Unit 1: History of Psychology and Research Methods 1.4 Observational Research Methods

Observational Research 1. Case Studies: Observational research focusing on one person/few individuals Advantages: - deep understanding of individuals - get more information that most other methods Disadvantages: - not usually representative of the general population - can’t always replicate the study - not always ethical

Observational Research 2. Naturalistic Observations: - observing behavior in its natural context to gain information Advantages: - provides large amounts of valid and realistic data - can study unethical topics - can be used for humans and animals Disadvantages: - difficult to set up and control - observer bias can distort results - doesn’t explain the cause of the behavior

Observational Research 3. Laboratory Observation: - the study of behavior in a controlled environment - can be used for animal and human observation - might influence behavior because people know they are being studied 4. Testing Method: - Psychological tests like intelligence, personality, and aptitude tests - used to tell if people are socially outgoing, aggressive, etc

Observational Research 5. Surveys: - study of a large portion of people’s attitudes and behavior 2 types of surveys: interviews and questionnaires Advantages: gathers large amounts of data from large numbers of people quickly Potential disadvantages: - survey questions may be “leading” or badly phrased - participants don’t always represent the population being studied - people can be reluctant to admit bad things about themselves or may say what they think the surveyor wants to hear

Observational Research 6. Sampling: - selecting a portion of the population to survey (for when you can’t survey everyone) Population – the entire group of individuals researches want to study Random Sample – every person from population has an equal chance of participating - if there isn’t an equal chance, that is a biased sample Stratified Sample – subgroups in the population are represented proportionally in the sample

Observational Research 6. Sampling: - selecting a portion of the population to survey Advantages: - larger sample = more reflective of actual population able to better generalize about larger population as a whole Disadvantages: - not able to collect depth of information on each person - not always accurate responses

Observational Research 7. Longitudinal Studies: - Research on a particular group of people over extended period of time - Administer same test/survey at different points in participants life time - ex. Testing dietary habits at age 20, 30, and 40 - used often to research disease can have participants drop out over time (called attrition) 8. Cross-sectional Studies: - compares multiple groups of the general population at the same time - ex. Testing dietary habits of 20, 30, and 40 year olds and comparing them