Methods of Enquiry

Chapter
2 in Ps
Psyychology

After reading this chapter, you would be able to

• explain the goals and nature of psychological enquiry,
• understand different types of data used by psychologists,
• describe some important methods of psychological enquiry,
• understand the methods of analysing data, and
• learn about the limitations of psychological enquiry and ethical
considerations.

Contents
Introduction
Goals of Psychological Enquiry
Steps in Conducting Scientific Research
Alternative Paradigms of Research
Nature of Psychological Data
Some Important Methods in Psychology
Observational Method
Example of an Experiment (Box 2.1)
Experimental Method
Correlational Research
Survey Research
Example of Survey Method (Box 2.2)
Psychological Testing
Case Study
Analysis of Data
Quantitative Method
Qualitative Method
Limitations of Psychological Enquiry
Ethical Issues
An idea that is developed and put
Key Terms
into action is more important than
Summary
an idea that exists only as an idea. Review Questions
Project Ideas
– Gautam Buddha

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 Introduction
You have read in the first chapter that psychology is the study of experiences,
behaviours, and mental processes. You may now be curious to know how
psychologists study these phenomena. In other words, what methods are used to
study behaviour and mental processes? Like all scientists, psychologists seek to
describe, predict, explain and control what they study. For this, psychologists rely
on formal, systematic observations to address their questions. It is the methodology
that makes psychology a scientific endeavour. Psychologists use a variety of research
methods because questions about human behaviour are numerous and all of them
cannot be studied by a single method. Methods such as observation, experimental,
correlational research, survey, psychological testing and case study are more
frequently used to study the problems of psychology. This chapter will familiarise
you with the goals of psychological enquiry, the nature of information or data that
we collect in psychological studies, the diverse range of methodological devices
available for the study of psychology, and some important issues related to
psychological studies.

Prediction : The second goal of scientific

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ENQUIRY
enquiry is prediction of behaviour. If you are
Like any scientific research, psychological able to understand and describe the behaviour
enquiry has the following goals: description, accurately, you come to know the relationship
prediction, explanation, and control of of a particular behaviour with other types of
behaviour, and application of knowledge so behaviours, events, or phenomena. You can
generated, in an objective manner. Let us try then forecast that under certain conditions
to understand the meaning of these terms. this particular behaviour may occur within a
certain margin of error. For example, on the
Description : In a psychological study, we basis of study, a researcher is able to establish
attempt to describe a behaviour or a a positive relationship between the amount of
phenomenon as accurately as possible. This study time and achievement in different
helps in distinguishing a particular behaviour subjects. Later, if you come to know that a
from other behaviours. For example, the particular child devotes more time for study,
researcher may be interested in observing
you can predict that the child is likely to get
study habits among students. Study habits
good marks in the examination. Prediction
may consist of diverse range of behaviours,
becomes more accurate with the increase in
such as attending all your classes regularly,
the number of persons observed.
submitting assignments on time, planning
your study schedule, studying according to Explanation : The third goal of psychological
the set schedule, revising your work on a daily enquiry is to know the causal factors or
basis etc. Within a particular category there determinants of behaviour. Psychologists are
may be further minute descriptions. The primarily interested in knowing the factors
researcher needs to describe her/his meaning that make behaviour occur. Also, what are the
of study habits. The description requires conditions under which a particular behaviour
recording of a particular behaviour which does not occur. For example, what makes
helps in its proper understanding. some children more attentive in the class? Why

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some children devote less time for study as increase efficiency. Scientific enquiry is also
compared to others? Thus, this goal is conducted to develop new theories or
concerned with identifying the determinants constructs, which leads to further research.
or antecedent conditions (i.e. conditions that
led to the particular behaviour) of the Steps in Conducting Scientific Research
behaviour being studied so that cause-effect Science is not so defined by what it
relationship between two variables (objects) or
investigates as by how it investigates. The
events could be established. scientific method attempts to study a
Control : If you are able to explain why a particular event or phenomenon in an
particular behaviour occurs, you can control objective, systematic, and testable manner.
that behaviour by making changes in its The objectivity refers to the fact that if two
antecedent conditions. Control refers to three or more persons independently study a
things: making a particular behaviour happen, particular event, both of them, to a great
reducing it, or enhancing it. For example, you extent, should arrive at the same conclusion.
can allow the number of hours devoted to For instance, if you and your friend measure
study to be the same, or you can reduce them the length of a table using the same measuring
or there may be an increase in the study hours. device, it is likely that both of you would arrive
The change brought about in behaviour by at the same conclusion about its length.
psychological treatment in terms of therapy The second characteristic of scientific
in persons, is a good example of control. research is that it follows systematic
procedure or steps of investigation. It includes
Application : The final goal of the scientific
the following steps: conceptualisation of a
enquiry is to bring out positive changes in the
problem, collection of data, drawing
lives of people. Psychological research is
conclusions, and revising research conclusions
conducted to solve problems in various
and theory (see Fig.2.1). Let us discuss these
settings. Because of these efforts the quality
steps in some detail.
of life of people is a major concer n of
psychologists. For example, applications of (1) Conceptualising a Problem : The process
yoga and meditation help to reduce stress and of scientific research begins when a researcher

1 2
Conceptualising a Problem Collecting Data
Selecting a topic for study Participants, methods,
tools and procedure

