Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

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College of Arts and Sciences

Course Code PSY 315

Course Description Field Methods in Psychology
Week 2

MODULE 1: Introduction to Field Methods

Module Introduction:

This module serves as an engaging introduction to field research, offering a clear and accessible
definition of what research entails. It delves into the principles of scientific methods and critical thinking,
emphasizing their importance in the realm of psychology.

As we progress through this chapter, you'll find a concise overview of field methods and
fundamental concepts. We’ll also explore the significance of employing these methods in field research,
setting the stage for a deeper discussion in the following chapters.

By the end of this module, you’ll not only understand the steps essential for conducting scientific
research but also appreciate how these methods contribute to our understanding of human behavior in
real-world settings. This approach aims to make the content relatable and relevant, ensuring that you feel
connected to the material as you embark on your

Intended Learning Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. Define research;
2. Understand the process of scientific method;
3. Identify the basic types of research;
4. Explore the steps of research and scientific method
5. Describe field methods; and
6. Explain the uses and importance of field methods.

Module Content:

1.1. Definition of Research

Research is derived from the French word “rechercher” which means “to go about seeking”. By
nature human beings are very curious—they tend to ask, seek, and find answers to questions. Therefore,
humans are amateur researchers. The roots of man’s curiosity can be linked to human intelligence and
our lifelong capacity to learn. This curiosity helped make modern science possible. As a science,
psychology is engaged in the study of human behavior and mental processes. To describe, predict, and
explain human behavior, psychologists conduct scientific research and use scientific methods and the
principles of critical thinking. Psychology is a science that systematically gathers facts and formulates
theories based on empirical evidences.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines research as a “studious inquiry or examination” aimed
at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws. Fred N. Kerlinger
defines scientific research as a “systematic controlled, empirical , and critical investigation of natural
phenomena.” The 2017 National Ethical Guidelines for Health and Health-Related Research defines
research “as an activity that aims to develop or contribute to knowledge that can be generalized
(including theories, principles, relationships), or any accumulation of information using scientific
methods, observation, inference and analysis.” Scientific research is divided into two categories basic
and applied. Applied research aims to solve a specific problem whereas basic or pure research has no
immediate application to solve a specific problem,

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1.2. The Scientific Method

The scientific method allows researchers to create a body of knowledge that involves steps for
ensuring that the information will be correct. Psychologist Spencer Rathus (2017) describes the scientific
process in research. The research process usually begins with formulating a research question or
statement of the problem. In this process of formulating a research question or problem, the
researcher tries to think about the cause and effect or the relationships among the factors involved
in causing human behavior.

Usually, a research question or problem is guided by a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative

answer or explanation to the problem. There are two ways of stating the hypothesis: null and alternative.
The null hypothesis suggests that no statistical relationship and significance exists among a set of
variables. The alternative hypothesis is contrary to the null hypothesis. It is usually the expectation
based on theory. In the process of formulating a hypothesis, the researcher gathers a set of interrelated
ideas to account for the explanations. These ideas constitute a theory. A scientific theory is a set of
interconnected statements, such as hypotheses, assumptions, or predictions that help explain and
understand human behavior.

The next step of the scientific process is to test the hypothesis through methods, such as
descriptive, correlational, and experimental methods. Researchers describe behavior by using
observations, surveys, and case studies. They examine the relationship of variables through correlational
studies. They a determine the cause and effect of variables through experiments. In quantitative research,
the selection of appropriate statistical techniques is a very important step in the analysis of data. In
qualitative research, thematic analysis of data is commonly used.

The next phase of the scientific process is drawing conclusions. Researchers draw conclusions
about their research questions or the accuracy of their hypotheses on the basis of their observations or
findings. In the final phase, researchers report the results of their research to allow other researchers to
replicate their observations or findings. This will determine if the same results will be obtained in an
effort to demonstrate the reliability of the results.

1.3. The Steps of the Scientific Method

Step 1: Observe Behavior or Other Phenomena

The scientific method often begins with casual or informal observations. Notice that it is not necessary
to start with a well-planned, systematic investigation. Instead, simply observe the world around you until
some behavior or event catches your attention.

For example, the authors of the swearing study observed (themselves or others) swearing in response to
pain. Based on their observations, they began to wonder whether swearing has any effect on the
experience of pain.

At this stage in the process, people commonly tend to generalize beyond the actual observations. The
process of generalization is an almost automatic human response known as induction, or inductive
reasoning. In simple terms, inductive reasoning involves reaching a general conclusion based on a few
specific examples.

Step 2: Form a Tentative Answer or Explanation (a Hypothesis)

This step in the process usually begins by identifying other factors, or variables, that are associated with
your observation. You must select one of the explanations to be evaluated in a scientific research study.
Choose the explanation that you consider to be most plausible, or simply pick the one that you find most
interesting. Remember, the other explanations are not discarded. If necessary, they can be evaluated in
later studies.

