researches:
American Psychological Association has laid down the following rules and regulations
for researches:
 Informed consent (tell them what this research is about).
 There should be no harm to the subject.
 After the research, you must tell the subject about the deception.
Types of Research
Quantitative research:
Quantitative research is generally associated with the positivist / post positivist
epitome. Usually it is to gather and transform the data into digital form so that
statistical calculations can be made and conclusions can be drawn.
Qualitative research:
Qualitative research is the method usually associated with the social constructivist
epitome that emphasizes the socially constructed nature of reality. This is about
recording, analyzing and trying to discover the meaning and importance of human
behavior and experience, including conflicting beliefs, behaviors and deepest emotions.
Researchers are interested in obtaining a rich and complex understanding of the
experience of people and not in gaining information that can be generalized to larger
groups.
Requirement of Methodology:
All methods used for researches should have the basic three qualities, which are:
 They have to be standardized (it must have a certain norm).
 They have to be valid (a test should measure what it’s supposed to measure).
 They have to be reliable.
Types of Research Methodologies
The following are the different types of research methodologies:
 1. Case History Method
2. Experimental Research
3. Correlational Research
4. Survey Method
5. Naturalistic Observation
What Makes a Theory Useful?
A useful theory has a mutual and dynamic interaction with research data.
First, a theory generates a number of hypotheses that can be investigated through
research, thus yielding research data. These data flow back into the theory and
restructure it. From this newly contoured theory, scientists can extract other
hypotheses, leading to more research and additional data, which in turn reshape and
enlarge the theory even more. This cyclic relationship continues for as long as the
theory proves useful.
Second, a useful theory organizes research data into a meaningful structure and
provides an explanation for the results of scientific research. This relationship between
theory and research data is shown in Figure 1.1. When a theory is no longer able to
generate additional research or to explain related research data, it loses its usefulness
and is set aside in favor of a more useful one.
In addition to sparking research and explaining research data, a useful theory must
lend itself to confirmation or disconfirmation, provide the practitioner with a guide to
action, be consistent with itself, and be as simple as possible. Therefore, we
have evaluated each of the theories presented in this book on the basis of six criteria: A
useful theory
(1) Generates research,
(2) is Falsifiable,
(3) Organizes data,
(4) Guides action,
(5) is internally consistent, and
(6) is parsimonious.
(1). Generates Research
The most important criterion of a useful theory is its ability to stimulate and guide
further research. Without an adequate theory to point the way, many of science’s
present empirical findings would have remained undiscovered. In astronomy, for
example, the planet Neptune was discovered because the theory of motion generated
the hypothesis that the irregularity in the path of Uranus must be caused by the
presence of another planet. Useful theory provided astronomers with a road map that
guided their search for and discovery of the new planet.
A useful theory will generate two different kinds of research:
1. Descriptive research, and
2. Hypothesis testing.
Descriptive research, which can expand an existing theory, is concerned with the
measurement, labeling, and categorization of the units employed in theory building.
Descriptive research has a symbiotic relationship wit