A wide range of

research methods Research is 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 attentiveness to ...

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 Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...

data or both. Qualitative psychological research findings are not arrived at by statistical or other quantitative procedures.

Quantitative psychological research Quantitative psychological research is psychological research that employs quantitative research methods. Quantitative research falls under the category of empirical research. See also *Statistics * Quantitative psychology *Quantitative resear ...

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

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 f ...

uses different research methods (e.g. interview, observation, self-report questionnaire) with a single case or small number of cases. * Clustered randomized controlled trial *

Computer simulation Computer simulation is the running of a mathematical model on a computer, the model being designed to represent the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be determin ...

(modeling) *

Ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

* Event sampling methodology, 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 cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

, 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 t ...

(see

scientific control A scientific control is an experiment or observation designed to minimize the effects of variables other than the independent variable (i.e. confounding variables). This increases the reliability of the results, often through a comparison betwe ...

and

design of experiments The design of experiments (DOE), also known as experiment design 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. ...

). See

Experimental psychology Experimental psychology is the work done by those who apply Experiment, experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ Research participant, human participants and Animal testing, anim ...

for many details. * Field experiment *

Focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number (sometimes up to ten) of demographically predefined participants. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are used in market researc ...

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" re ...

, 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 Meta-analysis is a method of synthesis of quantitative data from multiple independent studies addressing a common research question. An important part of this method involves computing a combined effect size across all of the studies. As such, th ...

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

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 (statistics), sample to a statistical population, population where the dependent and independent variables, independ ...

, can be naturalistic (see

natural experiment A natural experiment is a 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 process gove ...

), 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 the public, private, and voluntar ...

Quasi-experiment A quasi-experiment is a research design used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention. Quasi-experiments share similarities with experiments and randomized controlled trials, but specifically lack random assignment to treatment or control. ...

* Randomized control trial *

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, symp ...

* Survey, often with a

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

(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 oft ...

) *

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: 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 statistics and econometrics, cross-sectional data is a type of data collected by observing many subjects (such as individuals, firms, countries, or regions) at a single point or period of time. Analysis of cross-sectional data usually consists ...

: 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 long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of observationa ...

: Participants are studied at multiple time points. May address the cohort effect and help to indicate causal directions of effects. * Cross-sequential study: 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 Human subject research is systematic, scientific investigation that can be either interventional (a "trial") or observational (no "test article") and involves human beings as research subjects, commonly known as test subjects. Human subject r ...

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 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 attentiveness to ...

Cognitive science lists Research-related lists Quantitative psychology