METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

B.A.-I
P.G.G.C.G-42 Chandigarh

By:
Ms. Amandeep
 METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Method is a wider term than technique. Every
science employs methods peculiar to its subject
matter. As the subject matter changes so do the
methods. Psychology is the science of behaviour.
Psychologists utilize a variety of methods in
acquiring knowledge about behaviour. Behaviour
includes inner processes and experiences along
with external and overt activities. Inner
processes cannot be handled with instruments
• INTROSPECTION METHOD
• THE OBSERVATIONAL METHOD
• EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
• SURVEY METHOD
• SAMPLING METHOD
 INTROSPECTION METHOD
• In it a person himself observes his internal
activities and processes.
• can best be denned as the inner observation
of mental events by the man himself at the
time of their occurrence.
• can best be denned as the inner observation
of mental events by the man himself at the
time of their occurrence.
 Merits

• It is a simple and readily available

method, able to give us a direct and
immediate insight into one's own mental
processes without involving any extra
expenditure of material or apparatus
• the inner behaviour of an individual in the
form of thought or feeling can be revealed
through introspection.
 LIMITATIONS
• Introspection is unscientific i.e. individual
investigators differ in their result due to
ambiguity of the correct information and
personal bias.
• The results lack reliable communicability and
repeatability.
• It can only be applied satisfactorily in the case of
adult normal human beings. The behaviour of
children, abnormal humans, animals etc., cannot
be studied by this method.
THE OBSERVATIONAL METHOD

• The observational method involves observation

of behaviour of other individuals as they go
about their usual activities. Observation method
• method may be described as direct observation
of a phenomenon under investigation to the very
place where it occurs.
• Observation method is of two types—controlled
(experimental) and uncontrolled (Naturalistic).
 NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION

• involves observing subjects in their natural

environments in which researchers
carefully observe and record behaviour in
natural setting without any interference.
• The events witnessed are those that occur
naturally and have not been manipulated
or in any way controlled by the observer
 STEPS

• To record behaviour
• To analyse behaviour
• To generalize and interpret.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF A
GOOD OBSERVATION

• Observation should be Specific

• It should be systematic and planned
• It should be scientific and reliable.
 MERITS OF OBSERVATION

• It is economical, natural as well as flexible

• It is objective and scientific
• Its results can be verified and relied upon.
• Behaviour of children, abnormal and animals can
also be -studied- Particularly in studying the
developmental characteristics of individuals the
naturalistic observation method proves quite
suitable.
 LIMITATIONS OF
OBSERVATION METHOD
• It is impossible for us to know what is happening in the
minds of others ; we can only observe this through
external behaviour.
• It lacks repeatability as each natural situation can occur
only once
• In many scientific studies the observer has some
expectancy about what behaviour should be like in a
particular situation or should result from a specific
psychological treatment. So, expectancy can be a source
of observer's bias.
• There is difficulty in observing personal, problems,
unconscious behaviour and internal behaviour.
 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

• In experimental research, subjects are

confronted with specific stimulus under
precisely controlled conditions that allow
their reactions to be reliably measured
• that it allows the researcher to control
conditions, ruling out all possible
influences on subjects' behaviour other
than factors that are being investigated.
• An experiment is observation of
concomitant variation. Suppose there are
two variables X and Y;. Due to change in
X, Y happens, so Y is observed as a
function of X.
• The experimenter creates the situation
with the exact conditions he wants to have
and in which he controls some and
manipulates other variables,
 LAW OF INDEPENDENT
VARIABLE.
• This law states that we are to keep all
causal factors constant except one which.
is to be systematically varied, while
observations of concomitant or successive
changes in the dependent variables are
made.
Researcher must make sure that
I.V. is the only likely cause of the
results they get. Three control
techniques are used :
• Controlling the independent variable so that it
differs significantly for each group of subjects.
• Controlling the other conditions of the
experiment to make sure they are constant for
all the subjects.
• Controlling the assignment of subject to groups
so that each group gets roughly the same ,
"Mix" of people
 STEPS OF EXPERIMENTAL
METHOD
• 1. PROBLEM
 Problem is first step and basis of an
experiment
 Selection of problem must be according to the
interest and aptitude of the researcher
 it should be related to those fields in which
some work has already been done
 Problem should be stated in adequate and
scientific manner and it should express relation
between two and more variables
2. HYPOTHESIS
• Hypothesis is the second step of an experiment,
it is established after the problem has been
described.
• Thus hypothesis explains the phenomenon with
which the problem is concerned.
• Hypothesis should be an adequate answer to the
problems, it should be simple and to the point,
specific,-conceptually clear and must be testable
• A hypothesis guides the collection of data.
 TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS

• Positive hypothesis. A hypothesis may

indicate a clear positive relationship between
two variables
• Negative. Negative hypothesis would postulate
a negative relationship between two variables
• Null Hypothesis. Null hypothesis is best in
nature- In this type of hypothesis, the
experimenter presumes that there is no
difference between two variables.
DESIGN OF AN EXPERIMENT

• Design means a before hand planning of an

experiment so that information can be collected
for the problem under investigation.
• The purpose of experimental design is to
minimise extraneous or uncontrolled variation,
thereby increasing the likelihood that an
experiment will produce valid, consistent results.
 TO DISTINGUISH AND
MANIPULATE VARIABLES
•In this step experimenter
should distinguish between
variables particularly
independent, dependent
and control variables.
 NAMING THE VARIABLE.
• Example. An automobile manufacturer wants to know
how bright brake lights should be so as to minimize the
time required for the driver of a following car to realize
that the car in front is stopping. An experiment is
conducted to answer this.
• Independent variable is (Manipulated)—intensity
(brightness) of brake lights.
• Dependent variable is (observed)—Time from onset
of brake lights until depression of brake Pedal by
following driver.
• Control (Constant) variable—Colour of brake lights,
shape and force of brake Pedal.
 There are two ways of
manipulating independent
variables
• First is to make independent variable appear in
one situation and disappear in another situation
and observe how this effects the dependent
variable.
• The other way to manipulate the independent
variable is to change its value, increase or
decrease its amounts. If the change in the value
of the independent variable is followed by a
change in the value of dependent variable, we
can say that these are tested.
 5. CONTROL
• The attempt to produce a phenomenon in a pure
condition by regulating its environment is called
controlling an experiment
• Experimenter has to set up a stable environment in which
the phenomenon is to be studied in ‘Pure’ sense.
• He makes it certain that the only phenomenon he wishes
to study is present and it is allowed to vary only in the
response to the stimuli he presents in it.
• The main aim of control of an experiment is to ensure
that the influence of all relevant variables is same for all
subjects and does not change during the experiment.
• If experimental variables are not properly controlled we
shall never know whether it is independent variable or
some other uncontrolled relevant variables in the
experiment which is producing these changes in
dependent variable.
There are two main methods to
control an experiment

• Control Group Method

• Control Test Method
Control Group Method.

• In control group method two separate groups

that is control group and experimental group are
taken which are equated or matched on various
traits like age, sex, intelligence and other
personality characteristics
• Independent variable is not introduced in control
group. In experimental group Independent
variable is introduced.
 Control Test Method.

• In control group method two separate groups

that is control group and experimental group are
taken which are equated or matched on various
traits like age, sex, intelligence and other
personality characteristics
• Independent variable is not introduced in control
group. In experimental group Independent
variable is introduced.
 Control Test Method.

• Control test method consists in the

observation of performance under what
may be called normal conditions and then
again with one condition changed.
• In this method there is no need of having-
two different individuals .or group of
subjects for the experiment.
There are two conditions in
this method.
• Control Condition. The condition in an
experiment that remains unchanged (is not
manipulated) and that serves as a point of
comparison for experimental condition.
Independent variable is NOT introduced in
control condition
• Experimental condition. In experimental
condition independent variable is introduced.
 REPORTING AND ANALYSING
DATA
• After the conduct of an experiment data are
presented in tables or figures
• The dependent variable on graph is plotted on
the ORDINATE — the vertical scale (Y-axis). The
independent variable is graphed on the
ABSCISSA — the horizontal scale — (X-axis).
• More than one independent variable can be
shown in the same graph by using solid and
dotted lines and/or differently shaped symbols
for each independent variable.
Merits of experimental method are as under
• In experimental method an experimenter controls the situation by
creating the conditions of interest, thus obtaining data .quickly and
effectively..!
• Here experimenter studies facts with an objective attitude.
• Experimental method is most reliable, most valid and most systematic,
more precise and most objective method of psychology. Its results are
more reliable than other methods of psychology's
• Objective measurement helps ensure that other researchers can repeat
an experiment that is of interest to them.
• Observation and recording of data is objective in experimental method)
• Experimental method is superior to observation method because it
controls independent and dependent variables.
• It is through experimental method that we know the cause and effect
relationship of variables.
• By following scientific method and discovering cause and effect
relationship psychology can make predictions which are generally
correct.
• It can be applied on children, adults and animals as well. It has wide
applications in all branches of psychology
 LIMITATIONS OF
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
• Artificiality. That real human behaviour, the
kind of everyday behaviour that We wish to
understand is studied outside the laboratory,
and when it is studied in laboratory under usual
conditions of rigid control and precise
measurement, it is not the same behaviour.
• A second limitation of the experimental method
is simply that not all questions posed by
psychologists lend themselves to experimental
investigation.
 SURVEY METHOD
• Survey researchers ask subjects carefully prepared sets
of questions about their attitudes, beliefs and
characteristic ways of acting.
• A survey or it is some times called a questionnaire (a
printed form with questions) allows, researcher to gather
a. large amount of information from a large number of
people in a relatively short time.
• It is used when information cannot be collected by any
other method.
• Surveys are used to obtain information or political
opinions, consumer perferences, health care needs and
many other topics.
 LIMITATIONS OF SURVEY METHOD