4
3
Revising Research
Conclusions Drawing Conclusions

Restating existing hypothesis/ Using statistical methods

formulating revised or a
new theory

Fig.2.1 : Steps in Conducting Scientific Enquiry

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selects a theme or topic for study. Then s/he on television, higher is the degree of aggression
narrows down the focus and develops specific displayed by them’. In your research, you shall
research questions or problems for the study. now try to prove whether the statement is true
This is done on the basis of review of past or false.
research, observations, and personal
experiences. For example, earlier you read that (2) Collecting Data : The second step in
a researcher was interested in observing the scientific research is to collect data. Data
study habits of students. For this purpose, collection requires developing a research
s/he may identify different facets of study design or a blueprint of the entire study. It
habits first, and then decide whether s/he is requires taking decisions about the following
interested in study habits shown in the class four aspects: (a) participants in the study,
or at home. (b) methods of data collection, (c) tools to be
In psychology we study a diverse range of used in research, and (d) procedure for data
problems related to behaviour and collection. Depending upon the nature of the
experiences. These problems may be related study, the researcher has to decide who would
to (a) understanding our own behaviour (for be the participants (or informants) in the
example, how do I feel and behave when I am study. The participants could be children,
in a state of joy or grief? How do we reflect on adolescents, college students, teachers,
our own experiences and behaviour? Why do managers, clinical patients, industrial
workers, or any group of individuals in whom/
we forget?); (b) understanding other
where the phenomenon under investigation
individual’s behaviour (for example, Is Abhinav
is prevalent. The second decision is related to
more intelligent than Ankur? Why is someone
the use of methods of data collection, such as
always not able to complete her or his work on
observation method, experimental method,
time? Can the habit of smoking be controlled?
correlational method, case study, etc. The
Why do some people suffering from chronic
researcher needs to decide about appropriate
illness not take medicines?); (c) group
tools (for example, interview schedule,
influences on individual behaviour (for
observation schedule, questionnaire, etc.) for
example, why does Rahim spend more time
data collection. The researcher also decides
meeting with people than doing his work?,
about how the tools need to be administered
Why does a cyclist perform better when cycling
to collect data (i.e. individual or group). This
before a group of persons than when cycling
is followed by actual collection of data.
alone?); (d) group behaviour (for example, why
does risk-taking behaviour increase when (3) Drawing Conclusions : The next step is to
people are in a group?), and (e) organisational analyse data so collected through the use of
level (for example, why are some organisations statistical procedures to understand what the
more successful than others? How can an data mean. This can be achieved through
employer increase the motivation of graphical representations (such as preparation
employees?). The list is long and you will learn of pie-chart, bar -diagram, cumulative
about these various facets in subsequent frequencies, etc.) and by the use of different
chapters. If you are inquisitive, you can write statistical methods. The purpose of analysis
down a number of problems which you may is to verify a hypothesis and draw conclusions
like to probe. accordingly.
After identification of the problem, the
researcher proceeds by developing a tentative (4) Revising Research Conclusions : The
answer of the problem, which is called researcher may have begun the study with a
hypothesis. For example, based on the earlier hypothesis that there exists a relationship
evidence or your observation, you might between viewing violence on television and
develop a hypothesis ‘greater is the amount aggression among children. S/he has to see
of time spent by children in viewing violence whether the conclusions support this

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hypothesis. If they do, the existing hypothesis/ attempting to disturb its natural flow. For
theory is confirmed. If not, s/he will revise or example, an explorer does not know what s/
state an alternative hypothesis/theory and he is looking for, how to look for it, and what
again test it based on new data and draw to expect. Rather, s/he tries to map an
conclusions which may be verified by future uncharted wilderness, with little or no prior
researchers. Thus, research is a continuous knowledge of the area, and her/his main task
process. is to record detailed descriptions of what is
found in a particular context.
Alternative Paradigms of Research Both scientific and interpretive traditions
are concerned with studying behaviour and
Psychologists suggest that human behaviour
experiences of others. What about our own
can and should be studied following the
personal experiences and behaviour? As a
methods adopted by sciences like physics,
student of psychology, you may ask yourself
chemistry, and biology. The key assumption
the question: why am I feeling sad? Many times
of this view is that human behaviour is
you take a pledge that you will control your
predictable, caused by internal and external diet or devote more time to studies. But when
forces, and can be observed, measured, and it actually comes to eating or studying you
controlled. In order to achieve these goals, the forget this. You might be wondering why one
discipline of psychology, for larger part of the does not have control over one’s behaviour.
twentieth century, restricted itself to the study Should psychology not help you in analysing
of overt behaviour, i.e. the behaviour that your own experiences, thought processes, and
could be observed and measured. It did not behaviour? It certainly should. The
focus on personal feelings, experiences, psychological enquiry does aim at
meanings, etc. understanding the self by reflecting on one’s
In recent years, a different method known own experiences and insights.
as interpretive has emerged. It emphasises
understanding over explanation and
prediction. It takes the stand that, in view of NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DATA
complex and variable nature of human
You may want to consider how psychological
behaviour and experience, its method of data are different as compared to other
investigation should be different from the sciences. Psychologists collect a variety of
method of investigation of the physical world. information from different sources employing
This viewpoint emphasises the importance of diverse methods. The information, also called
how human beings give meaning to events and data (singular = datum), relate to the
actions and interpret them as they occur in a individuals’ covert or overt behaviour, their
particular context. Let us take the experiences subjective experiences, and mental processes.
that may occur in some unique contexts, such Data form an important input in psychological
as persons experiencing suffering due to enquiry. They in fact approximate the reality
external factors (for example, people affected to some extent and provide an opportunity to
by tsunami, earthquake, cyclone) or internal verify or falsify our ideas, hunches, notions,
factors (for instance, prolonged illness, etc.). etc. It should be understood that data are not
In such types of situations, objective independent entities. They are located in a
measurement is neither possible nor desirable. context, and are tied to the method and theory
Everyone interprets reality in her/his own way that govern the process of data collection. In
based on past experiences and contexts. other words, data are not independent of the
Therefore, we need to understand the physical or social context, the persons
subjective interpretation of the reality. The goal involved, and the time when the behaviour
here is to explore the different aspects of occurs. We behave differently when alone than
human experiences and behaviour without in a group, or at home and in office. You may

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hesitate to talk in front of your parents and areas as intelligence, personality, interest,
teachers but not when you are with friends. values, creativity, emotions, motivation,
You may have also noticed that not all people psychological disorders, illusions,
behave in exactly the same manner in the same delusions, hallucinations, perceptual
situation. The method of data collection (survey, judgment, thought processes,
interview, experiment, etc.) used and the consciousness, subjective experiences, etc.
characteristics of respondents (such as,
individual or group, young or old, male or The above information could be from the
female, rural or urban, etc.) also influence the point of view of measurement somewhat crude.
nature and quality of data. It is possible that Like, in the form of categories (such as high/
when you interview a student, s/he may report low, yes/no), ranks which provide ordinal data,
behaving in a particular manner in a given viz. first, second, third, fourth, etc., or scores
situation. But when you go for actual (10, 12, 15, 18, 20, etc.) on scales. We also
observation you may find just the opposite of obtain verbal reports, observation records,
what s/he had reported. Another important personal diaries, field notes, archival data, etc.
feature of data is that it does not in itself speak Such types of information is analysed
about reality. Inferences have to be made from separately using qualitative methods. You will
data. A researcher attaches meaning to the data get some idea about this later in this chapter.
by placing it in its proper context.
In psychology, different types of data or SOME IMPORTANT METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
information are collected. Some of these types
are : In the previous section you read about wide
i) Demographic Information : This information variety of data that we collect in psychological
generally includes personal information like studies. All these varieties of data cannot be
name, age, gender, birth order, number of collected through a single method of enquiry.
siblings, education, occupation, marital Psychologists use a variety of methods like
status, number of children, locality of Observation, Experimental, Correlational,
residence, caste, religion, parental Survey, Psychological Testing, and Case Study
education, occupation, and family income, to collect data. The aim of this section is to
etc. guide you to select the methods which may be
ii) Physical Information : This category appropriate for different research purposes. For
includes information about ecological example:
conditions (hilly/desert/forest), mode of
• You can observe the behaviour of spectators
economy, housing conditions, size of rooms,
watching a football match.
facilities available at home, in the
• You can conduct an experiment to see if
neighbourhood, in the school, mode of
children taking an examination do better
transportation, etc.
in the classroom in which they had studied
iii) Physiological Data : In some studies
the subject or in the examination hall
physical, physiological and psychological
(cause-effect relationship).
data are collected about height, weight,
• You can correlate intelligence with, say, self-
heart rate, level of fatigue, Galvanic Skin
esteem (for prediction purposes).
Resistance (GSR), electrical activity of the
brain measured by Electro-encephalograph • You can survey students’ attitude towards
(EEG), blood oxygen levels, reaction time, privatisation of education.
duration of sleep, blood pressure, pattern • You can use psychological tests to find out
of dream, amount of salivation, running and individual differences.
jumping rates (in case of animal studies), • You can conduct a case study on the
etc., are collected. development of language in a child.
iv) Psychological Information : Psychological The main characteristics of these methods
information collected, may relate to such are described in the following sections.

