The Methods of research in psychology Make reference to the general plan of action that is executed in the field of the mind, where we can find different methods of investigation.
Each of them specifies a specific rule to follow. Likewise, each method adopts a general strategy that determines the possibilities of development of each one of its stages.
On the other hand, research methods in psychology are characterized by specific techniques. That is, a series of procedures for performing different particular steps that enable the application of the method itself.
Finally, each research method in psychology contains a series of concrete strategies that are used to carry out the action. Such strategies are known as designs.
This article discusses the five main research methods used in psychology. Also, we review the different designs that can be developed in each one of them
4 most common methods of research in psychology
1- Experimental method
He Experimental method Is a research strategy whose main objective is to establish relations of causality between a dependent variable and an independent variable.
This method is used through the manipulation of the direct variables of the study. For example, when in psychology we want to examine the causal relationship between age and the development of a particular psychopathology, a study can be designed in which age is manipulated directly.
The experimental method allows, for example, to contrast the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatments, examining the effects they produce on the course of a particular psychopathology.
Also, this method allows the elaboration of the majority of scientific research about the psychopathologies and the factors associated to its development and its etiology.
The experimental method stands out because it is the research mode that provides greater internal control since it allows to control the potentially pollutant variables of the results.
In addition, it also allows a high degree of intervention of the researcher, who can act directly on the conditions of appearance of the phenomenon under study.
Different experimental designs and strategies can be used within the experimental methods. The main ones are group comparison and single cases.
to) Group Comparison
Group comparison designs, as its name implies, are characterized by designing a study comparing results between two groups.
Within each group a series of elements (independent variables) are modified in order to observe how they affect the study objective (dependent variables).
Within the comparison of groups different experimental designs may be formed. The main ones are:
- Univariate strategy : When a single independent variable is used that measures the effect on the dependent variable.
- Multivariate strategy : When two or more independent variables are used and their effect on the dependent variable.
- Unifactorial strategy : When only an independent variable is manipulated, which is operative in a determined number of values or levels. These values generate the same number of experimental conditions to be applied to the study subjects.
- Factorial design : When two or more independent variables are handled simultaneously and provide information not only on the specific effects of each of the variables.
- Intersect design : When different groups of subjects are subjected to different experimental conditions. This strategy allows to compare the measures of the dependent variables and to evaluate the effect of the independent variable.
- Intrasubject design : When each subject in the experiment acts as a control or reference of self. In this way, each of the subjects provides a series of records or observations that correspond to the different levels of the independent variable.
- Full randomization design : When the assignment of the subjects to the experimental conditions is done randomly. The data source is always a representative sample of the group of subjects it represents.
- Restricted Design : When blocking techniques are used when subjects are assigned to groups.
B) Single case
Unique case designs are characterized by evaluating a single subject. They may present an interruption component as a result of the application of a psychological treatment.
This type of experimental method evaluates the change generated by the application of a given intervention in a person. The basics of single case design are:
- The temporal component of the intervention is evaluated.
- The interruption of the intervention is evaluated.
- A successive registration over a period of time of the conduct of a case is carried out before, during and in some cases, after withdrawal of treatment.
Quasi-experimental method
The quasi-experimental method is a research method that seeks to promote the study of problems of social and professional relevance.
The aspects that are studied through this method are not transferable to the laboratory but they need to be examined by controlled procedures.
It shares with the experimental method the evaluation of the effects of a specific variable on another variable of interest but it differs through the absence of random assignments in the experimental groups
3- Selective method
The selective method is a research strategy in which the variables studied are not manipulated directly. This manipulation is done through the selection of study subjects.
Thus, the variables relevant to the study are not of intentional manipulation but of selection of values by their very nature.
An example of the use of this method of research in psychology is the study of brain lesions. In these cases you have to choose subjects who suffer some type of injury before carrying out the study.
4. Observational method
Finally, the observational method is a type of investigation Which is based on observing the spontaneous behavior of people in a natural context.
This type of research tries to reconcile the level of systematization and rigor to elaborate scientific knowledge with the protection of the maximum degree of realism.
References
- Fowler, F. F. (1993). Survey research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Hayes, S.C. (1981). Single case experimental design and empirical clinical practice. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 193-211.
- Moreno, R and López, J. (1985). Methodological analysis of experimental investigations in psychology. Page 7
- Rossi, P.H. and Wright, J.D. (1985). Evaluation research: an assessment. In L. H. Aiken and B. H. Kehrer (Eds.), Evaluation studies review annual, vol 10. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
- Shapiro, M.B. (1966). The single case in clinical-psychological research. Journal of General Psychology, 74, 3-23.