• It is based on sample which is subject to

sampling error.
• It depends on voluntary co-operation of
respondents.
• There are limits to the number of topics that can
be covered in a survey.
• Long questions are required for establishing
rapport with the subject but in questionnaire
there is limitation of length.
• Historical studies cannot be done by this
method.
 Types of Survey

• alternative forms which the survey

researcher may choose in deciding how to
conduct interview.
1) Mail Survey
2) Personal Interviews
3) Telephone Survey
 MAIL SURVEY.
• the most common means of distributing self-
administered questionnaires.
• advantage of mail surveys is that they can be
done relatively quickly.
• avoid the problems of interviewer bias, Mail
surveys are the
• best for dealing with highly personal or
embarrassing topics, especially when anonymity
of respondents is preserved.
• It is less costly than interview
 Personal Interviews.
• Interview is a series of open ended questions used to
gather basic detailed information about a person.
• subject's responses are recorded on tape or written
down
• Respondents are usually contacted in their homes and
trained interviewers administer the questionnaire
• interviewer can obtain clarifications about ambiguous
answers to open ended questions.
• Personal interview is offset by two disadvantages firstly
the high, cost and secondly the interviewer's bias.
 Telephone Survey

• High travel costs and the difficulties involved in

supervising interviewers have led the researcher
to have telephone survey or interview.
• It provides a quick and speedy collection of
information about the respondents.
• There is still a possible selection bias when
respondents are limited to those people who
have telephones.
 5. SAMPLING METHOD

• A sample is any number of persons selected

to represent the population according to
some rule or plan.
• a sample is a smaller representation of the
population most sampling methods can be
categorized into two –
A) Probability Sampling Methods
B) Nonprobability Sampling Methods
Probability Sampling Methods
• Probability sampling methods are those that clearly specify the
probability or likelihood of inclusion of each element or individual in
the sample. conditions given below
i) The size of the parent population or universe from
which the sample is to be taken, must be known to
the investigator.
ii) Each element or individual in the population must
have an equal chance of being included in a
subsequent sample.
iii) The desired sample size must be clearly specified.
The positive point is that the obtained samples are considered
representative, and hence, the conclusions reached from
such samples are worth generalization and are comparable to
similar populations to which they belong.
The negative point is that a certain amount of sampling
error exists because the researcher has only a limited element of
the entire populations.
 The major probability sampling
methods are the following
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified random sampling
• Area or cluster sampling }
 No probability Sampling
Methods
• In other words, non- probability sampling
methods are those that provide no basis
for estimating how closely the
characteristics of a sample approximate
the parameters of the population from
which the sample had been obtained.
• Quota sampling
• Accidental sampling
• Judgemental or purposive sampling
• Systematic sampling
• Snowball sampling
• Saturation sampling
• Dense sampling
 NEED FOR SAMPLING
• Sampling saves time as well as money.
• A research study based upon sampling is generally
conducted by trained and experienced investigators. As
such, it provides accuracy in measurement and testing.
• Sampling is needed because it remains the only way
when a population/universe contains infinitely many
members
• Sampling helps in-making correct and scientific
judgement about the population for which generalization
is to be made after the completion of the study.
 METHODS OF DRAWING
RANDOM SAMPLES
• STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLE
i) In stratified random sampling the population is, first,
divided into two or more strata, which may be based upon a
single criterion such as sex, yielding two strata—male and
female, or upon a combination of two or more criteria such as
sex and graduation, yielding four strata, namely, male
undergraduates, male graduates, female undergraduates and
female graduates.
ii) Having divided the population into two or more strata, which are
considered to be homogeneous internally, a simple random sample for
the desired number is taken from each population .stratum. Thus in
stratified random sampling the stratification of population is the first
requirement.
1. Stratification tends to increase the precision in estimating the

attributes of the whole population.