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Observational Method needs to be made, in what for m the
observation will be recorded, and what
Observation is a very power ful tool of
methods will be used to analyse the observed
psychological enquiry. It is an effective method
behaviour.
of describing behaviour. In our daily life, we
remain busy with observing numerous things
Types of Observation
throughout the day. Many times, we do not
take notice of what we are seeing or what we Observation can be of the following types :
have seen. We see but we do not observe. We (a) Naturalistic vs Controlled Observation :
remain aware of only a few things that we see When observations are done in a natural or
daily. Have you experienced such a thing? You real-life settings (in the above example, it was
may also have experienced that if you carefully a school in which observation was made), it is
observe a person or event for some time, you called naturalistic observation. In this case
come to know many interesting things about the observer makes no effort to control or
the person or the event. A scientific manipulate the situation for making an
observation dif fers from day-to-day observation. This type of observation is
observation in many respects. These are : conducted in hospitals, homes, schools, day
(a) Selection : Psychologists do not observe all care centers, etc. However, many a times you
the behaviour that they encounter. Rather, might need to control certain factors that
they select a particular behaviour for determine behaviour as they are not the focus
observation. For example, you may be of your study. For this reason, many of the
interested to know how children studying in studies in psychology are conducted in the
laboratory. For example, if you read Box 2.1,
Class XI spend their time in school. Two things
you will come to know that smoke could only
are possible at this stage. As a researcher, you
be introduced in a controlled laboratory
might think that you have a fairly good idea
situation. This type of observation, called
about what happens in school. You might
Controlled Laboratory Observation, actually,
prepare a list of activities and go to the school
is obtained in laboratory experiments.
with a view to finding out their occurrences.
Alternatively, you might think that you do not (b) Non-Participant vs Participant Observation :
know what happens in the school and, by your Observation can be done in two ways. One,
observation you would like to discover it. you may decide to observe the person or event
from a distance. Two, the observer may
(b) Recording : While observing, a researcher
become part of the group being observed. In
records the selected behaviour using different
the first case, the person being observed may
means, such as marking tallies for the already
not be aware that s/he is being observed. For
identified behaviour whenever they occur,
example, you want to observe the pattern of
taking notes describing each activity in greater
interaction between teachers and students in
detail using short hand or symbols,
a particular class. There are many ways of
photographs, video recording, etc.
achieving this goal. You can install a video
(c) Analysis of Data : After the observations camera to record the classroom activities,
have been made, psychologists analyse which you can see later and analyse.
whatever they have recorded with a view to Alternatively, you may decide to sit in a corner
derive some meaning out of it. of the class without interfering or participating
It is important to know that making good in their everyday activities. This type of
observations is a skill. A good observer knows observation is called non-participant
what s/he is looking for, whom s/he wants to observation. The danger in this type of set-
observe, when and where the observation up is that the very fact that someone

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 B o x 2.1 Example of an Experiment

Two American psychologists, Bibb Latane and ignored; within four minutes the room contained
John Darley, conducted a study in 1970. In order enough smoke to interfere with vision and breathing.
to participate in this study, the students of Latane and Darley were primarily interested in
Columbia University arrived individually at a knowing how frequently students simply got up and
laboratory. They were given the impression that left the room to report the emergency. Most (75 per
they would be interviewed on a certain topic. cent) of the students who were waiting alone reported
Each student was sent to a waiting room to the smoke, but those reporting in groups were far
complete a preliminary questionnaire. Some of less. Groups consisting of three naïve students
them found two other people already seated in reported it only 38 per cent of the time. When the
the room, while others sat down alone. Soon after students waited with two other confederates, who
the students had started working on the were instructed before hand by the researchers to
questionnaire, smoke began filling the room do nothing, only 10 per cent students reported
through a wall vent. The smoke could hardly be smoke.

(an outsider) is sitting and observing may bring

a change in the behaviour of students and the Activity 2.1
teacher.
In participant observation, the observer A few students can observe one period when the
psychology teacher is teaching in the class. Note
becomes a part of the school or the group of
down, in detail, what the teacher does, what the
people being observed. In participant students do, and the entire pattern of interaction
observation, the observer takes some time to between the teacher and the students. Discuss
establish a rapport with the group so that they the observations made with other students and
start accepting her/him as one of the group teacher. Note the similarities and differences in
members. However, the degree of involvement observation.
of the observer with the group being observed
would vary depending upon the focus of the
study. Experimental Method
The advantage of the observation method
Experiments are generally conducted to
is that it enables the researcher to study
establish cause-effect relationship between
people and their behaviour in a naturalistic
two sets of events or variables in a controlled
situation, as it occurs. However, the
setting. It is a carefully regulated procedure
observation method is labour intensive, time
in which changes are made in one factor and
consuming, and is susceptible to the
its effect is studied on another factor, while
observer’s bias. Our observation is influenced
keeping other related factors constant. In the
by our values and beliefs about the person or
experiment, cause is the event being changed
the event. You are familiar with the popular
or manipulated. Effect is the behaviour that
saying: "We see things as we are and not as
changes because of the manipulation.
things are". Because of our biases we may
interpret things in a different way than what
The Concept of Variable
the participants may actually mean.
Therefore, the observer should record the You read earlier that in the experimental
behaviour as it happens and should not method, a researcher attempts to establish
interpret the behaviour at the time of causal relationship between two variables.
observation itself. What is a variable? Any stimulus or event

