Psychology is a field in the social sciences that uses some methodologies similar to those used in science. As such, the scientific method applies for designing research in the field of psychology. The steps in the scientific method are outlined in the graphic below:

You know from your work with the Inquiry Process what it means to develop a good inquiry question in the social sciences and how its purpose is to guide the development of an effective research plan. In scientific study, there is an additional layer to the creation of the inquiry question and to the results an inquiry question leads one. In order for results to be considered valuable, they must be both valid and reliable. 

Validity refers to the believability and credibility of the results achieved. In other words, does the research plan outline a methodology that will indeed test what it says it is going to test? Do the methods proposed actually measure what the researcher says they are going to measure? Are the results both internally valid (is there integrity in conducting the experiment) and externally valid (can the results be generalized to other settings, other people, and over time)?

Reliability refers to the repeatability of the findings. Internal reliability refers to consistency in results within the actual experiment. External reliability refers to the repeatability of the research plan to obtain similar results.

Both validity and reliability are gauged in terms of degrees of consistency, using mathematical formulae that determine things like correlation and coefficiency. Statistics courses cover the ways in which research results can be interpreted for their validity and reliability.

For our introduction to the research methods in psychology, it’s important to be aware of the expectations and limitations that research methods have in determining valuable, effective results. 

Research Methodology

Psychologists can use the experimental method if it is suitable to their research questions and their hypotheses. In creating their research plans, they identify the variables they will be working with, how they will manipulate the variables, and then collect their data as they conduct their experiments. The experiment is carefully constructed and the procedure meticulously outlined so that the experiment can be controlled to maximize the validity and reliability of the results. For more detail on using experimental method as a research methodology, you can consult many sources, like this one by Simply Psychology.

Surveys are commonly used in psychology research to collect data that participants self-report. Surveys can include interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups.  Surveys may focus on factual information about the individuals from the individuals themselves, or they might aim to obtain the opinions of the participants. We discussed the use of these methods in U1A2. You may wish to refer back to U1A2 to refresh your understanding of the use of surveys.

Using observational methods in psychological research means just that: observing, documenting, and describing a subject's behaviour. Researchers using this method can arrange varying amounts of control over the environment in which the observation takes place.

 

Ethical Guidelines in Psychological Study

Canadian psychologists must adhere to the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, published by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), which outlines its principles and some of its ethical standards (adapted from the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, 2017). You can view the guide in its entirety on the Canadian Psychology Association website.

View the following video about psychological experiments that have been done in the past, prior to a code of ethics to guide practice. As you watch, identify what can happen when a code of ethics is not in place. 

Next, take some time to investigate and familiarize yourself with the following experiments for further study, that today would be considered unethical:

• Landis’s Facial Expressions Experiment, 1924;
• Asch Conformity Experiment, 1951;
• Learned Helplessness, 1965;
• David Reimer, 1965-2004;
• Elliott’s blue-eye, brown eye experiment, 1968;
• Monkey Drug Trials, 1969;
• The Aversion Project, 19971-1989;
• The Surrogate Mother Experiment, 1971;
• UCLA Schizophrenia Medication Experiment, 1983-1994.