2. Stratification gives some convenience in sampling.
 AREA (OR CLUSTER)
SAMPLING
• In area sampling, generally, geographical
divisions of territory, community,
neighbourhood, cities, states, etc., are made on
a map and a certain number of them is drawn at
random and called sample.
• The investigator or interviewer proceeds to
interview all elements of the randomly drawn
areas or clusters. That is the reason why this
method of sampling is also known as Cluster
sampling.
NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING

• QUOTA SAMPLING
– In quota sampling the investigator recognizes the
different strata of population and fron\each stratum he
selects the number of individuals arbitrarily
major advantages of quota sample are stated below:
1 Quota samples are the most satisfactory means
when quick and crude results are desired.
2. This method of sampling is convenient and less costly
than many other methods of sampling, whether
probability or non-probability.
3. Quota sampling, to a greater extent, can guarantee
the inclusion of individuals from different strata
of population.
 Disadvantages
• there is no means of establishing randomness. As such,
the selected samples remain no longer representative of
the population. The conclusion, therefore, lacks external
validity or generalizability
• In quota sampling the investigators or interviewers get
ample opportunity to select the most accessible
individuals influencing their friends and relatives. Such
readily accessible individuals may not be typical of the
population they are going to study. )
• In quota sampling, the researcher, to a greater extent,
controls one variable such as sex or caste, etc., but he
can't control other variables that may have both
theoretical or practical significance.
PURPOSIVE OR JUDGEMENTAL
SAMPLING
• The investigator has some belief that the sample being
handpicked is typical of the population or is a very good
representative of the population.
• A purposive sample is also known as a judgemental
sample because the investigator on the basis of his
impression makes a judgement regarding the concerned
cases, which are thought to be typical of the population.
• For studying attitudes towards any national issue, a
sample of journalists, teachers and legislators may be
taken as an example of purposive samples because they
can more reasonably be expected to represent the
correct attitude than other classes of persons residing in
the country.
 ADVANTAGES
• Since purposive sampling does not involve any
random selection process, it is somewhat less
costly and more readily accessible to the
investigator.
• is a very convenient method of sampling as
compared to other methods of non-probability
sampling.
• guarantees that those individuals will be
included in the sample that are relevant to the
research design.
 DISADVANTAGES
• there is no way to ensure that the sample
is truly random or representative of the
population despite the belief in typicality
of the sample by the investigator.
• too much emphasis is placed on the ability
of the investigator to assess which
elements or individuals are typical of
population and which are not.
 ACCIDENTAL SAMPLING
• Accidental sampling, is also known as incidental
sampling
• the investigator selects the persons according to
his convenience.
• Here he does not care about including the
people with some specific or designated trait,
rather he is mainly guided by convenience and
economy.
• An investigator may take students of class X into
research plan because the class teacher of that
class happens to be his friend
 ADVANTAGES

• Accidental sampling is the most convenient

method of sampling.
• This method of sampling possesses the
trait of economy. This method saves time,
money and labour of the investigator.
 Disadvantages
• From accidental samples nothing can be
generalized with confidence because the
samples remain no longer representative of the
population.
• In accidental sampling the investigator gets
ample opportunity to show his bias and
prejudice in selecting the individuals.
• In accidental sampling the probability of
sampling error is high. Therefore, the validity
and reliability of this method are badly affected.
 SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING

• Systematic sampling may be defined as

drawing or selecting every nth person
from a predetermined list of elements or
individuals. Selecting every 5th roll
number in a class of 60 students will
constitute systematic sampling. Likewise,
drawing every 8th name from a telephone
directory is an example of systematic
sampling.
 ADVANTAGES

• is relatively a quick method of obtaining a

sample of elements
• makes it very easy to check whether every
nth number or name has been selected.
• is very easy to use
 LIMITATIONS
• sampling ignores all persons between
every nth element chosen.
 SNOWBALL SAMPLING
• It is defined as having all the persons in a group
or organisation identifying their friends who in
turn identify their friends and associates until
the researcher observes that a constellation of
friendships converges into some type of a
definite social pattern. Some selected behaviour
is usually used as the basis of contact and/or
association. Snowball sampling is used for
obtaining an impression of informal social
relations among individual.
 ADVANTAGES

• Has proved very important and is helpful in

studying small informal social group and its
impact upon formal organizational structure.
• reveals communication pattern in community
organization concepts like community power.
• The method of snowball sampling is amenable to
various scientific sampling procedures at various
stages such as use of random numbers or
computer determination.
 LIMITATIONS
• Snowball sampling becomes cumbersome
and "difficult when N is large or say it
exceeds 100.
 SATURATION SAMPLING

• Saturation sampling is defined as drawing

all elements or individuals having
characteristics of interest to the
investigator.
• Drawing all physicians having at least the
age of 45 (from a small community),
would be called saturation sampling.
 DENSE SAMPLING

• When the researcher selects 50% or more from

the population and takes a majority of
individuals having specified traits or
characteristics which are of interest to him, it is
called dense sampling.
• For example, if the researcher selects 500 to 600
students from a population of 1,000 students, it
will constitute dense sampling.
 ADVANTAGE

• these are convenient methods of sampling

where N of the population does not
exceed 1,000. In case it exceeds, these
methods of sampling become umbersome
and inconvenient