Research methods in psychology

A critical understanding of research methods in psychology examines how different types of scientific research methods are used to investigate psychological phenomena, highlightint their benefits and limitations.

Overview

Woman looking through magnifying glass with numbers

Psychology is a science. Psychological research uses the scientific method to systematically investigate and understand human experience and behaviour (Willig, 2019). The scientific method is a systematic refinement of everyday thinking (Einstein, 1936).

A useful distinction is made between research which is:

• quantitative (using numerical data) and
• qualitative (using non-numerical data) research.

The approaches represent two sides of the same coin. Or, as Karl Marx wrote:

“ Merely quantitative differences, beyond a certain point, pass into qualitative changes.
- Karl Marx “Capital: An abridged edition”, 1999, p. 322, OUP Oxford ”

Though predating the term "qualitative research", early pioneers such as Freud, Jung, and Piaget utilised such methods in their early work (e.g., case studies) and, by doing so, provided the foundation for modern psychology (del Rio Carral & Tseliou, 2019).

Since the first experimental psychology laboratory was established in 1879 by Wundt, psychological research become highly quantitative during the 20th century. During the 21st century, the methods and foci of psychological research have expanded and diversified (Nelson, 2015).

Each research method has strengths and weaknesses, so the selection of which method(s) to use should depend on the aims and nature of the research question.

List of psychological research methods

Many different research methods are used in psychological research, including:

• Action research
• Autoenthnography
• Case study in psychology
• Content analysis
• Correlational research
• Delphi method
• Discourse analysis
• Ethnography
• Experiment
• Exploratory research
• Grounded theory
• Indigenous research
• Meta-analysis
• Observation
• Participatory research
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Quasi-experiment
• Randomised experiment
• Secondary research (Wikipedia)
• Survey research - Survey research and design in psychology

See also

Search for Research methods on Wikipedia.

• Constructivism
• Epistemology
• List of psychological research methods (Wikipedia)
• Ontology (Wikipedia)
• Portal:Research
• Positivism (Wikipedia)
• Psychological research goals
• Psychological statistics
• Research methods
• Research methods (Introduction to Psychology - Wikibooks)
• Social science methodology (Wikipedia)
• Statistical Analysis

References

del Rio Carrall, M., & Tseliou, E. (2019). Mapping qualitative research in psychology across Europe: Contemporary trends. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 16(3), 325–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2019.1605276

Einstein, A. (1936). Physics and reality. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/34651272/Physics_and_Reality_by_Albert_Einstein-libre.pdf

Nelson, K. (2015). Quantitative and qualitative research in psychological science. Biological Theory, 10(3), 263–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-015-0216-0

Willig, C. (2019). What can qualitative psychology contribute to psychological knowledge? Psychological Methods, 24(6), 796–804. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000218

External links

• PSY 225: Research methods (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
• Research methods in psychology (Jhangiani et al., 2019)