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A wide range of research methodologies is used in psychology, many of which have their unique characteristics. Researchers are ultimately responsible for selecting the most appropriate methodology to accomplish their goals and represent their chosen psychological perspective. Every technique has benefits and disadvantages; therefore, any choice must be considered carefully and supported by evidence from credible sources.
Research Types
There are several ways to classify psychological research, such as depending on the aims, the environment, and how it is applied to the subject matter at hand. It’s possible to do research that is either basic or applied. The goal of fundamental research is to find, characterise, and explain the fundamental aspects of human behaviour. Fundamental studies have traditionally focused on, for example, distinct components of vision, memory and learning. As the name suggests, applied research focuses on solving practical challenges in a real-world setting. In any case, they’re linked. Applying fundamental research discoveries to a wide range of contexts may illuminate fundamental questions.
A laboratory or field environment may be used for both practical and basic research. However, basic research is often conducted in a laboratory, whereas applied research is typically conducted in the field.” Research in the lab is more tightly controlled, but field research gives more accurate simulations of real-world circumstances. Laboratory trials may not be as close to reality as field research, but they have yielded crucial findings and laid the groundwork for future study in the field. It is possible to put the outcomes of laboratory experiments to the test in real-world settings by doing field research. It’s not uncommon for laboratories to fall short to accurately simulate real-world situations.
The two may also be combined, which can be rather lucrative in the long run. In addition to basic and applied laboratory and field research, quantitative and qualitative research approaches are distinguished. Experimental and correlational research are examples of quantitative research, which gathers numerical data for statistical analysis. An analytical narrative is the most common way qualitative data is presented and summarized. Qualitative analysis uses methods like observational research. Qualitative analysis frequently comprises face-to-face interviews, focus groups, or case studies, which can’t be summarized numerically but may give a better knowledge of the examined subject.
Experimentation is the primary focus of this section. However, all research methods will be explored in more depth. Close control over the setting allows researchers to draw strong inferences from experiment data, including causal ones.
Aims of Science
The three main aims of science are to describe behaviour, predict behaviour, and find causes and explanations for behaviour.
Description of Behaviour
It is a fundamental objective of science to provide a comprehensive account of a phenomenon or circumstance. Several ways to research a family’s communication and conflict management abilities, such as surveys and interviews. One recurrent topic in human development research is the description of behaviour consistently linked to age.
When it comes to stressful occurrences, a researcher may look at how the ages of 4 and 8 affect how people respond. The responses of children from culturally diverse households to stressful or traumatic experiences might be studied by another researcher. The systematic relationship between events is a major concern of many scholars.
Children’s emotional development may be affected by a family’s relocation. Is drawing a picture of an event more likely to help youngsters remember it? Do females do better in scientific classrooms when all genders participate, or when just girls are present? The farther the distance between the grandparents and their grandkids, the more they phone each other.
Causes and explanation of behaviour
Scientists are also trying to figure out why people behave in certain ways. What causes youngsters who see violence on television to become irrationally angry? What are the causes of aggression? Several studies have indicated that a kid’s violent behaviour is linked to the amount of violence the youngster sees on television, although the source of such behaviour is more complicated. Does television influence children’s behaviour? Is it possible that youngsters have been acclimated to violence? When they see violence on TV, do they begin to feel that they may carry out their frustrations aggressively?
There are several factors at play when determining what causes a person’s actions. Anger in children may be influenced by variables such as television viewing and age, parental child-management approaches and biological factors such as hormone levels. In order to modify a child’s violent behaviour, the root reasons must be identified and addressed. There are several ways researchers try to understand why a certain behaviour is happening (e.g., observation and parent-report).
What are Evaluation Researches?
Evaluation research is a key field of applied research. (or program evaluation research). As a result of the evaluation study, administrators may determine whether a program is accomplishing its stated objectives. Campbell (1969) makes a strong case for seeing social policy initiatives as experiments with specific goals in mind. Children from low-income families may benefit from the Head Start program, while those in middle and high school can benefit from DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).
What is Developmental Research?
People’s growth and transformation are examined in developmental studies. Age-related shifts in individual behaviour, patterns of functioning, and shifts in family relationships are all things developmental perspective might look at, as are features of behaviour in certain sociocultural settings. For example, they might want to know how different types of chronic illnesses affect children at different ages, how old children become aware of pollution, the long-term effects of welfare dependency, how people’s social skills differ as they age, or how extreme poverty is mitigated for children, teenagers, and adults. It’s no secret that many developmentalists use the notion of a life span to explore how people grow from conception to maturity. The majority of life span research employs a variety of methodologies and ideas from a variety of fields, including but not limited to biology, medicine, education, psychology, sociology, and anthropology (Baltes, 1987; Hinde, 1992).
When doing developmental research, age is the primary variable. However, age-related changes might be difficult to discern whether they are attributable to biological or environmental causes. By observing the same people at various stages of their lives, developmental researchers examine the influence of age on their findings. By comparing persons of comparable chronological ages, scientists may look for patterns of similarity and difference between them. Theoretical models of human development may be improved by using such descriptions.
Conclusion
The scientific method offers an objective set of criteria for acquiring and assessing knowledge, while other methods of knowing about the world (e.g., authority and intuition) lack these principles. Identifying the causes and reasons for behaviour are three of the main purposes of scientific study. Basic and applied research in human development and family studies may be broken down into two groups. Practical study such as this is known as “program assessment.” The developmental study focuses on the impact of age-related changes on behaviour. It’s possible to study the impact of diverse circumstances on the development of children by examining the variations in culture.
