Field Methods in Psychology

Field Methods in
Psychology
Psych 110

Prepared by: Caryl Esmaelita C. Floro

 Field Methods

This subject covers the methods about the scientific understanding of human behavior. It
includes the design and administration of surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. The data
can be qualitative or quantitative, and can be use for the methods for analysis and presentation.
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Formal Research Paper Slideshow

Types of Research
Methodology

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 Qualitative
➔ Collecting and analyzing written or spoken words and textual data. It may also
focus on body language or visual elements and help to create a detailed
description of a researcher's observations
➔ Subjective and time-consuming; the aim of the research should be exploratory
➔ Data can be gathered through:
● Focus Group
● Interviews
● Observation
Quantitative
➔ This method is used when the objective of the research is to confirm something
➔ It focuses on collecting, testing and measuring numerical data, usually from a
large sample of participants. They then analyze the data using statistical analysis
and comparisons
➔ Popular methods:
● Surveys
● Questionnaires
● Test
● Databases
● Organizational records
 Mixed-method
➔ Combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods of research which
provide additional perspectives, create a richer picture and present multiple
findings
➔ It presents exact data while being exploratory
➔ Types of Survey Methods:
● Focus Group
● One-on-one Interview
● Telephone Surveys
● Mail-in Surveys
Types of Sampling
Design in Research
Methodology
Probability Sampling
➔ A method that uses a random sample from the pool of people or items from the
population, and is random or chance sampling
➔ Every person or item in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
Nonprobability Sampling
➔ A method in which the researcher/s deliberately selects people or items for the
sample
➔ Also known as deliberate sampling, judgment sampling or purposive sampling
➔ Every person or item in the population doesn't have an equal chance of being
selected, and the results are typically not generalizable to the entire population
 Common Data
Collection Methods
 Surveys
➔ Allows researchers to gather insights related to a particular area of interest
➔ Answers to surveys can be used to understand public perceptions about personal
experiences with a particular event, item, service, product, or even personality
 Interviews
➔ Interviews are another in-person research technique in which researchers ask people
questions one-on-one.

➔ Focus group participants interact and discuss with one another, rather than
answering questions or addressing concerns privately and individually
 Focus Groups
➔ Focus groups have interviewees give their thoughts, opinions, perspectives and
perceptions on specific topics

➔ A moderator usually leads the group to help guide the discussion and ensure
everyone has a chance to share their thoughts
 Observations
➔ Direct observation involves observing the spontaneous behavior of participants
without interference from the researcher, while participant observation is more
structured, and the researcher interacts with the participants
 Documents and records
➔ Data that were gathered from published reports and official documents of
international bodies, government agencies or private institutes and internal records
such as employees' payroll, raw material quantities and cash receipts
 Common Data
Analysis Methods
 Qualitative Data
Analysis
➔ Spoken or written information, such as:
● interview transcripts
● video and audio recordings
● notes
● images and text documents
➔ Identifies common patterns in participants' responses and critically analyzing them
to achieve research aims and objectives
Most Commonly Used
Qualitative Data
Analysis Methods
 Content analysis
➔ This is one of the most common methods used to analyze documented
information and is usually used to analyze interviewees' responses
 Narrative analysis
➔ Researchers use this method to analyze content from several sources, including
interviews, observations and surveys

➔ It focuses on using people's stories and experiences to answer research

questions
 Discourse analysis
➔ This method analyzes spoken or written language in its social context and aims
to understand how people use language in day-to-day situations
 Grounded theory
➔ This method uses qualitative data to discover or construct a theory explaining
why something happened

➔ It uses a comparative analysis of data from similar cases in different settings to

derive explanations
 Thematic analysis
➔ A method for analyzing qualitative data that entails searching across a data set
to identify, analyze, and report repeated patterns

➔ It is a method for describing data, but it also involves interpretation in the

processes of selecting codes and constructing themes
 Quantitative Data
Analysis
➔ Involves turning numbers into meaningful data by applying rational and critical
thinking with the help of analytical software to assist with the quantitative data
analysis

➔ The first stage in analyzing quantitative data is validating, editing and coding the
data. Once completed, the data is ready for analysis.
Most Commonly Used
Quantitative Data
Analysis Methods
 Descriptive analysis
➔ This method uses descriptive statistics like mean, median, mode, percentage,
frequency and range to find patterns.
 Descriptive analysis
➔ This method uses descriptive statistics like mean, median, mode, percentage,
frequency and range to find patterns.
 Inferential analysis
➔ This method shows the relationships between multiple variables using correlation,
regression and variance analysis
 Factors to consider
when choosing a
research methodology
 Research Objective
➔ Consider the research project objective. When researchers know what information
they require at the end of the project to meet their objectives, it helps them select the
correct methodology and research method
 Significance of
Statistics
➔ Consider if your research require data-driven research results and statistical
answers. Or whether the research questions require an understanding of motives,
assumptions, opinions, beliefs, and justifications
 Nature of the research
➔ If the aims and objectives are exploratory, the research will probably require
qualitative data collection methods. However, if the aims and objectives are to
measure or test something, the research will require quantitative data collection
methods
 Sample size
➔ How large of a sample must be taken in order to respond to the study questions and
achieve the goals? Your data collection methods, such as whether to conduct in-
person interviews for smaller samples or online surveys for bigger ones, can be
determined by the sample size.
 Time available
➔ If there are time restrictions, take into account methods like convenience or random
sampling as well as tools that enable data collecting in a few days. In-person
interviews and observations are options for data collecting if there is more time
available.