At this point, you have a hypothesis, or a possible explanation, for your observation. In the context of
science, a hypothesis is a statement that describes or explains a relationship between or among variables.
A hypothesis is not a final answer but rather a proposal to be tested and evaluated.

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 For example, a researcher might hypothesize that there is a relationship between personality
characteristics and cigarette smoking. Note that your hypothesis is not considered to be a final answer.
Instead, the hypothesis is a tentative answer that is intended to be tested and critically evaluated.

Step 3: Use Your Hypothesis to Generate a Testable Prediction

Usually, this step involves taking the hypothesis and applying it to a specific, observable, real-world
situation. Notice that a single hypothesis can lead to several different predictions and that each prediction
refers to a specific situation or an event that can be observed and measured.

We begin with a general (universal) statement and then make specific deductions. In particular, we use
our hypothesis as a universal premise statement and then determine the conclusions or predictions that
must logically follow if the hypothesis is true.

Also notice that the predictions generated from a hypothesis must be testable—that is, it must be possible
to demonstrate that the prediction is either correct or incorrect by direct observation. Either the
observations will provide support for the hypothesis or they will refute the hypothesis. For a prediction
to be truly testable, both outcomes must be possible.

Step 4: Evaluate the Prediction by Making Systematic, Planned Observations

After a specific, testable prediction has been made (the rational method), the next step is to evaluate the
prediction using direct observation (the empirical method). This is the actual research or data collection
phase of the scientific method. The goal is to provide a fair and unbiased test of the research hypothesis
by observing whether the prediction is correct. The researcher must be careful to observe and record
exactly what happens, free of any subjective interpretation or personal expectations.

Step 5: Use the Observations to Support, Refute, or Refine the Original Hypothesis
The final step of the scientific method is to compare the actual observations with the predictions that were
made from the hypothesis. To what extent do the observations agree with the predictions? Some
agreement indicates support for the original hypothesis and suggests that you consider making new
predictions and testing them. Lack of agreement indicates that the original hypothesis was wrong or that
the hypothesis was used incorrectly, producing faulty predictions. In this case, you might want to revise
the hypothesis or reconsider how it was used to generate predictions. In either case, notice that you have
circled back to Step 2; that is, you are forming a new hypothesis and preparing to make new predictions.

1.4. Basic Types of Research Methods

A variety of research methods have been used to study human behavior. Each method has its
strengths and weaknesses. The choice of method must fit the problem of the study. The following types
of research have all contributed to the discover of new knowledge.

The goal of descriptive research is to describe phenomenon and its characteristics. This research
is more concerned with what rather than how or why something h happened (Nassaji, 2015). The principal
aims in employing the descriptive research method are to describe the present nature of a situation and
to explore the causes of particular phenomena (e.g., anxiety and depression).

Correlational research studies the relation between variables. It is usually measured by

calculating a correlation coefficient which expresses the strength and direction of a relation between two
variables. The values range between -1.0 and 1.0. There are different types of correlation coefficient, and
the most popular one is Pearson's correlation or Pearson's R that is commonly used in linear regression.

Experimental research is a systematic way of manipulating the factors that the experimenter
believes cause a particular behavior. The factor being manipulated is called the independent variable.
The behavior being observed is called the dependent variable. In experimental studies, one group
receives the intervention (such as a new drug) while the control group receives nothing or a placebo
treatment. The researchers then study what happens to people in each group.

1.5 THE RESEARCH PROCESS Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative research is based on measuring variables for individual participants to obtain

scores, usually numerical values, which are submitted to statistical analysis for summary and
interpretation. The term quantitative refers to the fact that this type of research examines variables that
typically vary in quantity (size, magnitude, duration, or amount). Part of the research process involves

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using different methods for measuring variables to determine how much, how big, or how strong they
are. The results, or data, obtained from these measurements are usually numerical scores that can be
summarized, analyzed, and interpreted using standard statistical procedures.

Qualitative research is based on making observations that are summarized an interpreted in a

narrative report. The result of qualitative research, however, is typically a narrative report (i.e., a written
discussion of the observations). Qualitative research involves careful observation of participants (often
including interaction with participants), usually accompanied by extensive note taking. The observations
and notes are then summarized in a narrative report that attempts to describe and interpret the
phenomenon being studied.

1.6 The Steps of the Research Process

Step 1: Find a Research Idea: Select a Topic and Search the Literature to Find an Unanswered
Question

The first step in the research process is to find a research idea, typically involves two parts:
1. Selecting a general topic area (such as human development, perception, and social interaction).
2. Reviewing the published research reports in that area to identify the relevant variables and find an
unanswered question.

