Those wishing to investigate the brain have to conduct their research with respect to the core aspects of scientific research. Take, for example, a researcher who wanted to investigate if we can manifest our dreams. Would this be considered scientific? Considering how difficult it is to measure the reliability and validity of such a concept, the majority of psychologists would argue that the research is pseudo-psychology.
Psychologists emphasise the importance of scientific research that is empirical, reliable and valid, which can be inferred when research uses various research procedures.
- Let's start by looking at what makes research in psychology scientific and what types of research in psychology are commonly used.
- Next, we will take a look at quantitative research procedures. To help you understand how research procedures apply to psychology, we will look at a quantitative research procedure example of a theoretical study.
- Following this, we will look at the qualitative research method. In this, we will cover qualitative research methods and procedures examples using a social research procedure example to understand how these can apply to research.
For research to be accepted and published by the psychology community, research should be regarded as scientific, vector created by pch.vector; freepik.com.
Research in Psychology
When it comes to research in psychology, three core features need to be maintained for a study to be identified as scientific, and these are:
- Empiricism
- Reliability
- Validity
The nature of these features is to ensure that research reaches a high standard and reduces the chances of the results being due to chance.
For example, it guarantees that the study measures observable variables via our senses (empiricism).
The point of this is to ensure that researchers do not investigate nonsensical theories or ideas that cannot be proved or disproved. In addition, the features indicate that the results consistently measure what they should (reliability) and accurately measure what they should (validity).
Research that is grouped in the empirical, reliable and valid sets in the Venn diagram would be considered scientific research, created in Canva.
Researchers can use several research procedures to increase the likelihood of collecting empirical, reliable and valid scientific data.
Types of Research in Psychology
Before we look at how researchers can increase the reliability and validity of research, let's look at the different types of research in psychology.
Some of the common quantitative types of research in psychology are:
- Close-ended questions.
- Questions that measure response using the Likert scale.
- Experimental research.
- Correlational research.
- Structured interviews.
Whereas some common qualitative types of research in psychology are:
- Open-ended questions.
- Unstructured interviews.
- Every kind of observation (structured, semi-structured and unstructured).
- Case studies.
Some research types can collect quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (non-numerical) data, commonly referred to as mixed designs. Case studies and semi-structured interviews are examples that gather both kinds of data.
Quantitative Research Procedures
Quantitative research is research that collects numerical data. Researchers can use several techniques to increase the reliability and validity of the research. An example is standardising procedures; this is essentially a protocol, e.g. the instructions given to participants or determining the conditions of the experiment before the study. The point of this is to increase the study's internal reliability.
Internal reliability in this context refers to a study consistently measuring the same thing across each participant.
The following research procedures will examine how researchers can improve their research standards using their sample. The research procedure used to increase an experimental study's internal validity is randomisation. Typically in experimental research, there is an experimental and control group. The researchers' subjective opinions should not influence research as this can lower the study's validity.
If a researcher chooses which participants go in which group, then the researcher may unconsciously select them based on factors that may cause the participants to sway the results.
For example, if the researcher suggests all tall people are better at maths, they may place tall people in favourable groups unknowingly, especially if they are biased and believe this to be true.
Researchers typically randomly allocate participants to the experimental or control group to prevent biases from occurring.
A blind experiment is where researchers do not know when they are in the control or experimental group. A double-blind experiment is when the researcher and participant are unaware of who is in which group. The latter is considered the ideal experimental design.
Now we can examine how the variables investigated can affect reliability and validity. In scientific research, changes observed in the dependent variable must result from manipulating the independent variable, or the naturally occurring changes in the independent variable.
Additional variables that are not being manipulated or measured specifically but can affect the experiment are known as extraneous variables. Extraneous variables reduce the validity of research as they may impact the results. The researcher cannot confidently say the results are due to the manipulated, independent variable being measured when extraneous variables are influencing the experiment, after all.
Some examples of extraneous variables in a study testing how sleep affects driving skills are the time of day participants are tested, any test anxiety they may feel, how long the participant has been driving, or driving conditions.
Research qualifies as good when the dependent variable is not affected by extraneous variables, created in Canva.
Research procedures that can control extraneous variables, including many of the ones described above, include:
- Standardising experiments - participants tested in the same conditions
- Randomisation - participants are assigned to groups at random
- Counterbalancing - reduces order effects and ensures that the results are not due to the order of the procedure
In a repeated measures design, participants are tested in both conditions, e.g., memory performance after rest and sleep deprivation. When a study uses counterbalancing, half of the participants would be tested after rest and the other after sleep deprivation. Then, they are tested in the opposite condition.
The reason is to ensure the results are due to changes in rest and sleep deprivation rather than the order in which the participants are tested.
Quantitative Research Procedure Example
An example of a good quantitative research procedure example is.
A hypothetical study that investigated how poor sleep hygiene affected attentional skills used an experimental design.
The study compared the experimental group (poor sleep hygiene) results to the control group (good sleep hygiene); participants were randomly allocated into these groups.
The instructions depended on which group the participants were allocated, but the same instructions were given to participants within the same group. With the exception of the sleep hygiene variables that changed in the experimental versus control group, other factors that may affect the results, such as how long the participants slept, were controlled.
Before you continue reading, can you identify the research procedures that the researcher considered?
The research procedures considered in the research scenario are:
- Random allocation of participants
- Standardised instructions.
- Controlling extraneous variables
Qualitative Research Methods and Procedures Example
The use of standardised procedures is also common in qualitative research.
For instance, researchers may observe and interview participants in the same conditions.
In terms of observations, researchers commonly identify behaviours they are interested in watching. Well-designed observations typically use standardised procedures that two or more observers follow, with comparisons of the recordings and analysis of each observer to identify if the study has high internal reliability.
Similar results between observers indicate a well-designed standardised procedure.
Social Research Procedure
An example of an unstructured observation that utilised several research procedures to increase its reliability and validity is:
A study observed whether children had a preference for immediate or delayed gratification.
In the hypothetical study, participants were seated at a desk. The table had a sweet on it. The researcher told the participants they could only eat the sweet after the researcher had returned from the bathroom.
The conditions and instructions used in the experiment were the same for each participant. Later the participants were asked a series of questions to identify if their responses earlier matched how they responded in the interview.
You would be correct if you identified the study as using standardising protocols as a research procedure to increase the study's reliability.
Research Procedures - Key takeaways
- When it comes to research in psychology, three core features need to be maintained for a study to be identified as scientific: empiricism, reliability and validity.
Researchers can use several research procedures to increase the likelihood of collecting empirical, reliable and valid scientific data.
Standard quantitative research procedures include standardisation, i.e. giving participants the exact instructions and randomisation, i.e. randomly allocating participants to the control or experimental group. Researchers should also try and control for extraneous variables.
Standardising procedures are also commonly used as a research procedure to increase the reliability of qualitative research.
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