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Methods of Psychology
There are a number of different ways to investigate the answers to research questions,
and which one a researcher uses depends on the kind of question they want to answer.

Observational Method
The observational method is a non-experimental and qualitative research method in
which the behavior of the subject under research is observed. An observational method is a great
tool for data collection in psychology because the researcher does not require any special types
of equipment to collect the research data. Psychological research is different from our daily
observations as it involves some important steps such as selection of the area of interest, noting
the observations, and analyzing the obtained data. Gathering the data through observation is
itself a skill as an observer should be aware of his actual area of research and he/she should have
a clear picture in mind that what qualities or attributes he should observe, and what he should
avoid.
The observational methods are broadly divided into two categories:

I. Naturalistic Observation
If the researcher has made the observations in real-life or natural settings such as schools,
institutes, homes, open environments, etc., without interfering with the phenomena under
observation, then it is known as naturalistic observation. In this type of observation, the
researcher does not manipulate or control any situation, and he/she only records the spontaneous
behavior of the subject (individual or event under investigation) in their natural environment.
The advantage of naturalistic observation is that it allows researcher to get realistic
picture of how behavior occurs because they are actually watching that behavior. But precautions
must be taken so that the observer is hidden from view because, when people know that they are
being observed, they tend to behave differently from normal. This is known as the “observer
effect”. One way to deal with observer effect is “participant observation”, in which the observer
becomes a participant in the group being observed.
One of the disadvantages of naturalistic observation is the possibility of “observer bias”.
That happens when the person doing the observation has a particular opinion about what he or
she is going to see or expects to see. If that is the case, sometimes that person sees only those
actions that support that expectation and ignores actions that don’t fit. We can deal with this by
having blind observers: people who do not know what the research question is and, therefore,
have no preconceived notions about what they should see. It is also a good idea to have more
than one observer, so that various observations can be compared.

II. Controlled Observation

Controlled observation is a research method where researchers watch participants in a
contained environment, such as a laboratory. In a controlled observation, the researcher pre-
determines and controls the study variables and determines the location, the time, the
participants, and the tools used to complete the study. In these observations, variables are
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manipulated according to the need of the research. For example, if the researcher wants to study
the effect of induced workload on the worker’s performance, the research should be conducted in
a controlled setting as the researcher can control the independent variable (workload).
The main advantage of controlled observation is the degree of control that it gives to the
observer. But laboratory settings have the disadvantage of being an artificial situation that might
result in artificial behavior—people and animals often react differently in the laboratory than
they would in the real world.

Case study
In the case study method, the researcher does qualitative research and in-depth analysis of
a specific case (individual under investigation). The researcher tries to learn everything he/she
can about that individual. The results obtained from this method are highly reliable; in fact,
many famous theories such as the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget’s
cognitive development theory are the results of well-structured and proper case studies of the
subjects.
The advantage of the case study is the tremendous amount of detail it provides. It may
also be the only way to get certain kinds of information. For example, studies of individual’s
personalities who have suffered from brain damage. One famous case study is the story of
Phineas Gage.
The disadvantage of the case study is that researchers cannot really apply the results to
other similar people i.e., it is not generalizable to other similar conditions. In other words, they
cannot assume that if another person had the same kind of experiences growing up; he or she
would turn out just like the person in their case study.

Survey Method
A survey method is a process, tool, or technique that you can use to gather information in
research by asking questions to a predefined group of people. In this method, researchers will ask
a series of questions about the topic they are studying.
Surveys can be conducted in person in the form of interviews or on the telephone, the
internet, or with a questionnaire. The questions in a survey are all the same for everyone
answering the survey.
The big advantage of surveys is that researchers can get a tremendous amount of data on
a very large group of people.
One disadvantage of survey method is that researchers have to be very careful about the
group of people they survey. If the sample of groups is not representative of the population, the
results they get will not be representative of the population.
Another disadvantage is the fact that people are not always going to give researchers
accurate answers. So that the results may not be s accurate as the researcher would like.
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Experimental Method
The experimental method involves manipulating one variable to determine if this causes
changes in another variable. This method relies on controlled research methods and random
assignment of study subjects to test a hypothesis. When using the experimental method,
researchers first identify and define key variables. Then they formulate a hypothesis, manipulate
the variables, and collect data on the results.

Variables
To understand the experimental method, firstly we need to be familiar with the term
‘variable.’ A variable is an event or stimulus that varies, and its values can be measured. There
are two types of variables: Independent and dependent.
Independent variable is a variable that is manipulated by the experimenter. Dependent
variable is not manipulated by the experimenter and is expected to be affected by the
independent variable.

Groups
Usually, an experiment consists of two groups: the experimental group and the control
group.
The group that is subjected to the independent variable is called the “experimental
group”. This group receives the experimental manipulation. Individuals in the “control group”
are not subjected to the independent variable and do not receive the experimental manipulation.
For example, if a researcher wants to find that children who watch violent cartoons are
aggressive then children in the experimental group will watch a violent cartoon. While children
in the control group will watch a nonviolent cartoon of equal time length. Afterwards, the
researcher will compare the level of aggression of children of two groups.

Interviewing
Interviews are different from questionnaires as they involve social interaction.
Unlike questionnaires methods, researchers need training in how to interview. Interviews may
not be the best method to use for researching sensitive topics.

Structured interview
A structured interview is a quantitative research method where the interviewer a set of
prepared closed-ended questions in the form of an interview schedule, which he/she reads out
exactly as worded. Interviews schedules have a standardized format which means the same
questions are asked to each interviewee in the same order. The interviewer will not deviate from
the interview schedule (except to clarify the meaning of the question) or probe beyond the
answers received.
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Strengths: a) Structured interviews are easy to replicate as a fixed set of closed

questions are used.
b) They are fairly quick to conduct which means that many interviews can
take place within a short amount of time.
Limitations: a) structured interviews are not flexible. This means new questions cannot
be asked as an interview schedule must be followed.
b) The answers from structured interviews lack detail. This means a
researcher won't know why a person behaves in a certain way.

Unstructured Interview
Unstructured interviews do not use any set questions, instead, the interviewer asks open-
ended questions based on a specific research topic and will try to let the interview flow like a
natural conversation. The interviewer modifies his or her questions to suit the candidate's
specific experiences.
Strengths: a) Unstructured interviews can deviate from the interview schedule which
makes it more flexible.
b) It uses open questions which help the researcher get a real sense of a
person’s understanding of a situation.
c) It also allows the interviewer to ask for clarifications and probe beyond
the answers received.
Limitations: a) It can be time-consuming to conduct an unstructured interview and
analyze the qualitative data.
b) Employing and training interviewers is expensive, and not as cheap as
collecting data via questionnaires.