Download METHODS OF RESEARCH

Objective: Describe the various methods of data collection – Experimental, survey,
observation/field study, case study
1. Naturalistic Observation
► Would you behave differently if someone walked into the room running a video
camera?
► The goal of Naturalistic Observation is to remain as unobtrusive as possible or
conceal yourself when you are observing people or animals, so as to avoid
disturbing them. This is the cardinal rule of naturalistic observation.
► The subjects must be unaware that they are being observed
2. Case Studies
► A case study is an intensive study of a person or a group.
► Most case studies combine long-term observations with diaries, tests, and
interviews
► Freud and Piaget used case studies in the development of their theories.
► A single case study alone cannot prove or disprove anything
► They can provide a lot of descriptive material that can lead to new studies
3. Surveys
► Used to gather data on the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of large numbers of
people
► May consist of interviews, questionnaires, or a combination of both
Advantages of interviews:
a) They can allow for interpretation or clarification of
questions
b) More personal
Advantages of questionnaires
a) More uniform (everyone answers same questions)
b) Eliminate the possibility of interviewer influencing the
participant with body language
c) Take less time to administer
4. Longitudinal studies
► Studies in which researchers study the same group of people at regular intervals
over a period of years
► Good for studying consistencies and inconsistencies in behavior over time
► Are time consuming and sometimes hard to manage – participants may disappear
5. Cross-Sectional Studies
► Participants in the study are grouped by age
► Groups are randomly sampled, and members of each group are surveyed, tested or
observed simultaneously.
► An example is in 1995, researchers conducted a cross-sectional study in which
they showed three-, four-, six- and seven-year olds a picture of a serious-looking
woman, and asked them what they thought she was thinking about. The findings
showed that older children seemed to have a clearer picture of mental processes.
They then proposed that as children mature, their understanding of mental
processes improves (Flavell, Green, & Flavell)
6. Correlations and Explanations
► Done when researches want to examine the relationship between two sets of data
– for example, students’ grades and number of hours they sleep
► Correlation – describe how 2 sets of data relate to each other.
► Eg. There is a positive correlation between IQ scores and academic success (the
higher the IQ, the greater the success)
► A correlation does not explain WHY, it just shows the relationship