Chapter-2

METHODS OF ENQUIRY IN
PSYCHOLOGY
GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ENQUIRY

Description- Distinguishing one

behaviour from another.

Prediction- Forecasting when will it

occur

Explanation- Establishing cause &

effect relationship

Control- Making changes by

changing conditions

Application- applied to solve life

problems
 CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH

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 SOME IMPORTANT METHODS IN
PSYCHOLOGY-
1. Observation-
Observation refers to employing systematic, organized and
objective procedures to record behavioural phenomena
occurring naturally in real time.

Steps for conducting an Observation-

Selection- Recording- Taking

selecting list of notes, mark tallies, Analysis of Data-
activities to be symbols, photos, to derive meaning
observed videos etc.
 Types of Observation-
Naturalistic Controlled
Observation Observation
• When • Many of the
observations are studies in
done in a natural psychology are
or real-life conducted in the
settings. laboratory.
• The observer • Control certain
makes no effort factors that
to control or determine
manipulate the behaviour
situation
 Non- Participant Participant Observation
Observation
• Researcher may decide • Observer may become
to observe the person part of the group
or event from a being observed.
distance. • Person being
• Person be observed observed may not be
may be aware. aware that s/he is being
observed.
 2.Experimental Method
• Establish cause-effect relationship between two sets of events Co or
variables. Exp ntr
ol/
• Variable- anything which varies and eri can be measured. Co
me
• Distribution of participants to experimental nta mpdone
and control groups is
randomly. l aris
Gr on
Types of Variables
ou Gr
Independent- Dependent- p- ou
Manipulated by Gets Affected by the Exp p-
Experimenter manipulation of ose Ma
independent variable d to nip
I.V ulat
man ed
ipul vari
atio able
n is
abs
ent
Other variables and Methods of managing them

Variables Methods of Managing

Extraneous Variables- Variables which we Should be eliminated or controlled
don’t plan on studying, but have an
impact of dependent variable.
Organismic (e.g., fear, motivation) and Matching- variables in the two groups are
Background variables (such as held constant by taking matched pairs
rural/urban, caste, socioeconomic status) across
Sequence Effect Counter- balancing- Interchanging the
order of task

Advantage-
An experiment can help us in establishing strong
cause-effect relationship between two or more
variables.
 Disadvantage-
• Experiments are often conducted in a highly controlled laboratory situation,
therefore we might not show our true behaviour in an experiment. Therefore the
results that they produce can’t be used in the real life situations.
• It is not always feasible to study a particular problem experimentally.
• It is difficult to know and control all the relevant variables, during experiments.
Field Experiment Quasi Experiment
Is conducted in the field, and they Is conducted in the field, and the
phenomena that we need to study phenomena that we need to study has
occurs during the experiment. For e.g. already taken place. For e.g. Studying the
Going to a class & studying the effect of effects of earthquake on people, which
lecture method or demonstration method has already taken place.
on learning.
There is slight control on the independent The independent variable is selected
& other related variables. rather than being manipulated by the
experimenter.
 3. Correlation Method-
Find out the relationship between the two variables to determine whether they
are associated, or not.
The strength and direction of the relationship between the two variables is
represented by a number, known as correlation coefficient. Its value can range
from +1.0 through 0.0 to –1.0.

Positiv Negative
e- -
Same Opposite
directio Direction
n
Zero-
No
significant
relation
 4. Survey Method
Used to find out the existing realities like literacy rate,
income level etc., as well as attitude of people.

Techniques of Survey Research

a)Interview
• Is a purposeful activity conducted to derive factual
information, opinions and attitudes, and reasons for
particular behaviour, etc.
• Conducted face-to face but sometimes it can also take
place over the phone.
 Structured Interview Unstructured Interview
A list of specific questions called interview No specific list of questions is prepared for
schedule is prepared beforehand. The the interview.
questions are asked in the specified order.

The interviewer has little or no liberty to The interviewer has the flexibility to take
make changes in the wordings of the decisions about the questions to be asked,
questions or the order in which they are to be the wording of the questions, and the
asked. sequence in which questions are to be asked.

