METHODS OF ENQUIRY IN PSYCHOLOGY

The Major Goals of Psychology

Describe, Explain, Predict, Change
Psychology—the scientific study of the mind and
behavior—has four main goals:
• to describe behavior
• to explain behavior
• to predict behavior
• to change behavior.

Describing Behavior
Simply describing the behavior of humans and other
animals helps psychologists understand the motivations
behind it. Such descriptions also serve as behavioral
benchmarks that help psychologists gauge what is
considered normal and abnormal
Researchers might start by observing human behavior and
then describing a problem. By understanding what is
happening, psychologists can then work on learning more
about why the behavior happens and even how to change
it.
How Psychological Descriptions Might Be Used
Imagine that researchers want to learn more about
consumer behavior in a particular retail outlet. They might
use market research surveys, direct observation, and other
data collection methods to gather information on what
people are doing when they shop there. This gives
advertisers greater insight into what is really happening in
their target market.

Explaining Behavior
Explaining behavior is probably what comes to mind for
most people when they think about the goals of
psychology. Why do people do the things they do? What
factors contribute to development, personality, social
behavior, and mental health problems?
How Psychological Explanations Might Be Used
In the previous example, researchers collected data to
understand what consumers are purchasing. Psychologists
might then conduct research to understand why
consumers purchase certain items or what factors
motivate them to make particular purchases.

Predicting Behavior
Not surprisingly, another primary goal of psychology is to
predict how we think and act. Once psychologists
understand what happens and why, they can formulate
predictions about when, why, and how it might happen
again.
Successfully predicting behavior is also one of the best
ways to know if we understand the underlying causes of
our actions.
How Psychological Predictions Might Be
Used
If researchers notice that scores on a particular aptitude
test predict high school dropout rates, they can extrapolate
that information to estimate how many students might
drop out of school each year.
In the previous example looking at consumer behavior,
psychologists might use the information they collected to
predict what consumers will purchase next. Businesses
and marketers often employ consumer psychologists to
make such predictions so that they can create products
with maximum appeal to the targeted buyers.

Changing Behavior
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, psychology strives
to change, influence, and/or control behavior to make
constructive, lasting changes in people's lives.
How Psychology Helps Change Behavior
In the previous example, researchers might use what they
know about the link between aptitude test scores and
dropout rates to develop programs that help students stay
in school.
Likewise, marketers and businesses often use the
understanding gained from psychological research to
influence and persuade buyers to behave in certain ways.
For example, they might develop advertising campaigns
designed to appeal to a certain audience. By tailoring their
efforts to a specific type of buyer, they're more likely to
elicit responses than if they used a generic message.

Steps of the Scientific Method

What is the Scientific Method?
Science is not just knowledge. It is also a method for
obtaining knowledge. Scientific understanding is
organised into theories.
The scientific method is a step-by-step process used by
researchers and scientists to determine if there is a
relationship between two or more variables. Psychologists
use this method to conduct psychological research, gather
data, process information, and describe behaviors.
It involves careful observation, asking questions,
formulating hypotheses, experimental testing, and refining
hypotheses based on experimental findings.
The scientific method can be applied broadly in science,
across many different fields, such as chemistry, physics,
geology, and psychology. In a typical application of this
process, a researcher will develop a hypothesis, test this
hypothesis, and then modify the hypothesis based on the
outcomes of the experiment.
The process is then repeated with the modified hypothesis
until the results align with the observed phenomena.
Detailed steps of the scientific method are described
below.
Keep in mind that the scientific method does not have to
follow this fixed sequence of steps; rather, these steps
represent a set of general principles or guidelines.