Step 2: Form a Hypothesis If your unanswered question simply asks for a description of a variable
or variables, you can skip this step and go directly to Step 3 of the research process. However, if your
question concerns the relationship between variables, the next task is to form a hypothesis, or a tentative
answer to the question.

When you are selecting an answer to serve as your hypothesis, you should pick the answer that
seems most likely to be correct. Remember, the goal of the research study is to demonstrate that your
answer (your hypothesis) is correct. The likelihood of a hypothesis being correct is often based on
previous research results. If similar research has demonstrated the importance of one specific variable, it
is likely that the same variable will be important in your own study. It is also possible that you can develop
a logical argument supporting your hypothesis. If you can make a reasonable argument for your
hypothesis, then it is likely that the hypothesis is correct.

Step 3: Determine How You Will Define and Measure Your Variables Later in the research
process, the hypothesis will be evaluated in an empirical research study. First, however, you must
determine how you will define and measure your variables. The variables identified in the research
hypothesis must be defined in a manner that makes it possible to measure them by some form of empirical
observation. These decisions are usually made after reviewing previous research and determining how
other researchers have defined and measured their variables. By defining variables so that they can be
observed and measured, researchers can transform the hypothesis (from Step 2 of the research process)
into a specific research prediction that can be evaluated with empirical observations in a research study.
Notice that this step is necessary before we can evaluate the hypothesis by actually observing the
variables. The key idea is to transform the hypothesis into an empirically testable form.

Step 4: Identify the Participants or Subjects for the Study, Decide How They Will Be Selected,
and Plan for Their Ethical Treatment

To evaluate a hypothesis scientifically, we first use the hypothesis to produce a specific prediction
that can be observed and evaluated in a research study. One part of designing the research study is to
decide exactly what individuals will participate, determine how many individuals you will need for your
research, and plan where and how to recruit them. If the individuals are human, they are called
participants. Nonhumans are called subjects. At this point, it is the responsibility of the researcher to plan
for the safety and wellbeing of the research participants and to inform them of all relevant aspects of the
research, especially any risk or danger that may be involved. Ethical considerations also include
determining the procedure that you will use to recruit participants. In addition, you must decide whether
you will place any restrictions on the characteristics of the participants. Be aware, however, that you are
also defining limitations for generalizing the results of the study. Notice that when you have completed
Steps 3 and 4 you have created a specific research study that will test the original hypothesis from Step
2 of the research process. Specifically, you have specified exactly how the variables will be defined and

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measured, made a research prediction, and described exactly who will be observed and measured.
Ultimately, the research study will test the original hypothesis by actually making the observations.

Step 5: Select a Research Strategy Choosing a research strategy involves deciding on the general
approach you will take to evaluate your research hypothesis. The choice of a research strategy is usually
determined by one of two factors:

1. The type of question asked: Consider, for example, the following two research questions:
• Is there a relationship between sugar consumption and activity level for preschool children?
• Will increasing the level of sugar consumption for preschool children cause an increase in their
activity level?
At first glance, it may appear that the two questions are actually the same. In terms of research,
however, they are quite different. They will require different research studies and may produce different
answers. Consider the following two questions:
• Is there a relationship between intelligence and income for 40-year-old men?
• Will increasing the salary for 40-year-old men cause an increase in their IQ scores?
In this case, it should be clear that the two questions are not the same and may lead to different
conclusions. The type of question that you are asking can dictate the specific research strategy that you
must use.

2. Ethics and other constraints: Often, ethical considerations or other factors, such as equipment
availability, limit what you can or cannot do in the laboratory. These factors often can force you to choose
one research strategy over another.

Step 6: Select a Research Design Selecting a research design involves making decisions about the
specific methods and procedures you will use to conduct the research study. Does your research question
call for the detailed examination of one individual, or would you find a better answer by looking at the
average behavior of a large group? Should you observe one group of individuals as they experience a
series of different treatment conditions, or should you observe a different group of individuals for each
of the different treatments? Should you make a series of observations of the same individuals over a
period of time, or should you compare the behaviors of different individuals at the same time? Answering
these questions will help you determine a specific design for the study.

Step 7: Conduct the Study Finally, you are ready to collect the data. But now you must decide
whether the study will be conducted in a laboratory or in the field (in the real world). Will you observe
the participants individually or in groups? In addition, you must now implement all your earlier decisions
about manipulating, observing, measuring, controlling, and recording the different aspects of your study.

Step 8: Evaluate the Data Once the data have been collected, you must use various statistical
methods to examine and evaluate the data. This involves drawing graphs, computing means or
correlations to describe your data, and using inferential statistics to help determine whether the results
from your specific participants can be generalized to the rest of the population.

