SOME IMPORTANT METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

In the previous section you read about wide variety of data that we collect in psychological studies. All these varieties of data cannot be collected through a single method of enquiry. Psychologists use a variety of methods like Observation, Experimental, Correlational, Survey, Psychological Testing, and Case Study to collect data. The aim of this section is to guide you to select the methods which may be appropriate for different research purposes. For example:

• You can observe the behaviour of spectators watching a football match.
• You can conduct an experiment to see if children taking an examination do better in the classroom in which they had studied the subject or in the examination hall (cause-effect relationship).
• You can correlate intelligence with, say, selfesteem (for prediction purposes).
• You can survey students’ attitude towards privatisation of education.
• You can use psychological tests to find out individual differences.
• You can conduct a case study on the development of language in a child.

The main characteristics of these methods are described in the following sections.