Steps of the Scientific Method

Psychology uses an empirical approach. Empiricism
(founded by John Locke) states that the only source of
knowledge comes through our senses – e.g. sight, hearing,
touch etc.
Empirical evidence does not rely on argument or belief.
Thus empiricism is the view that all knowledge is based
on, or may come from direct observation and experience.
The empiricist approach through gaining knowledge
through experience quickly became the scientific approach
and greatly influenced the development of physics and
chemistry in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Step 1: Make an Observation (Theory Construction)
Every researcher starts at the very beginning. Before
diving in and exploring something, one must first
determine what they will study - it seems simple enough!
By making observations, researchers can establish an area
of interest. Once this topic of study has been chosen, a
researcher should review existing literature to gain insight
into what has already been tested and determine what
questions remain unanswered.
This assessment will provide helpful information about
what has already been comprehended about the specific
topic and what questions remain, and if one can go and
answer them.
Step 2: Ask a Question
Once a researcher has made observations and conducted
background research, the next step is to ask a scientific
question. A scientific question must be defined, testable,
and measurable.
A useful approach to develop a scientific question is:
“What is the effect of…?” or “How does X affect Y?”
To answer an experimental question, a researcher needs to
identify two variables: the independent variable and the
dependent variable.
The independent variable is the variable that is
manipulated (the cause) and the dependent variable is the
variable that is being measured (the effect).
An example of a research question could be “Is
handwriting or typing more effective for retaining
information?” Answering the research question and
proposing a relationship between the two variables is
discussed in the next step.
Step 3: Form a Hypothesis (Make Predictions)
A hypothesis is an educated guess about the relationship
between two or more variables. A hypothesis is an attempt
to answer your research question based on prior
observation and background research. Theories tend to be
too complex to be tested all at once; instead, researchers
create hypotheses to test specific aspects of a theory.
For example, a researcher might ask about the connection
between sleep and educational performance. Do students
who get less sleep perform worse on tests at school?
It is crucial to think about different questions one might
have about a particular topic to formulate a reasonable
hypothesis. It would help if one also considered how, one
could investigate the causalities.
It is essential that the hypothesis is both testable against
reality and falsifiable. This means that it can be tested
through an experiment and can be proven wrong. The
falsification principle, proposed by Karl Popper is a way of
demarcating science from non-science. It suggests that for
a theory to be considered scientific it must be able to be
tested and conceivably proven false
Examples of "if...then..." Hypotheses:
• If one gets less than 6 hours of sleep, then one will do
worse on tests than if one obtains more rest.
Or
• If one drinks lots of water before going to bed, then
one will have to use the bathroom many times at
night.
Step 4: Run an Experiment (Gather Data)
The next step in the scientific method is to test your
hypothesis and collect data. A researcher will design an
experiment to test the hypothesis and gather data that will
either support or refute the hypothesis
The exact research methods used to examine a hypothesis
depend on what is being studied. A psychologist might
utilize two primary forms of research, experimental
research or descriptive research.
The scientific method is objective in that researchers do
not let preconceived ideas or biases influence the
collection of data, and is systematic in that experiments
are conducted in a logical way.
Experimental Research
Experimental research is used to investigate cause-and-
effect associations between two or more variables. This
type of research systematically controls an independent
variable and measures its effect on a specified dependent
variable.
Experimental research involves manipulating an
independent variable and measuring the effect(s) on the
dependent variable. It is important to repeat the
experiment multiple times to confirm that your results are
accurate and consistent.
One of the significant advantages of this method is that it
permits researchers to determine if changes in one
variable cause shifts in each other.
Descriptive Research
Descriptive research is generally used when it is
challenging or even impossible to control the variables in
question. Examples of descriptive analysis include
naturalistic observation, case studies, and correlation
studies.
One example of descriptive research includes phone
surveys that marketers often use. While they typically do
not allow researchers to identify cause-and-effect,
correlational studies are quite common in psychology
research. They make it possible to spot associations
between distinct variables and measure the solidity of
those relationships.
Step 5: Analyze the Data and Draw Conclusions
Once a researcher has designed and done the investigation
and collected sufficient data, it is time to inspect this
gathered information and judge what has been found.
Using analyses and statistics, researchers can summarize
the data, interpret the results, and draw conclusions based
on this evidence.
Upon completion of the experiment, you can collect your
measurements and analyze the data using statistics. Based
on the outcomes, you will either reject or confirm your
hypothesis.
Analyze the Data
So, how does a researcher determine what the results of
their study mean? Statistical analysis can either support or
refute a researcher's hypothesis and can also be used to
determine if the conclusions are statistically significant.
When outcomes are said to be "statistically significant," it
is improbable that these results are due to luck or chance.
Based on these observances, investigators must then
determine what the results mean.
An experiment will support a hypothesis in some
circumstances, but sometimes it fails to be truthful in
other cases
Draw Conclusions and Interpret the Data