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which varies, that is, it takes on different values other. Also, independent variable chosen by
(or changes) and can be measured is a the researcher is not the only variable that
variable. An object by itself is not a variable. influences the dependent variable. Any
But its attributes are. For example, the pen behavioural event contains many variables. It
that you use for writing is NOT a variable. But also takes place within a context. Independent
there are varieties of pens available in different and dependent variables are chosen because
shapes, sizes, and colour. All of these are of the researcher’s theoretical interest.
variables. The room in which you are sitting However, there are many other relevant or
is NOT a variable but its size is as there are extraneous variables that influence the
rooms of different sizes. The height of the dependent variable, but the researcher may
individuals (5' to 6') is another variable. not be interested in examining their effects.
Similarly, people of different races have These extraneous variables need to be
different colours. Young people have started controlled in an experiment so that a
dyeing their hair in different colours. Thus, researcher is able to pin-point the cause and
colour of hair becomes a variable. Intelligence effect relationship between independent and
is a variable (there are people with varying dependent variables.
levels of intelligence — high, moderate, low).
The presence or absence of persons in the Experimental and Control Groups
room is a variable as shown in the experiment
Experiments generally involve one or more
in Box 2.1. Thus, the variation can be in the
experimental groups and one or more control
quality or quantity of objects/events.
groups. An experimental group is a group in
Variables are of many types. We will
however focus on independent and dependent which members of the group are exposed to
independent variable manipulation. The
variables. Independent variable is that
variable which is manipulated or altered or control group is a comparison group that is
its strength varied by the researcher in the treated in every way like the experimental
experiment. It is the effect of this change in group except that the manipulated variable is
the variable which the researcher wants to absent in it. For example, in the study by
observe or note in the study. In the experiment Latane and Darley, there wer e two
conducted by Latane and Darley (Box 2.1), the experimental groups and one control group.
researchers wanted to examine the effect of As you may have noted, the participants in
the presence of other persons on reporting of the study were sent to three types of rooms.
the smoke. The independent variable was In one room no one was present (control
presence or absence of other persons in the group). In the other two rooms, two persons
room. The variables on which the effect of were already seated (experimental groups). Of
independent variable is observed is called the two experimental groups, one group was
dependent variable. Dependent variable instructed not to do anything when smoke
represents the phenomenon the researcher filled in the room. The other group was not
desires to explain. It is expected that change given any instructions. After the experimental
in the dependent variable will ensue from manipulation had occured the performance
changes in the independent variable. The of the control group measured in terms of
frequency of reporting of smoke in the above reporting of smoke was compared with that
case was the dependent variable. Thus, the of the experimental group. It was found that
independent variable is the cause, and the control group participants reported in
dependent variable the ef fect in any maximum numbers about the emergency,
experimental situation. followed by the first experimental group
One must remember that independent and members where the participants were not
dependent variables are interdependent. given any instructions, and the second
Neither of them can be defined without the experimental group (consisting of

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confederates) reported the emergency • Elimination is not always possible. In such
situation, the least. cases, effort should be made to hold them
It should be noted that in an experiment, constant so that their effect remains the
except for the experimental manipulation, same throughout the experiment.
other conditions are kept constant for both • For controlling organismic (e.g., fear,
experimental and control groups. One motivation) and background variables
attempts to control all those relevant variables (such as rural/urban, caste, socio-
which can influence the dependent variable. economic status) matching is also used.
For example, the speed with which smoke In this procedure the relevant variables in
started entering the rooms, the total amount the two groups are equated or are held
of smoke in the rooms, physical and other constant by taking matched pairs across
conditions of the rooms were similar in case conditions of the experiment.
of all the three groups. The distribution of • Counter-balancing technique is used to
participants to experimental and control
minimise the sequence effect. Suppose
groups was done randomly, a method that
there are two tasks to be given in an
ensures that each person has an equal chance
experiment. Rather than giving the two
of being included in any of the groups. If in
tasks in the same sequence the
one group the experimenter had included only
experimenter may interchange the order
males and in the other group females, the
of the tasks. Thus, half of the group may
results obtained in the study, could be due to
the differences in gender rather than due to receive the tasks in the order of A and B
experimental manipulation. All relevant while the other half in order of B and A or
variables in experimental studies that might the same individual may be given the task
influence the dependent variable need to be in A, B, B, A order.
controlled. These are of three major types: • Random assignment of participants to
organismic variables (such as anxiety, different groups eliminates any potential
intelligence, personality, etc.), situational or systematic differences between groups.
environmental variables operating at the time
The strength of a well-designed experiment
of conducting the experiment (such as noise,
is that it can provide, relatively speaking, a
temperature, humidity), and sequential
convincing evidence of a cause-effect
variables. The sequence related variables
relationship between two or more variables.
assume significance when the participants in
However, experiments are often conducted in
experiments are required to be tested in
a highly controlled laboratory situation. In this
several conditions. Exposure to many
sense, they only simulate situations that exist
conditions may result in experimental fatigue,
in the outside world. They are frequently
or practice effects, which may influence the
results of the study and make the criticised for this reason. The experiments may
interpretation of the findings difficult. produce results that do not generalise well,
In order to control relevant variables, or apply to real situations. In other words, they
experimenters use several control techniques. have low external validity. Another limitation
Some illustrations are given below. of the laboratory experiment is that it is not
• Since the goal of an experiment is to always feasible to study a particular problem
minimise extraneous variables, the best experimentally. For example, an experiment
way to handle this problem is to eliminate to study the effect of nutritional deficiency on
them from the experimental setting. For intelligence level of children cannot be
example, the experiment may be conducted as it would be ethically wrong to
conducted in a sound-proof and air- starve anyone. The third problem is that it is
conditioned room to eliminate the effect of difficult to know and control all the relevant
noise and temperature. variables.

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Field Experiments and Quasi Experiments the control group children who experienced the
earthquake but did not lose their parents.
If a researcher wants to have high
Thus, a quasi experiment attempts to
generalisability or to conduct studies which
manipulate an independent variable in a
are not possible in laboratory settings, s/he
may go to the field or the natural setting where natural setting using naturally occurring
the particular phenomenon actually exists. In groups to form experimental and control
other words, s/he may conduct a field groups.
experiment. For example, a researcher may
want to know which method would lead to Correlational Research
better learning among students—lecture or In psychological research, we often wish to
demonstration method. For this, a researcher determine the relationship between two
may prefer to conduct an experiment in the variables for prediction purposes. For
school. The researcher may select two groups example, you may be interested in knowing
of participants; teach one group by whether “the amount of study time” is related
demonstration method and another group by to the “student’s academic achievement”. This
the normal teaching method for sometime. S/ question is different from the one which
he may compare their performance at the end experimental method seeks to answer in the
of the learning session. In such types of sense that here you do not manipulate the
experiments, the control over relevant amount of study time and examine its impact
variables is less than what we find in on achievement. Rather, you simply find out
laboratory experiments. Also, it is more time- the relationship between the two variables to
consuming and expensive. determine whether they are associated, or
Many variables cannot be manipulated in covary or not. The strength and direction of
the laboratory settings. For example, if you the relationship between the two variables is
want to study the effect of an earthquake on represented by a number, known as
children who lost their parents, you cannot correlation coefficient. Its value can range from
create this condition artificially in the +1.0 through 0.0 to –1.0.
laboratory. In such situations, the researcher As you can see, the coef ficient of
adopts the method of quasi (the Latin word correlation is of three types: positive, negative,
meaning “as if ”) experimentation. In such and zero. A positive correlation indicates that
types of experiments, the independent variable as the value of one variable (X) increases, the
is selected rather than varied or manipulated
value of the other variable (Y) will also increase.
by the experimenter. For example, in the
Similarly when variable X decreases, a
experimental group we can have children who
decrease in Y too takes place. Suppose, it is
lost their parents in the earthquake and in found that more time the students spend on
studying, the higher was their achievement
Activity 2.2 score. Also the less they studied, the lower
was their achievement score. This type of
Identify the independent and dependent variables association will be indicated by a positive
from the given hypotheses.
1. Teachers’ classroom behaviour affects
number, and the stronger the association
students’ performance. between studying and achievement, the closer
2. Healthy parent-child relationship facilitates the number would be to +1.0. You may find a
emotional adjustment of children. correlation of +.85, indicating a strong positive
3. Increase in the level of peer pressure increases association between study time and
the level of anxiety.
achievement. On the other hand, a negative
4. Enriching the environment of young children
with special books and puzzles enhances their correlation tells us that as the value of one
performance. variable (X) increases, the value of the other
(Y) decreases. For example, you may

