Psychological Methods

 

Studying human behaviour is not as straightforward as research in other sciences.  People are not chemicals or plants! Psychologists have a range of techniques - laboratory experiements, field experiments, observation, case studies, interviews, questionnaires - which are designed to allow them to investigate aspects of human behaviour.

 

Each technique is useful but has individual drawbacks which also limit its usefulness.

 

During the AS course, you will look in detail at 20 separate pieces of psychological research.  Before you do so, you will need to have a thorough grounding in the techniques which psychologists use, notably:

 

• Research Methods

• Experimental Designs

• Techniques for Gathering Data

• Samples

• Operationalisation and Control of Variables

• Statistical Analysis of Data

• Evaluation of methods and conclusions