When the empirical observations disagree with the
hypothesis, a number of possibilities must be considered.
It might be that the theory is incorrect, in which case it
needs altering so it fully explains the data.
Alternately it might be that the hypothesis was poorly
derived from the original theory, in which case the
scientists were expecting the wrong thing to happen.
It might also be that the research was poorly conducted, or
used an inappropriate method, or there were factors in
play that the researchers did not consider. This will begin
the process of the scientific method again.
If the hypothesis is supported, the researcher can find
more evidence to support their hypothesis or look for
counter-evidence to further strengthen their hypothesis.
In either scenario, the researcher should share their
results with the greater scientific community.
Step 6: Share Your Results
One of the final stages of the research cycle involves the
publication of the research. Once the report is written, the
researcher(s) may submit the work for publication in an
appropriate journal.
Usually, this is done by writing up a study description and
publishing the article in a professional or academic
journal. The studies and conclusions of psychological work
can be seen in peer-reviewed journals such as
Developmental Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, the
Journal of Social Psychology, and numerous others.
Scientists should report their findings by writing up a
description of their study and any subsequent findings.
This enables other researchers to build upon the present
research or replicate the results.
As outlined by the American Psychological Association
(APA), there is a typical structure of a journal article that
follows a specified format. In these articles, researchers:
• Supply a brief narrative and background on previous
research
• Give their hypothesis
• Specify who participated in the study and how they
were chosen
• Provide operational definitions for each variable
• Explain the measures and methods used to collect
data
• Describe how the data collected was interpreted
 • Discuss what the outcomes mean
A detailed record of psychological studies and all scientific
studies is vital to clearly explain the steps and procedures
used throughout the study. So that other researchers can
try this experiment too and replicate the results.
The editorial process utilized by academic and professional
journals guarantees that each submitted article undergoes
a thorough peer review to help assure that the study is
scientifically sound. Once published, the investigation
becomes another piece of the current puzzle of our
knowledge "base" on that subject.
This last step is important because all results, whether
they supported or did not support the hypothesis, can
contribute to the scientific community. Publication of
empirical observations lead to more ideas that are tested
against the real world, and so on. In this sense, the
scientific process is circular.
A detailed record of psychological studies and all scientific
studies is vital to clearly explain the steps and procedures
used throughout the study. So that other researchers can
try this experiment too and replicate the results.
The editorial process utilized by academic and professional
journals guarantees that each submitted article undergoes
a thorough peer review to help assure that the study is
scientifically sound.
Once published, the investigation becomes another piece
of the current puzzle of our knowledge "base" on that
subject.
By replicating studies, psychologists can reduce errors,
validate theories, and gain a stronger understanding of a
particular topic.
Step 6: Repeat the Scientific Method (Iteration)
Now, if one's hypothesis turns out to be accurate, find
more evidence or find counter-evidence. If one's
hypothesis is false, create a new hypothesis or try again.
One may wish to revise their first hypothesis to make a
more niche experiment to design or a different specific
question to test.
The amazingness of the scientific method is that it is a
comprehensive and straightforward process that scientists,
and everyone, could utilize over and over again.
So, draw conclusions and repeat because the scientific
method is never-ending, and no result is ever considered
perfect.
The scientific method is a process of:
• Making an observation.
• Forming a hypothesis.
• Making a prediction.
• Experimenting to test the hypothesis.
The procedure of repeating the scientific method is crucial
to science and all fields of human knowledge.
Methods to data analysis
With so much data being created every day, it becomes
imperative to go beyond the traditional methods to analyze
this huge chunk of invaluable information.
Qualitative and quantitative data each have their own ways
of being processed.
• Qualitative data analysis comes into play when
the data you are trying to process has no bearing
whatsoever with numbers, and cannot be tabulated —
e.g. text, videos, images, etc.
• Quantitative data analysis deals with structured
datasets that have numbers in them. It runs
algorithms on statistical data to deduce objective
truths.
• Quantitative data analysis
• Quantitative data analysis is a more traditional form of
analysis. As mentioned earlier, this process crunches
numbers to get results.
• Since one of the major functions of this process is to run
algorithms on statistical data to obtain the outcome, the
methods used in quantitative data analytics range from
basic calculations like mean, median, and mode to more
advanced deductions such as correlations and regressions.
• Some of the scopes of quantitative data analysis include:
• Project management
• Marketing
• Finance
• Research and Development
• Product planning
Qualitative data analysis
Qualitative data analysis is used when the data you are trying
to process cannot be adjusted in rows and columns. It involves
the identification, examination, and elucidation of themes and
patterns in data (mostly textual) to bolster the decision-making
process.
Unlike quantitative analysis, qualitative data analysis is
subjective. This method of analysis allows us to move beyond
the quantitative traits of data and explore new avenues to
make informed decisions.
The following are some of the scopes of qualitative data
analysis:
• Measuring customer satisfaction
• Monitoring competition
• Analyzing customer behavior
• Evaluating market trends
Differences between qualitative and quantitative data
analysis