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hypothesise that as the hours of study time panchayati raj institutions for running
increase, the number of hours spent in other programmes related to health, education,
activities will decrease. Here, you are expecting sanitation, etc. However, they have now
a negative correlation, ranging between 0 and evolved into a sophisticated technique which
–1.0. It is also possible that sometimes no helps in inferring various kinds of causal
correlation may exist between the two relationships. Box 2.2 provides an example of
variables. This is called zero correlation. a study using the survey method.
Generally, it is difficult to find zero correlation The survey research uses differ ent
but the correlations found may be close to techniques for collecting information. Included
zero, e.g., -.02 or +.03. This indicates that no among these techniques are: personal
significant relationship exists between two interviews, questionnaires, telephonic surveys,
variables or the two variables are unrelated. and controlled observations. These techniques
are discussed here in some detail.
Survey Research
Personal Interviews
You may have read in the newspapers or seen
on the television that during elections surveys The interview method is one of the most
are conducted to find out if people would vote frequently used methods for obtaining
for a particular political party, or favour a information from people. It is used in diverse
particular candidate. Survey research came kinds of situations. It is used by a doctor to
into existence to study opinions, attitudes and obtain information from the patient, an
social facts. Their main concern initially was employer when meeting a prospective
to find out the existing reality or baseline. So employee, a sales person interviewing a
they were used to find out facts such as the housewife to know why she uses a certain
literacy rate at a particular time, religious brand of soap. On television, we often see
affiliations, income level of a particular group media persons interviewing people on issues
of people, etc.They were also used to find out of national and international importance.
the attitude of people towards family planning, What happens in an interview? We see that
the attitude towards giving powers to the two or more persons sit face-to-face with each

B o x 2.2 Example of Survey Method

In December 2004, a survey was conducted by nor unhappy, and 7 per cent each fell in the last
“Outlook Saptahik” magazine (10 January 2005) two categories, more or less unhappy, and extremely
to know what makes the people of India happy. unhappy. The second question (Can you buy
The survey was conducted in eight big cities, happiness with money?) had three alternatives (Yes,
namely Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, No, Don’t know). About 80 per cent people expressed
Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Ranchi. that money can’t buy happiness. Another question
817 persons in the age group of 25-55 years tried to know “what gives them maximum
participated in the study. The questionnaire happiness?” More than 50 per cent respondents
used in the survey contained different types of reported that peace of mind (52 per cent) and health
questions. The first question (Are you happy?) (50 per cent) gave them maximum happiness. This
required respondents to give their views on a was followed by responses such as success in work
5-point scale (5=extremely happy, 4=more or less (43 per cent), and family (40 per cent). Another
happy, 3=neither happy nor unhappy, 2=more question asked was to know ‘what do they do when
or less unhappy, 1=extremely unhappy). About they feel unhappy or sad?” It was reported that 36
47 per cent people reported that they were per cent people opted for listening to music, 23 per
extremely happy, 28 per cent were more or less cent found respite in the company of friends, and
happy, 11 per cent said they were neither happy 15 per cent went for a movie.

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other, in which one person (generally called (c) Group to Individuals : It is a situation
interviewer) asks the questions and the other where one group of interviewers interview
person (called interviewee or respondent) one person. You may experience this type
answers the questions related to a problem. of situation when you appear for a job
An interview is a purposeful activity conducted interview.
to derive factual information, opinions and (d) Group to Group : It is a situation where
attitudes, and reasons for particular one group of interviewers interview another
behaviour, etc. from the respondents. It is group of interviewees.
generally conducted face-to-face but sometimes
Interviewing is a skill which requires proper
it can also take place over the phone. training. A good interviewer knows how to make
There can be two broad types of interviews: the respondent at ease and get the optimal
structured or standardised, and answer. S/he remains sensitive to the way a
unstructured or non-standardised. This person responds and, if needed, probes for
distinction is based upon the type of more information. If the respondent gives vague
preparation we make before conducting the
answers, the interviewer may try to get specific
interview. As we have to ask questions during
and concrete answers.
the interview, it is required that we prepare a
The interview method helps in obtaining
list of questions before-hand. The list is called
in-depth information. It is flexible and
an interview schedule. A structured interview
adaptable to individual situations, and can
is one where the questions in the schedule
often be used when no other method is
are written clearly in a particular sequence.
possible or adequate. It can be used even with
The interviewer has little or no liberty to make
changes in the wordings of the questions or children, and non-literate persons. An
the order in which they are to be asked. The interviewer can know whether the respondent
responses to these questions are also, in some understands the questions, and can repeat or
cases, specified in advance. These are called paraphrase questions. However, interviews
close-ended questions. In contrast, in an require time. Often getting information from
unstructured interview the interviewer has the one person may take an hour or more which
flexibility to take decisions about the questions may not be cost-effective.
to be asked, the wording of the questions, and
the sequence in which questions are to be Questionnaire Survey
asked. Since responses are not specified in The questionnaire is the most common,
such type of interviews, the respondent can simple, versatile, and low-cost self-report
answer the questions in the way s/he chooses
method of collecting information. It consists
to. Such questions are called open-ended
of a predetermined set of questions. The
questions. For example, if the researcher
respondent has to read the questions and
wants to know about the happiness level of a
mark the answers on paper rather than
person, s/he may ask: How happy are you?
The respondent may reply to this question the respond verbally to the interviewer. They are
way s/he chooses to answer. in some ways like highly structured interviews.
An interview may have the following Questionnaires can be distributed to a group
combinations of participants in an interview of persons at a time who write down their
situation: answers to the questions and return to the
(a) Individual to Individual : It is a situation researcher or can be sent through mail.
where one interviewer interviews another Generally, two types of questions are used in
person. the questionnaire: open-ended and closed-
(b) Individual to Group : In this situation, one ended. With open-ended questions, the
interviewer interviews a group of persons. respondent is free to write whatever answer
One variant of it is called a Focus Group s/he considers appropriate. In the closed-
Discussion (FGD). ended type, the questions and their probable

