RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Research Methods in Psychology



Research Methods in Psychology

Scenario 1

Qualitative research methods can be an important part of a social scientist's research repertoire. When skillfully practiced, qualitative methods can provide a means to develop a context-rich description and understanding of phenomena. Qualitative methods are particularly appropriate when the researcher wants to gain a deeper understanding of a known phenomenon or desires to develop knowledge or theory in a new area. Qualitative research is interactive. The opportunity to speak one-on-one with an individual, interface with a group, or observe behavior in its naturally occurring context can be invaluable in helping develop an understanding of how people experience and interpret events. Its primary aim is to understand the meaning of the phenomena under study from the context or perspective of the individuals being studied. It provides a voice for study participants and allows research into complex phenomena that are not readily reduced to quantitative variables for inclusion in surveys or experimental designs (Murray, 1998).

Quantitative methods have been criticized for their narrow focus and inability to adequately capture the diverse array of experiences and contexts that often prevail in social science research. Qualitative designs can complement, enhance, or replace laboratory studies and experimental designs for some areas of study regarding the powerful set of forces at work in people's lives (Gergen, 1973, 1978; Harré and Secord, 1972; Rich and Ginsburg, 1999).

where x is the mean for the sample, µ is the known value for the population, s is the standard deviation of the sample, and n is the number of data points in the sample.

As an example, in a study that examines the effectiveness of a new math curriculum, researchers might ask whether the curriculum is related to students' state standardized math test scores. A survey might be used to collect state test score data for students who participate in the new curriculum and for those who use a different curriculum. The researchers would want to make generalizations for all students who use and do not use the curriculum. However, because gathering the test score data for every student might be difficult and expensive, the researchers might send the questionnaire to only a sample of students in each group.

After calculating the average test score of each sample, the researchers could use a t-test to estimate the likelihood that the difference between the two samples' average test scores was really reflective of different test scores between the populations and not simply due to chance. If, for instance, the averages of the two samples were very similar, data were only available for a handful of students in each sample, and students' test scores in each sample varied greatly, then a t-test would likely show that the two populations did not necessarily have different average test scores and that the differences in the samples were simply due to chance. This would be shown by a very low value of the t-statistic. If, on the other hand, the difference in average test scores between ...