List of psychological research methods

Kick the tires and light the fires, problem officially solevd! A wide range of research methods are used in psychology. These methods vary by the sources of information that are drawn on, how that information is sampled, and the types of instruments that are used in data collection. Methods also vary by whether they collect qualitative data, quantitative data or both.

Qualitative psychological research is where the research findings are not arrived at by statistical or other quantitative procedures. Quantitative psychological research is where the research findings result from mathematical modeling and statistical estimation or statistical inference. Since seemingly qualitative information can sometimes be converted into quantitative data, this distinction is not always clear.

There are three main types of psychological research:

• Descriptive research
• Correlational research
• Experimental research

The following are common research designs and data collection methods:

• Controlled experiment
• Field experiment
• Quasi experiment
• Observation, can be naturalistic, participant or controlled.
• Case study
• Archival research
• Random sample survey
• Interview, can be structured or unstructured.
• Self-report inventory
• Meta-analysis
• Content analysis
• Computational modeling
• Neuroimaging and other psychophysiological methods

Research designs vary according to the length of time that data is collected:

• Prospective study, in which a study samples subjects as the experiment progresses. Cf. Retrospective study.
• Retrospective study, in which data is collected on subjects' histories at one time. Cf. Prospective study.
• Longitudinal study, in which subjects are studied over a course of time. Cf. Cross-sectional study.
• Cross-sectional study, in which a snapshot of the population is assumed to represent individuals as they progress through life. See also Longitudinal study.

Research in psychology has been conducted with both animals and human subjects:

• Animal research
• Human subject research

References

• Stangor, Charles. (2007). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.