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answers are given and the respondent is for conducting surveys. Each method has its
required to select the correct answer. own advantages and limitations. The
Examples of closed-ended questions require researcher needs to exercise caution in
responses like: Yes/No, True/False, Multiple selecting a particular method.
choice, or using a rating scale. In case of rating The survey method has several
scale, a statement is given and the respondent advantages. First, information can be gathered
is asked to give her/his views on a 3-point quickly and efficiently from thousands of
(Agree, Undecided, Disagree), or 5-point persons. Second, since surveys can be
(Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, conducted quickly, public opinions on new
Strongly Disagree) or 7-point, 9-point, 11- issues can be obtained almost as soon as the
point or 13-point scale. In some cases, the issues arise. There are some limitations of a
participants are asked to rank a number of survey too. First, people may give inaccurate
things in a preferential order. The information because of memory lapses or they
questionnaire is used for collecting may not want to let the researcher know what
background and demographic information, they really believe about a particular issue.
information about past behaviour, attitudes Second, people sometimes offer responses they
and opinions, knowledge about a particular think the researcher wants to hear.
topic, and expectations and aspirations of the
persons. Sometimes a survey is conducted by Psychological Testing
sending the questionnaire by mail. The main
problem of a mailed questionnaire is poor Assessment of individual differences has
response from the respondents. remained one of the important concerns of
psychology from the very beginning.
Activity 2.3 Psychologists have constructed different types
of tests for assessment of various human
An investigator wants to study people’s attitude characteristics, such as intelligence, aptitude,
towards welfare programmes by circulating a personality, interest, attitudes, values,
questionnaire via the Internet. Is this study likely educational achievement, etc. These tests are
to reflect the views of the general population used for various purposes, such as personnel
accurately? Why or why not?
selection, placement, training, guidance,
diagnosis, etc., in multiple contexts including
Telephone Survey educational institutions, guidance clinics,
industries, defence establishments, and so
Surveys are also conducted through forth. Have you ever taken a psychological
telephone, and now-a-days you must have test? If you have, you might have seen that a
seen programmes asking you to send your test contains a number of questions, called
views through mobile phones’ SMS. The items, with their probable responses, which
telephone survey helps in reducing time. are related to a particular human
However, since the respondents do not know characteristic or attribute. It is important here
the interviewer, the technique is fraught with that the characteristic for which a test has
uncooperativeness, reluctance, and superficial been developed, should be defined clearly and
answers by the respondents. There is also a unambiguously, and all items (questions)
possibility that those responding may differ should be related to that characteristic only.
from those not responding, e.g., on age, You might also notice that often a test is meant
gender, income levels, education levels, etc., for a particular age group. It may or may not
besides their psychological characteristics. have a fixed time limit for answering the
This will lead to very biased kinds of results. questions.
The method of observation have been Technically speaking, a psychological test
discussed earlier. This method is also used is a standardised and objective instrument

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which is used to assess an individual’s standing divided into two equal halves employing odd-
in relation to others on some mental or even method (items 1,3,5,— in one group and
behavioural characteristics. Two things are items 2,4,6,— in another gr oup) and
worth noting in this definition: objectivity and correlation is computed between the scores
standardisation. Objectivity refers to the fact of odd and even items.
that if two or more researchers administer a For a test to be usable, it should also be
psychological test on the same group of people, valid. Validity refers to the question : “Does
both of them would come up with more or the test measure what it claims to measure”?
less the same values for each person in the For example, if you have constructed a test of
group. In order for a psychological test to mathematics achievement, whether the test
become an objective measure, it is essential is measuring mathematical achievement or
that items should be worded in such a manner for example, language proficiency.
that they communicate the same meaning to Finally, a test becomes a standardised test
different readers. Also, the instructions to the when norms are developed for the test. As
test takers about how to answer the test items mentioned earlier, norm is the normal or
should be specified in advance. The procedure average performance of the group. The test is
of administering the test such as administered on a large number of students.
environmental conditions, time limit, mode of Their average performance standards are set
administration (individual or group) should be based on their age, sex, place of residence,
spelt, and the procedure for scoring of the etc. This helps us in comparing the
participants’ responses need to be described. performance of an individual student with
The construction of a test is a systematic others of the same group. It also helps in
process and involves certain steps. It involves interpreting individuals’ score obtained on a
detailed analysis of items, and estimating test.
reliability, validity, and norms of the whole
test. Types of Tests
Reliability of the test refers to the
consistency of scores obtained by an individual Psychological tests are classified on the basis
on the same test on two different occasions. of their language, mode of administration, and
For example, you administer the test to a difficulty level. Depending upon the language,
group of students today and re-administer it we have verbal, non-verbal, and performance
on the same set of students after some time, tests. Literacy is required for taking verbal
let us say 20 days. If the test is reliable, there tests as the items have to be written in some
should not be any variation in the scores language. In non-verbal tests, items are made
obtained by the students on the two occasions. of symbols or pictures. Performance tests
For this, we can compute test-retest require movement of objects from their
reliability, which indicates the temporal respective places in a particular order.
stability (or stability of the test scores over Depending upon the mode of
time). It is computed by finding out co-efficient administration, psychological tests are divided
of correlation between the two sets of scores into individual or group tests. An individual
on the same set of persons. Another kind of test is administered by the researcher to one
test reliability is called split-half reliability. It person at a time, while group tests can be
gives an indication about the degree of internal administered to large number of persons at
consistency of the test. This is based on the the same time. In individual tests, the
assumption that items of a test if they are from researcher administers the test face to face
the same domain should correlate with each and remains seated before the test taker and
other. If they are from different domains, e.g., notes down the responses. In the group test,
apples and oranges, then they would not. For the instructions about answering the items,
finding out internal consistency, the test is etc., are written on the test, which the test

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taker reads and answers the questions with information about a person’s background,
accordingly. The test administrator explains interests, and past performance.
the instructions to the entire group. Individual
tests are time consuming, but are important Case Study
ways of getting responses from children, and
In this method, the emphasis is given on in-
from those who do not know the language.
depth study of a particular case. Researchers
Group tests are easy to administer and are
focus on cases which can provide critical
also less time consuming. However, the
responses are fraught with certain limitations. information or new lear ning on less
The respondent may not be motivated enough understood phenomena. The case can be an
to answer the questions and may give fake individual with distinguishing characteristics
responses. (for example, a patient showing psychological
Psychological tests are also classified into disorders) or a small group of individuals
speed and power tests. In a speed test, there having some commonality among them (for
is a time limit within which the test taker is example, creative writers like Rabindra Nath
required to answer all the items. Such a test Tagore, and Mahadevi Verma), institutions (for
evaluates the individual on the basis of time example, poorly or successfully functioning
taken to answer the items accurately. In a school or a corporate office), and specific
speed test, all the items are of the same degree events (for example, children exposed to
of difficulty. On the other hand, power test devastation by tsunami, war or vehicular
assesses the underlying ability (or power) of pollution, etc.). The cases that we select for
the individuals by allowing them sufficient study are unique and, therefore, are rich in
time, i.e. these tests do not have any time limit. information. A case study employs multiple
In a power test, the items are generally methods for collecting information, such as
arranged in an increasing order of difficulty. interview, observation, and psychological tests
If a person, for example, is unable to solve the from a variety of respondents who in some
6th item, s/he will have difficulty in answering way or the other might be associated with the
the subsequent items. It is, however, difficult case and can provide useful information. With
to construct a pure speed or power test. the help of case studies, psychologists have
Majority of the tests are a combination of both done research to understand feelings,
speed and power. fantasies, hopes, fears, traumatic experiences,
While tests are often used in research and parental upbringing and so on, that helps to
for making decisions about people, tests must understand a person’s mind and behaviour.
be selected and used with great care. The test Case studies provide a narrative or detailed
user or the decision maker should not rely on descriptions of the events that take place in a
any single test. Test data should be combined person’s life.
A case study is a valuable research tool in
Activity 2.4 the field of clinical psychology and human
development. Freud’s insights that led to the
Take a test with its manual and read it carefully, development of psychoanalytic theory emerged
and identify the following : from his observations and showed that
• Number and type of items
• Information about reliability, validity, and
meticulous records must be maintained on
norms individual cases. Similarly, Piaget developed
• Type of test: verbal or otherwise, individual his theory of cognitive development on the
or group basis of observations of his three children.
• Type of test: Speed, power, or mixed Case studies have been conducted to
• Any other characteristics understand the pattern of socialisation of
Discuss these with other students and the
teacher.
children. For example, Minturn and Hitchcock
conducted a case study of socialisation of

