What research methods do Psychologist use?

In studying behavior, Psychologist employ naturalistic observation, interviews, case histories, questionnaires, surveys, standardized tests, physiological measures, correlation, and experiments.

Observation Methods:

Naturalistic Observation: a method of study in that involves observing behavior in normal, everyday settings.

Participant observation: Psychologist that take an active part in a social situation, perhaps deliberate role playing to see how other people behave.

Controlled/ Structured Observation:

Survey Methods

Questionnaire: a highly structured pencil and paper interview

Structured Interview: An in-depth question and answer session in which an individual’s life or problems are probed.

Case Histories: a compilation of the history of an individual based on the interviews and other sources of information.

Survey (Telephone): The administration of a questionnaire to relatively large numbers of people.

For more info on this topic visit http://psy101.MyUCCedu.com