Qualitative data analysis Quantitative data analysis

It deals with data that cannot It deals with quantitative traits

be expressed as number that can be expressed as
number
It is subjective It is objective
Inductive in nature It is deductive

Application: assessing Application: monitoring profits

customer feedback, and losses, evaluating changes
monitoring market trends, in GDP, calculating sales
measuring company morale revenue

Limitations of Psychological Enquiry

Psychologists study various mental processes, experiences,
and human behavior, and to study all these factors, they
rely on various methods of enquiry such as case study,
content analysis, correlational researches, psychological
testing, survey research, experimental, and observational.
These enquiry methods help psychologists study various
phenomena of the human mind in a systematic, organized,
and well-structured manner. The main goals of the
psychological enquiry involve describing the human
behavior, predicting the effects of various variables,
explaining & controlling various factors that change the
behavior, and then finally applying the gained information
to understand and formulate the psychological theories.
The systematic approach of the psychological enquiry
methods is the reason that various psychological theories
are often termed scientifically proven. However, there
exist some limitations also of the psychological enquiry
methods
1. Lack of True Zero Point
A true zero point indicates that any other factor or trait is
absent or null at that point. Whenever we measure or
weigh anything, we start measuring it from the zero value,
say 5 inches in length or 15 kg of weight. In fact, in
physical sciences, every measurement starts from zero, but
psychological measurements lack the availability of true
zero points. For instance, we cannot say that a particular
person has a zero value of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) or
zero effect of outward stimuli on his/her behavior because
every person has some level of intelligence, and outward
stimuli always impact the human behavior to a certain
extent. So, to measure various psychological factors,
psychologists arbitrarily assign certain points as zero
points and measure various phenomena with respect to
these arbitrarily assigned zero points.
2. Relative Nature of Psychological Tests
The scores we obtain through the psychological tests are
not absolute, rather these are relative scores because we
score various psychological attributes by comparing them
with the other relative factors. However, relative scores do
not tell the actual level of the specific factor in the subject.
For example, if we rank three subjects, say A, B, and C, as
first, second, and third respectively on the basis of the
marks they obtained in the IQ test, the major problem of
this ranking would be that the intelligence difference of the
subject A and subject B may or may not be same to the
intelligence difference of the subject B and subject C. Let’s
say, out of 200, the first rank holder (A) obtained a 140 IQ
score, the second rank holder (B) obtained 130, and the
third rank holder (C) obtained 90. Clearly, the IQ score
difference of subjects A and B is much less than the
subjects B and C. This shows that the subjects are not
ranked according to their actual level of intelligence; in
fact, they are ranked by the comparison methods.
3. Lack of Generalizability
Another major problem with the psychological inquiry
method or, specifically, psychological testing is that they
lack generalizability. Every psychological test is designed
by keeping in mind certain factors related to a particular
context or area. In fact, the majority of the psychological
tests that we encounter today were designed by conducting
various research in the European and American regions,
and most of the psychological theories are formulated by
taking samples from these western populations. These
psychological tests may not give accurate results if they are
applied to the Asian or African population because there
are cultural and behavioral differences in different regions
of the world. So, before conducting any psychological test,
it should be properly checked whether the particular test is
generalizable or not because every single psychological test
cannot be used universally.
4. Subjective Interpretation of Qualitative Research Data
Psychological inquiry involves the collection of a vast
amount of qualitative data, which includes feelings,
behavior, perception, and other psychological factors of
the subjects under study, and there is not any proper
degree to measure these factors. Every psychologist
interprets the research data in his/her own way. So, there
may exist differences in the results obtained by different
psychologists about the same factor or event. Hence, it is
always preferred that the particular psychological inquiry
or case study should be done by a panel of psychologists,
and there should be a proper discussion between the
psychologists before deducing the final results or
formulating any psychological theory.
5. Other Issues
As psychological researches involve the inspection of
human behavior, the researchers have to follow various
ethical guidelines while doing the psychological inquiry.
Ethical guidelines may limit psychological inquiry, but
psychologists should respect the privacy of the subject and
follow these ethical guidelines. There are proper ethical
guidelines provided by the ‘American Psychological
Association,’ which emphasize various aspects that need to
be followed by the researcher like participation of the
subject in the research should be voluntary, consent
should be taken before conducting the research, proper
debriefing about the test should be provided to the
subjects, and confidentiality of the subjects should be
maintained. As every research cannot be conducted on
humans, researchers conduct various studies on animals
too. It should be noted that only those animals should be
considered for the research, which is scientifically suitable
for that particular research according to the ethical
guidelines. Although it’s unethical to conduct research on
animals, it’s a necessity in every field of science to conduct
research on animals to discover new phenomena and
mysteries of living beings. However, proper care of the
animals should be taken, and wherever possible, mental or
physical harm to the animals should be avoided.