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children among Rajputs of Khalapur. data. We generally use two methodological
S. Anandalakshmy studied aspects of approaches for the analysis of data. These are:
childhood in a weavers’ community in Varanasi. quantitative and qualitative methods. In this
Case studies provide detailed in-depth section, we will briefly discuss these
depictions of people’s lives. However, while approaches.
generalising on the basis of individual cases
one needs to be very cautious. The problem of
Quantitative Method
validity in a single case study is quite
challenging. It is recommended that the As you may have gathered by now,
information should be collected using multiple psychological tests, questionnaires, structured
strategies from different sources of information interviews, etc. contain a series of close-ended
by a number of investigators. Careful planning questions. That is, the questions and their
of data collection is also very necessary. probable responses are given in these
Throughout the process of data collection the measures. Generally, these responses are
researcher is required to maintain a chain of given in scaled forms. That is, they indicate
evidence for linking various data sources the strength and magnitude of the response.
having bearing on the research questions. For example, they may vary from 1 (low) to 5,
As you have read, each method has its own 7 or 11 (high). The participants’ task is to select
limitations and advantages. Therefore, it is the most appropriate response. Sometimes
desirable that the researcher should not there are right and wrong responses. A
depend upon only one method. A combination researcher assigns a number to each answer
of two or more methods should be used to get (normally “1” for right answers, and “0” for
the real picture. If the methods converge, i.e. wrong answers). At the end, the researcher
they give the same results, one can certainly calculates the total of all these numbers and
be more confident. arrives at an aggregate score, which tells about
the participants’ level on that particular
Activity 2.5 attribute (for example, intelligence, academic
intelligence, etc.). In doing so, the researcher
Identify the most appropriate method of enquiry converts the psychological attributes into a
for the following research problems. quantity (usually numbers).
• Does noise influence the problem solving For the purpose of drawing conclusions,
ability of the people? a researcher may compare individual’s score
• Should there be a dress code for college with that of the group, or compare the scores
students?
• Studying the attitude of students, teachers,
of two groups. This requires use of certain
and parents towards homework. statistical methods about which you will study
• Studying the behaviour of a student in a later. You have already read in mathematics
playgroup and in a classroom. in Class X about the methods of central
• Tracing the major life events of your favourite tendency (mean, median, and mode), methods
leader. of variability (range, quartile deviation,
• Assessing the anxiety level of Class XI
students of your school.
standar d deviation), co-efficients of
correlation, and so forth. These and some
other advanced statistical methods enable a
researcher to make inferences and to give
ANALYSIS OF DATA meaning to the data.

In the earlier section, we discussed different

Qualitative Method
methods for collecting information. After data
are collected, the next job of the researcher is Human experiences are very complex. This
to draw conclusions. This requires analysis of complexity is lost when one elicits information

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from a respondent on the basis of a question. decide a point as zero point and proceed
If you want to know how a mother feels about further. As a result, whatever scores we
the loss of her child, you will need to hear her get in psychological studies, are not
story to understand how her experience is absolute in nature; rather, they have
organised and what meaning she has given to relative value.
her suffering. Any attempt at its quantification In some of the studies ranks are used
will not enable you to get at the principles of as scores. For example, on the basis of
organising such experiences. Psychologists marks obtained in some test, the teacher
have developed various qualitative methods arranges the students in an order — 1, 2,
to analyse such data. One of them is Narrative 3, 4, … , and so on. The problem in such
Analysis. Also data are not always available type of assessment is that the difference
in the form of scores. When the researcher between first and second rank holders may
uses the method of participant observation or not be the same as is the difference
unstructured interview, the data are generally between the second and third rank
in a descriptive form—in participants’ own holders. Out of 50, the first rank holder
words, field notes taken by the researchers, might score 48, the second 47, and the
photographs, interview responses noted by the third 40. As you can see, the difference
researcher or taped/video-recorded, informal between the first and the second rank
talks, etc. These type of data cannot be holders is not the same as is the case
converted into scores or subjected to statistical between second and third rank holders.
analysis. Rather, the researcher uses the This also illustrates the relative nature of
technique of content analysis to find out the psychological measurement.
thematic categories and build those categories 2. Relative Nature of Psychological Tools :
taking examples from the data. It is more Psychological tests are developed keeping
descriptive in nature. in view the salient features of a particular
It must be understood that quantitative context. For example, a test developed for
and qualitative methods are not contradictory; urban students may contain items that
rather, they are complementary to each other. demand familiarity with the stimuli
In order to understand a phenomenon in its available in the urban setting—
totality, a suitable combination of both multistoried buildings, airplanes, metro
methods is warranted. railway, etc. Such a test is not suitable for
use with children living in tribal areas who
LIMITATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ENQUIRY would be more at ease with items that
describe their flora and fauna. Similarly,
The advantages and limitations of each a test developed in the Western countries
method have been discussed earlier. In this may or may not be applicable in the Indian
section, you will read some general problems context. Such tests need to be properly
faced by psychological measurement. modified and adapted keeping in view the
characteristics of the context in which they
1. Lack of True Zero Point : In physical
are to be used.
sciences measurements do start from zero.
For example, if you want to measure the 3. Subjective Interpretation of Qualitative
length of the table, you can measure it Data : Data from qualitative studies are
starting from zero and can say it is 3' long. largely subjective since they involve
Psychological measurements do not have interpretation on the part of the researcher
a true zero point. For example, no person as well as the person providing data. The
in this world has zero intelligence. All of interpretations may vary from one
us have some degree of intelligence. What individual to the other. It is, therefore,
psychologists do is that they arbitrarily often suggested that in case of qualitative

