Psychology · The approaches (content)
RM — Research methodology
Psychology · SL / HL · syllabus-mapped notes
The six research methods
Experiments, observations, surveys/questionnaires, interviews, correlational studies and case studies, each with its strengths and limitations, and how to match a method to the question.
Experiments: variables, hypotheses and types
IV, DV and the variables to control; null and alternative hypotheses; true versus quasi and lab versus field; and why only controlled manipulation supports causal claims.
Sampling and generalization
Random, stratified, opportunity, self-selected and snowball sampling, with the advantages and disadvantages of each, and what lets findings generalize beyond the sample.
Quantitative vs qualitative; reliability and validity
The two kinds of data and how each is analysed, plus reliability and the types of validity used to judge a study.
Research ethics
The researcher's responsibilities to participants, from informed consent to debriefing, and how ethical limits shape which methods are possible.
Credibility, bias and triangulation
How qualitative research earns trust through credibility, triangulation, transferability and reflexivity, plus researcher/participant bias, etic/emic and deductive/inductive reasoning.