FIELD METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
MODULE 1: RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY
A. The role of psychology in research (Howitt & Cramer, 2014)
- Modern psychology needs to be appreciated with an understanding of the research method that
make psychology what it is.
- The research process that helped generate many intriguing ideas about the nature of people and
society are increasingly part of one’s understanding of psychology.
- Psychology and research methods are intertwined
- Psychology and the means of developing psychological ideas through research cannot be
differentiated.
- For instance, it is stimulating to learn that we are attracted to people who have same or similar
attitudes to us.
- It is also of some interest to be given examples of the kinds of research which support this idea.
- This hold true for much of the psychological phenomenon we are interested to explore.
B. Thinking like a psychologist - research
- As a psychology learner, the best way to start to think like a scientist / researcher is to see what a
psychologist - researcher does which are:
1. Reading
- The best way of understanding psychological research methods is to read in detail
about the studies which have been done and build on this.
- Reading facilitates a better understanding of how research is carried out in a
particular are or phenomenon of interest in Psychology.
2. Evaluating Evidence
- Psychology is not simply about learning what conclusions have been reached on a
particular topic.
- It is perhaps more important to find out and carefully evaluate the evidence which
has led to these conclusions.
- This is where you train yourself to think like a scientist.
- The more you get familiar with key concepts and methods in psychological
research, the more effective will you be able to evaluate the validity of its research
claims.
3. Inferring Causality
- The concept of causality has been important throughout most of the history of
psychology as embodied in the phrase “cause and effect”.
- So when we speak of a causal relationship between attitude similarity and
attraction, we mean that attitude similarity is the cause of attraction (as measured
by friendship) to another person.
ATTITUDE SIMILARITY ATTRACTION
MODULE 1: RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY
A. The role of psychology in research (Howitt & Cramer, 2014)
- Modern psychology needs to be appreciated with an understanding of the research method that
make psychology what it is.
- The research process that helped generate many intriguing ideas about the nature of people and
society are increasingly part of one’s understanding of psychology.
- Psychology and research methods are intertwined
- Psychology and the means of developing psychological ideas through research cannot be
differentiated.
- For instance, it is stimulating to learn that we are attracted to people who have same or similar
attitudes to us.
- It is also of some interest to be given examples of the kinds of research which support this idea.
- This hold true for much of the psychological phenomenon we are interested to explore.
B. Thinking like a psychologist - research
- As a psychology learner, the best way to start to think like a scientist / researcher is to see what a
psychologist - researcher does which are:
1. Reading
- The best way of understanding psychological research methods is to read in detail
about the studies which have been done and build on this.
- Reading facilitates a better understanding of how research is carried out in a
particular are or phenomenon of interest in Psychology.
2. Evaluating Evidence
- Psychology is not simply about learning what conclusions have been reached on a
particular topic.
- It is perhaps more important to find out and carefully evaluate the evidence which
has led to these conclusions.
- This is where you train yourself to think like a scientist.
- The more you get familiar with key concepts and methods in psychological
research, the more effective will you be able to evaluate the validity of its research
claims.
3. Inferring Causality
- The concept of causality has been important throughout most of the history of
psychology as embodied in the phrase “cause and effect”.
- So when we speak of a causal relationship between attitude similarity and
attraction, we mean that attitude similarity is the cause of attraction (as measured
by friendship) to another person.
ATTITUDE SIMILARITY ATTRACTION