Step 9: Report the Results One important aspect of the scientific method is that observations and
results must be public. This is accomplished, in part, by a written report describing what was done, what
was found, and how the findings were interpreted. Two reasons to report research results are: (1) the
results become part of the general knowledge base that other people can use to answer questions or to
generate new research ideas, and (2) the research procedure can be replicated or refuted by other
researchers.

Step 10: Refine or Reformulate Your Research Idea Most research studies generate more
questions than they answer. If your results support your original hypothesis, it does not mean that you
have found a final answer. Instead, the new information from your study simply means that it is now
possible to extend your original question into new domains or make the research question more precise.
Typically, results that support a hypothesis lead to new questions by one of the following two routes:

1. Test the boundaries of the result: Suppose your study demonstrates that higher levels of
academic performance are related to higher levels of self-esteem for elementary school children. Will
this same result be found for adolescents in middle school? Perhaps adolescents are less concerned about
respect from their parents and teachers and are more concerned about respect from peers. If adolescents
do not value academic success then you would not expect academic success to be related to their self-
esteem. Alternatively, you might want to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and success

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outside academics. Is there a relationship between success on the athletic field and self-esteem? Notice
that the goal is to determine whether your result extends into other areas. How general are the results of
your study?

2. Refine the original research question: If your results show a relationship between academic
success and self-esteem, the next question is, “What causes the relationship?” That is, what is the
underlying mechanism by which success in school translates into higher self-esteem? The original
question asked, “Does a relationship exist?” Now you are asking, “Why does the relationship exist?”

Results that do not support your hypothesis also generate new questions. One explanation for
negative results (results that do not support the hypothesis) is that one of the premises is wrong.
Remember, for this example, we assumed that academic success is highly valued and respected. Perhaps
this is not true. Your new research question might be, “How important is academic success to parents, to
teachers, or to elementary school students?”

Notice that research is not a linear, start-to-finish process. Instead, the process is a spiral or a
circle that keeps returning to a new hypothesis to start over again. The neverending process of asking
questions, gathering evidence, and asking new questions is part of the general scientific method. One
characteristic of the scientific method is that it always produces tentative answers or tentative
explanations. There are no final answers. Consider, for example, the theory of evolution: After years of
gathering evidence, evolution is still called a “theory.” No matter how much supporting evidence is
obtained, the answer to a research question is always open to challenge and eventually may be revised or
refuted.

1.5 The Meaning of Field Research: Uses and Importance

Field research or studies are nonexperimental approaches used in the field or in real-life settings.
It is a research method that collects raw data outside the laboratory, school, or workplace. The approaches
and methods used in field research vary across disciplines (Myers & Hansen, 2012). For example,
psychology students and researchers who conduct field research may observe or interview people in their
natural environments to learn their culture, values, and behaviors.

Field research includes a wide range of methods, such as observation, surveys, interviews,
phenomenology, case study, secondary data analysis, archival research, content analysis, meta-analvsis,
experiments, computer simulation modelling, and neuroimaging. In field research, a method's
appropriateness depends on the phenomenon and on the research setting under investigation. Although
field research is generally characterized as qualitative research, it may include quantitative research -
Scientific methods.

It can use mixed methods. Field research is important in both the social and natural sciences.
Social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and history focus on people, culture, and
society. In sociology and anthropology, a researcher may do ethnographic field study on the culture,
customs and traditions of different communities (e.g., indigenous people). In psychology, for example, a
researcher may do a case study of the psychological impacts of a disaster (eg.,COVID-19 pandemic) on
mental health. Natural sciences, such as biology, botany, and zoology focus on physical characteristics
of nature and natural environments. A researcher in the field of zoology, for example, may conduct field
research to understand how specific animals relate to one another and their ecosystems.

Field research allows researcher to explore behavior that probably would not be seen in the
laboratory (Myers & Hansen, 2012). It allows researchers to collect data about the places, people, and
species in the natural environment. Field research enables students and researchers to examine the way
scientific theories interact with real-life situations.

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KEY IDEAS:

• Scientific research is a systematic, controlled, empirical, and critical investigation of natural

• The scientific method is a systematic way of organizing and expanding scientific knowledge.

• The steps of the scientific method are: developing the research question, formEulating the hypothesis,
testing the hypothesis, drawing conclusions, and reporting the results.

• The basic types of research methods include descriptive correlational, and experimental methods.

• Field research or studies are nonexperimental approach used in the field or in real-life settingsan

Learning References:beh

Gravetter, F.J. & Forzano, L.B. (2018). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, (6th Ed.).
Boston, MA, USA: Cengage.

Dy, G.C., Go-Monilla, J., Go-Monilla, P.R. & Ramirez, N.C. (2024). Field Methods in Psychology. C&E
Publishing Inc., Quezon City

Creswell, J.W. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. 4th
ed. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.