Ethical Issues in Psychology

In Psychology some of the most contested issues are ethical
issues. Many of the greatest psychological studies have been
hugely unethical. For example, Milgram (1963), Zimbardo
(1973). One of the problems one encounters when conducting
psychological research is considering the extent to which the
research depends upon being unethical. Milgram’s infamous
study conducted to the highest ethical peaks would not have
provided such an insight of human obedience because it
would have become completely ecologically invalid — in real
life we cannot simply withdraw from the research.
Furthermore, demand characteristics would have
undoubtably had a confounding effect upon the results.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) and the American
Psychological Association (APA) have provided an ethical
framework for psychologists to attempt to adhere to when
conducting psychological research.
If you are taking an a-level psychology exam, or conducting
psychological research, it is important to know these ethical
principles.
Protection From Harm
Perhaps the most important ethical principle is that
participants should be protected from harm, psychological or
otherwise.
Psychological harm can be difficult to operationalize because
it can depend upon the person and it can be difficult to detect,
both the participants and the researchers may not know that
participants have been harmed psychologically. However,
that being said, researchers can do their utmost to prevent
any undue stress for their participants.
Right to Withdraw
Giving participants the right to withdraw does not just
informing them that they can leave the study at any time, but
also informing them that they have the right to withdraw their
results from the study at any time.
This is important because some participants may feel
pressured into continuing with the study. It is also important
because it prevents the participants from feeling embarrassed
about their results. Take for example a study in which a
person has to take an IQ test, that returns the result that they
have below average intelligence. This could be embarrassing
for the participants and may lead them to want to withdraw.
Confidentiality
Following on from the previous point. Ensuring that your
results are anonymous and also confidential follows the
ethical code put forth by the British Psychological Society.
No one outside of the experiment—and ideally in the
experiment too—should be able to identify the participants
from the results.
For any research to be ethical, the researcher must have
gained informed consent from the participants. The
‘informed’ part of this ethical principle is the most important
part. It is no use to gain consent from participants when they
are not informed about the true nature of the study.
Take for example Milgram’s 1963 study. The participants were
told that they would be participating in research on memory
and learning, and they consented to take part based on that
knowledge. Milgram therefore did not gain informed consent
because the participants were not fully informed about the
true nature of the study, that is, it was a study into obedience.
However, arguably informed consent was gained after the
participants were debriefed, which brings us on to the next
point.
Debriefing
Debriefing is conducted with the participants after the study
has taken place. It has a number of aims. Firstly, it aims to
ensure that none of the participants have been harmed in any
way by the study. Secondly, it aims to make sure that the
researchers have informed consent. Thirdly, it allows the
participants an opportunity to remove their results from the
study. Finally, it allows the participants to ask any questions
about the study to make sure they fully understand the
content of it.
There are a number of times when debriefing the participants
of a study is not possible. To give an example, Piliavin et al.,
which was a field experiment. The participants of that study
could not be debriefed because they did not know that they
were taking part and it would have been nearly impossible to
complete.
Deception
Some studies require that the participants are deceived in
some way. The majority of the time this is to prevent demand
characteristics, which can confound upon the results and
conclusions of the study.
Deception however, is against the ethical standards set by the
British Psychological Association. Deception includes:
misleading the participants in any way and the use of stooges
or confederates.