Psychology and Its Research Methods

Psychologists use a variety of research methods to study behavior. Case Study, Correlation and experiment are some of the many research methods used by psychologists. Although these methods are frequently used and have certain advantages, they also have a fair share of disadvantages. Case Study is a research strategy in which one or more individuals is studied in depth in order to reveal universal principles of behavior. In other words, psychologists study the individual (case) in great depth and detail to figure out things true to us all. An advantage of case study is that it can suggest hypothesis for further study. A disadvantage of case study is that individual cases maybe misleading and the individual may be atypical i.e. not representative of a type/ group. Correlation study is a research strategy used to find a mutual relationship or connection between two or more things. It is the statistical measure of a relationship. An advantage of correlation study is that it helps us predict and prove a positive or negative correlation between two subjects. But the disadvantage is that it doesn’t prove that one event causes the other because two events may both be caused by some other event. Therefore, correlation doesn’t give a reasonable explanation. Experiment is type of research method in which the investigator manipulates one or more independent variable to determine the effect(s) on some behavior (the dependent variable) while controlling other relevant factors. An advantage of experiment is that the researcher can determine the cause and effect of a study. The experiment had variables like experiment group and control group, which used precisely, gives reliable results and the experiment and be replicated and end up with the same result. A disadvantage is that many trials have to be conducted to see if each time they end up with the same result. This takes up a lot of time and if they’re not precise in their experiments then an extra variable that