A wide range of

research methods Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

are used in psychology. These methods vary by the sources from which information is obtained, 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 findings are not arrived at by statistical or other quantitative procedures. Quantitative psychological research findings result from mathematical modeling and statistical estimation or statistical inference. The two types of research differ in the methods employed, rather than the topics they focus on. There are three main types of psychological research: * Correlational research *

Descriptive research Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred. Rather it addresses the "what" question (what are the characterist ...

Experimental research An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

Common methods

Common research designs and data collection methods include: * Archival research *

Case study A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular fi ...

uses different research methods (e.g. interview, observation, self-report questionnaire) with a single case or small number of cases. * Computer simulation (modeling) * Ethnography *

Event sampling methodology Event sampling methodology (ESM) refers to a diary study. ESM is also known as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) or experience sampling methodology. ESM includes sampling methods that allow researchers to study ongoing experiences and events by ...

, also referred to as

experience sampling method The experience sampling method (ESM), also referred to as a daily diary method, or ecological momentary assessment (EMA), is an intensive longitudinal research methodology that involves asking participants to report on their thoughts, feelings, beha ...

ology, diary study, or ecological momentary assessment *

Experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...

, often with separate

treatment and control groups In the design of experiments, hypotheses are applied to experimental units in a treatment group. In comparative experiments, members of a control group receive a standard treatment, a placebo, or no treatment at all. There may be more than one ...

(see scientific control and

design of experiments The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...

). See Experimental psychology for many details. *

Field experiment Field experiments are experiments carried out outside of laboratory settings. They randomly assign subjects (or other sampling units) to either treatment or control groups in order to test claims of causal relationships. Random assignment help ...

Focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

, can be

structured Structuring, also known as smurfing in banking jargon, is the practice of executing financial transactions such as making bank deposits in a specific pattern, calculated to avoid triggering financial institutions to file reports required by law ...

or unstructured. *

Meta-analysis A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...

Neuroimaging Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incr ...

and other

psychophysiological Psychophysiology (from Greek , ''psȳkhē'', "breath, life, soul"; , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''-logia'') is the branch of psychology that is concerned with the physiological bases of psychological processes. While psychophysiology w ...

methods *

Observational study In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, an observational study draws inferences from a sample to a population where the independent variable is not under the control of the researcher because of ethical concer ...

, can be naturalistic (see

natural experiment A natural experiment is an empirical study in which individuals (or clusters of individuals) are exposed to the experimental and control conditions that are determined by nature or by other factors outside the control of the investigators. The pro ...

), participant or controlled. *

Program evaluation Program evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency. In both the public and private sectors, s ...

Quasi-experiment A quasi-experiment is an empirical interventional study used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention on target population without random assignment. Quasi-experimental research shares similarities with the traditional experimental design ...

Self-report inventory A self-report inventory is a type of psychological test in which a person fills out a survey or questionnaire with or without the help of an investigator. Self-report inventories often ask direct questions about personal interests, values, sympto ...

Survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...

, often with a

random sample In statistics, quality assurance, and survey methodology, sampling is the selection of a subset (a statistical sample) of individuals from within a statistical population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. Statisticians atte ...

(see

survey sampling In statistics, survey sampling describes the process of selecting a sample of elements from a target population to conduct a survey. The term " survey" may refer to many different types or techniques of observation. In survey sampling it most ofte ...

) *

Twin study Twin studies are studies conducted on identical or fraternal twins. They aim to reveal the importance of environmental and genetic influences for traits, phenotypes, and disorders. Twin research is considered a key tool in behavioral genetics ...

Research designs vary according to the period(s) of time over which data are collected: *

Retrospective cohort study A retrospective cohort study, also called a historic cohort study, is a longitudinal cohort study used in medical and psychological research. A cohort of individuals that share a common exposure factor is compared with another group of equival ...

: Participants are chosen, then data are collected about their past experiences. *

Prospective cohort study A prospective cohort study is a longitudinal cohort study that follows over time a group of similar individuals (cohorts) who differ with respect to certain factors under study, to determine how these factors affect rates of a certain outcome. ...

: Participants are recruited prior to the proposed independent effects being administered or occurring. *

Cross-sectional study In medical research, social science, and biology, a cross-sectional study (also known as a cross-sectional analysis, transverse study, prevalence study) is a type of observational study that analyzes data from a population, or a representative su ...

: A population is sampled on all proposed measures at one point in time. *

Longitudinal study A longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over short or long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of ob ...

: Participants are studied at multiple time points. May address the

cohort effect The term cohort effect is used in social science to describe variations in the characteristics of an area of study (such as the incidence of a characteristic or the age at onset) over time among individuals who are defined by some shared temporal ex ...

and help to indicate causal directions of effects. *

Cross-sequential study A cross-sequential design is a research method that combines both a longitudinal design and a cross-sectional Cross-sectional data, or a cross section of a study population, in statistics and econometrics, is a type of data collected by observing m ...

: Groups of different ages are studied at multiple time points; combines cross-sectional and longitudinal designs Research in psychology has been conducted with both animals and human subjects: * Animal study * Human subject research

References

Stangor, C.
(2007). ''Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences''. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. * Weathington, B.L., Cunningham, C.J.L., & Pittenger, D.P. (2010). ''Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences''. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. {{DEFAULTSORT:Psychological research methods *

Research methods Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

Cognitive science lists Research-related lists Quantitative psychology