Research methods are important in many areas. Research methods are vital in giving clear results and information which is used to improve the area of study. Psychology is the study of human behavior and the results from research in this area are important for psychologists. It gives the right views on whether the methods being applied are making any dereference. Research should be done frequently to enable changes to be done to the area in question. This is to allow for the best services to continue being given in the area of psychology. Research methods vary from the way the information is sourced. The method by which the information collected is sampled and also by the tools used to collect the data also vary. Data collection methods differ in whether they are meant to collect qualitative or quantitative data or both.
The major research methods used in psychology are co-relational research, experimental research and descriptive research. Co-relational research methods are methods based on the relationship between two variables. The results from such a research method take into consideration the relations of two variables and show the differences and similarities of the two. It is mainly used as the first step before a full research is carried out. Co-relational research methods are conducted when normal experiments cannot be conducted due to ethical or practical reasons. During co-relational research, the variables are not manipulated as done in experiments. The information is gathered from archives, questionnaires and surveys and through simple observation. Correlation research methods seek to find the relationship between variables and offer the indication as to how much each variable influences the other. The relationship between the variables can then be manipulated to give the required results.
Descriptive research method is statistical and seeks to give the characteristics and description of the subject of study. Descriptive research is usually based on real facts and is systematic although it does not give the cause of a certain phenomena. The fact that it cannot be used to tell the cause of something limits its use in areas where one variable affects the other like in causal relationships. Descriptive research is used to get averages and to get statistical calculations. Survey investigations are first done prior to the involvement of full descriptive research investigations. Normally a follow-up to descriptive research is usually conducted. This seeks to find out why the observations got in the research exist and the effects they have on the subject. This type of research seeks to give answers to questions like whom, where, and why.
Experimental research methods are collections of designs aimed solely at manipulating and testing subjects to get to know the causal processes. Manipulation can be done on single or multiple variables to find out whether they have any direct effect on the independent variable being studied. It is thus a systematic approach to research since the subject matter is manipulated as the results are read to determine the extent of change on the variables. Experiments are carried out on many areas for the purpose of predicting phenomena’s. Experiments are usually structured in ways that the results they give can give and show the cause of a certain occurrence. Experiments are very important on a wide scale as they improve the quality of the life we lead. When causes to diseases and other things that bring pain and suffering are found, it is easy to fight them. This will eventually eradicate all the suffering caused thus improve the quality of life for the populace involved. It is a common type of research in areas where the cause precedes the effect generated as in the case of causal relationships. The use of experimental research is also high in areas where consistency has been noted in causal relationships. In subjects where the size of the correlation is huge, experiments can be used.
Research as said earlier is important for many reasons. The results of research act as guidelines as to how, where and when changes to certain subjects should be effected for maximum results. It is thus very important to have the right research method used in the right setting to provide the right results for the particular setting. Quantitative psychological research is derived from statistical estimation and mathematical models. Qualitative psychological research does not involve statistical and other quantitative procedures. It is thus clear that each method id employed in a particular setting to get particular results. As such there will always be room for the different research methods used today. The results of such results go a long way in paving the way for better psychological aid and medication since the results show how well these have been working.
Each research method has a particular area where it thrives. However, the descriptive research method is very effective. This is because it is a method that seeks to find the causes and gives tangible results. As much as it mainly deals with that which can be counted and put under study, the restrictions are not so many. It gives results that have an impact on the immediate surroundings. If research was conducted to find out how many children died of a certain disease, this research method will give more than just the number. It will show ways by which the disease can be prevented thus reducing the number of children that can be infected. All research methods are thus important in their own right and when used in the right way, they can give favorable results. The favorable results can be used to effectively improve the subject matter under research.