Approaches to Research

🔬 Overview of Psychological Research Methods

Psychologists use various research methods to:

• Understand, describe, and explain behavior.

• Study cognitive and biological processes.

Main Research Approaches:

1. Observational techniques

2. Interviews and surveys

3. Experiments

4. Archival research

5. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies

Each method has unique strengths and limitations, and their use depends on the research question.

🧍‍♂ 1. Clinical or Case Studies

🔑 Definition:

• Focused, in-depth study of one or a few individuals, often with rare characteristics.

✅ Strengths:

• Produces rich, detailed information.

• Helps understand unique conditions or phenomena (e.g., brain damage, rare disorders).

• Useful for developing hypotheses or theories.

❌ Weaknesses:

• Limited generalizability to the broader population.

• Focus is on atypical individuals.

🧠 Example:

• Krista and Tatiana Hogan: conjoined twins possibly connected via the thalamus.

  • Studied to understand shared sensory processing.

🌿 2. Naturalistic Observation

🔑 Definition:

• Observing behavior in its natural environment without intervention.

✅ Strengths:

• High ecological validity (natural behavior).

• Observations can apply well to real-world situations.

• Used in both human and animal studies.

❌ Weaknesses:

• Lack of control over variables.

• Behavior may not occur when expected.

• Requires time, patience, and luck.

• Observer bias is a risk.

👁 Observer Bias & Controls:

• Use clear criteria for behaviors.

• Employ multiple observers to assess inter-rater reliability.

🧠 Example:

• Jane Goodall studied chimpanzees in the wild.

• Handwashing Study: Observing real behavior vs. self-report.

• Suzanne Fanger's Study: Preschoolers wore mics to observe social exclusion.

🎯 3. Structured Observation

🔑 Definition:

• Observing behavior during pre-planned tasks or scenarios.

🧠 Example:

• Strange Situation (Mary Ainsworth): Infant’s reaction to caregiver leaving and returning used to assess attachment styles.

📄 4. Surveys

🔑 Definition:

• Questionnaires or interviews used to gather self-reported data from participants.

✅ Strengths:

• Collect data from large samples quickly and cheaply.

• Results are more generalizable to the population.

❌ Weaknesses:

• Limited depth of data.

• Self-report bias (lying, memory errors, social desirability).

🧠 Example:

• Jenkins et al. (2012):

  • Surveyed prejudice toward Arab-Americans post-9/11.

  • Found subtle prejudice despite lack of overt bias in self-report.

🗃 5. Archival Research

🔑 Definition:

• Analyzing existing records or datasets to identify patterns or answer questions.

✅ Strengths:

• Low cost and time-efficient.

• No need to interact with participants.

❌ Weaknesses:

• No control over how data was collected.

• Incomplete or inconsistent records may be an issue.

🧠 Example:

• Studying college completion rates based on academic records.

🕒 6. Longitudinal Research

🔑 Definition:

• Studying the same group over a long period.

✅ Strengths:

• Tracks real changes over time.

• Controls for cohort effects.

❌ Weaknesses:

• Takes a long time to complete.

• High costs.

• High attrition (participant dropout).

🧠 Example:

• Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3):

  • Tracks participants over decades to study cancer risk factors.

⏳ 7. Cross-Sectional Research

🔑 Definition:

• Compares different groups at the same time (e.g., age, gender).

✅ Strengths:

• Quicker and cheaper than longitudinal studies.

❌ Weaknesses:

• Affected by cohort effects (differences due to generational experiences).

🧠 Example:

• Survey on same-sex marriage support across different age groups.

🔄 Correlational vs. Experimental Research

• Correlational: Helps identify relationships but can’t determine causality.

• Experimental: Can determine cause-and-effect, but:

  • Often done in artificial settings.

  • Not always ethical or feasible for all questions.

📘 Key Terms to Know for Quizzes