Designing Research

The process of research design in Psychology includes identifying a problem or question to be examined and deciding on the appropriate method to answer it effectively.
It’s important to select a suitable research method - this can vary from conducting an experiment, producing a survey or questionnaire, doing a case study, correlation study, or potentially an observational study.
Experiments are a type of research method that investigates cause and effect relationships by manipulating one variable while controlling others. This method can be performed in a laboratory or in the natural environment i.e., field experiment.
Surveys or questionnaires collect data from a large group of individuals about their behaviour, thoughts, or attitudes. The questions can be open-ended, offering rich and complex responses, or closed-ended with limited response options.
Case studies are detailed examinations of a single event, person, or organisation. While generalisation from a single case may not be possible, these studies are often valuable for generating new hypotheses.
Observational studies can be used when a researcher wants to look at behaviour in a natural environment without any manipulations or interventions. There are two main types: Naturalistic and Controlled.
Correlation studies are used to look at the relationship between two variables to see if they increase, decrease, or stay the same together. It’s crucial to remember correlation does not imply causation.
After deciding the method, a hypothesis must be formed. A hypothesis is an educated guess or assumption about the nature of things which can then be tested.
Research ethics is imperative. It’s key to gain informed consent from participants, avoid deception where possible, keep data confidential, and look after participant’s welfare.
A fair test is conducted by making sure that only the independent variable has an effect on the dependent variable. This could be ensured by random allocation to eliminate bias.
Data obtained from research should be statistically analysed culminating in conclusions drawn. These answers should be reviewed and considered for implications, improving future research designs.
Reliability and validity are two important concepts. Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure while validity refers to how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
The strengths and limitations of each method should be evaluated. For instance, experiments could provide strong evidence for cause and effect relationships but may lack ecological validity.