Developmental Psychology

Chapter 2: Research Methods in Psychology

Overview Welcome to chapter 2, where we are going to be discussing research methods in psychology. The various types of research methods discussed in this chapter are used in general psychology as well as developmental psychology. This chapter will help you understand the basic foundation of research and help aid in the collection of complete information for better patient care. Also, we will be exploring the various types of research with an emphasis on how to collect and analyze information. Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter, you should be able to • Define the Scientific Method • Understand the various research methods and how they are used in developmental psychology • Describe the methods of selecting a research population • Define research ethics 2.1 The Scientific Method All research uses the scientific method to help collect information from research. The following are the five steps of this method. • Devise a specific research question • Develop a premise (hypothesis) • Test your hypothesis by conducting research (Which may confirm or reject your hypothesis). • Draw conclusions based on the results of your research • Publish the findings of your research and make the information available to others 2.2 Methods of Research There are 5 different ways that you can conduct research. Let’s explore each one. • Naturalistic Observation : This type of observation looks at individuals in actual life situations. Researchers that use this method do not influence the situation. There are several limitations to this method. The first one being that there is an inability to link cause and effect, as well as the inability to generalize the results that are found. • Experiment : This type tests the hypothesis created by the researcher, in a controlled situation. When we say controlled, this means either in a lab or another area specified for the research. Unlike a lot of methods, this particular method uses a dependent variable and an independent variable. The independent variable is the variable that researchers can actually change or manipulate. The dependent variable is the variable that will change in response to the independent variable. Like naturalistic observation, experiments also have limitations. Some of these limitations include the behavior being altered, and the possibility that the subjects

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