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 studies, the field work should be done by shared with others. In some studies, the
more than one investigator, who at the end technique of deception is used in which
of the day should discuss their the participants are given instructions to
observations and arrive at an agreement think or imagine in certain ways and are
before finally giving it a meaning. In fact, given false information or feedback about
one is better off, if the respondents too their performance (for example, you are
are involved in such meaning-making very intelligent, you are incompetent). It
process. is, ther efore, important that the
participants are explained the nature of
the study before its actual
ETHICAL ISSUES
commencement.
As you know, psychological research is 3. Debriefing : Once the study is over, the
concer ned with human behaviour, the participants are provided with necessary
researcher is expected to follow certain ethics infor mation to complete their
(or moral principles) while conducting the understanding of research. This is
studies. These principles are: respect for particularly important if deception has
persons’ privacy and choice to participate been used in the study. Debriefing ensures
in the study, beneficence or protecting the that participants leave the study in the
participants in the study from any harm, same physical and mental state as when
and justice or sharing the benefits of they entered. It should offer reassurance
research with all participants. Some of the to the participants. The researcher should
important aspects of these ethical principles make efforts to remove any anxiety or other
are described as follows. adverse effects that participants may have
1. Voluntary Participation : This principle felt as a result of being deceived in the
states that the persons on whom you want course of the study.
to conduct the study should have the 4. Sharing the Results of the Study : In
choice to decide whether to participate or psychological research, after collecting
not to participate in the study. The information from the participants, we come
participants should have the freedom to back to our places of work, analyse the
decide about their participation without data and draw conclusions. It is obligatory
any coercion or excessive inducement, and for the researcher to go back to the
the freedom to withdraw from the research participants and share the results of the
without penalty, once it has begun. study with them. When you go for data
2. Informed Consent : It is essential that the collection, the participants develop certain
participants in a study should understand expectations from you. One of the
what will happen to them during the expectations is that you will tell them
study. The principle of informed consent about their behaviour that you have
states that potential participants must investigated in the study. As a researcher,
receive this information before data from it is our moral duty to go back to the
them are collected, so that they make an participants. This exercise has two
informed decision about participation in advantages. One, you fulfil the
the study. In some of the psychological expectations of the participants. Second,
experiments, electric shock is given to the the participants may tell you their opinion
participants during the experiment. Still about the results, which sometimes may
in some cases obnoxious (e.g., harmful or help you develop new insights.
unpleasant) stimuli are presented. They 5. Confidentiality of Data Source : The
may at times be required to give some participants in a study have the right to
private information, which is generally not privacy. The researcher must safeguard

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 their privacy by keeping the information
provided by them in strict confidence. The Key Terms
information should only be used for
research purposes and, in no Case study, Confidentiality, Control group,
circumstances, it should be passed on to Correlational research, Data, Debriefing,
other interested parties. The most effective Dependent variable, Experimental group,
Experimental method, Group test, Hypothesis,
way of protecting the confidentiality of Independent variable, Individual test,
participants is not to record their identities. Interview, Negative correlation, Norms,
This is, however, not possible in certain Objectivity, Observation, Performance tests,
kinds of research. In such cases, code Positive correlation, Power test, Psychological
test, Qualitative method, Quantitative method,
numbers are given on the data sheet, and
Questionnaire, Reliability, Speed test,
the names with the codes are kept Structured interview, Survey, Unstructured
separately. The identification list should be interview, Validity, Variable
destroyed as soon as the research is over.

Summary
• A psychological research is conducted for the purpose of description, prediction, explanation,
control of behaviour, and application of knowledge generated in an objective manner. It
involves the following four steps: conceptualising a problem, collection of data, analysing
data, drawing and revising research conclusions. The psychological research is also
conducted to discover and understand the subjective meanings of events as they occur in a
particular context, and also reflect upon one’s own behaviour and experiences.
• In psychological studies, different types of data including demographic, environmental,
physical, physiological, and psychological information are collected. However, the data in
psychological studies remain located in a context and are tied to the theory and method
used for its collection.
• Different methods are used for collecting information. The observation method is used for
describing the behaviour. It is characterised by selection of a particular behaviour, its recording
and analysis. Observation can be done in a naturalistic or controlled laboratory conditions.
It can take the form of a participant or non-participant observation.
• The experimental method helps in establishing cause-effect relationship. The effect of the
presence of independent variable on the dependent variable is studied using experimental
and control groups.
• The purpose of correlational research is investigating association between variables as well
as making predictions. The relationship between two variables can be positive, zero or
negative, and strength of association varies from +1.0 through 0.0 to –1.0.
• The focus of survey research is to inform about the existing reality. Surveys can be conducted
by using structured and unstructured interviews, mailed questionnaires, and telephone.
• The psychological tests are standardised and objective instruments which help in knowing
one’s standing in comparison to others. Tests can be verbal, non-verbal, and performance
types, which can be administered individually or to the entire group at a time.
• The method of case study gives detailed in-depth information about a particular case.
• The data collected through the use of these methods are analysed through quantitative and
qualitative methods. The quantitative methods allow the use of statistical procedure for
drawing conclusions. Narrative method and method of content analysis are some methods
that are used in case of qualitative research.
• Lack of absolute zero point, relative nature of psychological tools, and subjective interpretation
of qualitative data are some of the limitations of psychological enquiry. Ethical principles of
voluntary participation of the subjects, their informed consent, and sharing of results with
the participants must be followed by a researcher.

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Psychology

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Review Questions
1. What are the goals of scientific enquiry?
2. Describe the various steps involved in conducting a scientific enquiry.
3. Explain the nature of psychological data.
4. How do experimental and control groups differ? Explain with the help of an example.
5. A researcher is studying the relationship between speed of cycling and the presence of
people. Formulate a relevant hypothesis and identify the independent and dependent
variables.
6. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of experimental method as a method of enquiry.
7. Dr. Krishnan is going to observe and record children’s play behaviour at a nursery school
without attempting to influence or control the behaviour. Which method of research is
involved? Explain the process and discuss its merits and demerits.
8. Give two examples of the situations where survey method can be used. What are the
limitations of this method?
9. Differentiate between an interview and a questionnaire.
10. Explain the characteristics of a standardised test.
11. Describe the limitations of psychological enquiry.
12. What are the ethical guidelines that a psychologist needs to follow while conducting a
psychological enquiry?

Project Ideas
1. Conduct a survey of the after-school activities of Class V and Class IX students taking a
sample of 10 students in each. Find information about the time devoted by them in
various activities, such as studying, playing, television viewing, hobbies, etc. Do you find
any difference? What conclusions do you draw and what suggestions would you offer?
2. Conduct a study in your group to see the effect of recitation on learning of poetry. Take 10
six-year olds and divide them into two groups. Give group 1 a new poem to learn and
instruct them to read it loudly for 15 minutes. Take group 2 and give them the same new
poem to learn but instruct them not to read it loudly. After 15 minutes ask the two groups
to recall. Care needs to be taken to see that both the groups are dealt with separately.
After the recall has taken place, note down the observation.
Identify what method of research you used, the hypothesis, the variables and the
kind of experimental design that were there. Compare notes with the other groups and
share the result with your teacher in the class.

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Chapter 2 • Methods of Enquiry in Psychology

Rationalised 2023-24