Mostly involve close-ended questions. Mostly involve open-ended questions.

 Individual to
Individual

Combinations
Individual to of Group to
Group Participants Individual
in Interview

Group to
Group
Advantages of Interview Survey

Helps in obtaining in-depth information

It is flexible and adaptable to individual

situations, it can be used even with
children, and non-literate persons

Interviewer can know whether the

respondent understands the questions,
and can repeat or paraphrase questions

Disadvantage of Interview Survey

It is time consuming and therefore may not be cost

effective
 b) Questionnaire Survey

Respondent
reads the Predetermined
questions & set of questions
marks the
answer

Used for collecting

Can be background and
conducted by demographic
information,
physically or by information about
sending it past behaviour,
through mail attitudes and
opinions
 Advantages of Disadvantage of
Questionnaire Survey Questionnaire Survey

Most common,
simple, versatile,
and low-cost self-
report method Poor response
from the
subjects
Can be administered
to a group of people
together through a
mail.
 c) Telephone Survey-

Advantage of Disadvantage of
Telephone Survey Telephone Survey
Uncooperativeness,
Reluctance &
Less time Biased results due Superficial answers
to differences in
consuming respondents
 5. Psychological Testing
• A psychological test is a standardised and objective instrument which is used to assess an individual’s standing in
relation to others on some mental or behavioural characteristics.
• Objectivity refers to the fact that if two or more researchers administer a psychological test on the same group of
people, both of them would come up with more or less the same values for each person in the group.
• Following parameter are indicative of a good standardized test:-

Reliability-
Consistency of Norms- Average
Validity- refers to performance of the
scores. the question : group.
1. Test-Retest- “Does the test
Temporal Stability measure what it Can be based on
claims to measure”? age, gender, place
2. Split- half- residence etc.
Internal Consistency
 Types of Tests-
Verbal Test Non- Verbal Performance
Test Test
Questions have to be The questions are in Requires manipulation
answered in a oral or a the form of pictures or of objects.
written form. illustrations.

The subjects should be The subjects should at Subjects need not be

literate. least be able to read/ literate.
understand the
instructions.
Individual Test Group Test

Administered one by one. Can be administered to a

large group in one go.

Researcher administers The instructions about

the test face to face and answering the items, etc.,
remains seated before the are written on the test,
test taker and notes down which the test taker reads
the responses. and answers the questions
accordingly. The test
administrator explains the
instructions to the entire
group.

Administering Individual Group tests are easy to

Test can be tedious and administer and are also
time consuming. less time consuming.
 Speed Test Power Test

They have a They don’t have a

specific time limit. specific time limit.

The difficulty level The difficulty level

of the items of the questions
remains the same increases
throughout the gradually.
test.
 6. Case Study
• In-depth study of a particular case
• The case can be an individual with distinguishing characteristics or a small group of Individuals having
some commonality among them, institutions (for example, poorly or successfully functioning school or
a corporate office), and specific events (for example, children exposed to devastation by tsunami, etc.).
• A case study employs multiple methods for collecting information, such as interview, observation, and
psychological tests

dvantage of Telephone Survey

Disadvantage of Telephone Surve

Time
Provides detailed consuming &
Reliable description of the Generalizing on Costly
source of event the basis of
information individual cases
is not possible
 LIMITATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL
ENQUIRY
Lack of True Zero Point: In physical sciences measurements do start from zero.
Psychological measurements do not have a true zero point. For example, no
person in this world has zero intelligence.

Relative Nature of Psychological Tools: Psychological tests are developed

keeping in view the salient features of a particular context. For example, a
test developed for urban students, is not suitable for use with children living
in tribal areas

Subjective Interpretation of Qualitative Data: The interpretations may vary

from one individual to the other. It is, therefore, often suggested that in case
of qualitative studies, the field work should be done by more than one
investigator, who at the end of the day should discuss their observations and
arrive at an agreement before finally giving it a meaning.
 ETHICAL ISSUES

Informed Voluntary
Debriefing:
Consent Participation

Sharing the
Confidentiality
Results of the
of Data Source
Study