SANT NIRANKARI PUBLIC SCHOOL

NIRANKARI COLONY, DELHI-9

PSYCHOLOGY - CLASS XI

CH2- METHODS OF ENQUIRY IN PSYCHOLOGY

Methods of Enquiry in Psychology: Goals

Description
● The description requires recording a particular behaviour and describing it accurately
so as to attain a comprehensive understanding of the same
● For example, morning habits may have a diverse range of behaviours like reading
positive literature, meditation, exercise, journaling etc.

Prediction
● It is the second goal of psychological enquiry
● Here we attempt to understand the relationship between the behaviour we are
describing with the other types of behaviour.

Explanation
● It is the third goal of psychological enquiry
● It attempts to explain the causal factors of behaviour and attain an understanding of
the conditions in which the behaviour occurs or not.

Control
● It is the fourth goal of psychological inquiry
● It focuses on three things
○ Making a particular behaviour happen
○ Reducing it
○ Enhancing it

Application
● It is the fifth goal of psychological enquiry
● focuses on bringing out a positive change in people’s lives

Steps in Conducting Scientific Research

Credits: NCERT

Conceptualising a problem
● It is the first step of conducting a scientific research
● The researcher selects a topic for study which is done on basis of either review of past
research, observations, personal experience

Identification of problem
● It is the second step of scientific research
● Development of a tentative statement about the topic takes place which is termed a
hypothesis
● For example, “ greater is the amount of time spent by children in playing violent
video games, the greater is the degree of impatience and anger developed by them”

Collection of data
● This step focuses on developing a research design or blueprint of the entire study.
● Decisions are taken about the following
○ Participants in the study
○ Methods of study
○ Tools to be used in research
○ Procedure for data collection

Drawing conclusions
● The next step of scientific research is to analyse data through statistical procedures
● It can be achieved through measures of central tendency like mean, median, mode
and graphical presentations like pie charts, bar diagram
Revising research conclusions
● The researcher revises the whole study and the hypothesis being taken is analysed
thoroughly to see whether it stands true or not

Nature of Psychological Data

Demographic information
It includes personal information like name, age, gender, education, occupation etc.

Physical information
Includes information about ecological conditions, housing conditions, size of rooms, facilities
available at home, in the neighbourhood, in the school etc.

Psychological information
The information focuses on areas like intelligence, personality, interests etc.

Different Methods of Enquiry in Psychology

Observation
● It is a very powerful method of psychological enquiry
● It involves the selection of a particular behaviour, recording the selected behaviour
using symbols, photographs and analysis of the recorded behaviour

Merits
● enables the researcher to study people and their behaviour.
● Can provide in-depth information about behaviour to be observed

Demerits
● It is time-consuming
● It can be labour-intensive at times
● Poor method for establishing cause and effect relationship.

Experimental method
● Experiments are generally conducted to establish cause-and-effect relationships
between two or more variables in a controlled setting.
● Independent variables are manipulated and their effects are measured on the
dependent variable.

Merits
● The optimal method for establishing cause and effect relationship between two or
more variables
● The extraneous variables can be controlled thus, no scope for an alternative
explanation

Demerits
 ● The experimenter’s bias may affect the
● The authenticity of the experiment

Correlational research
● The strength and direction of the relationship between two variables are represented
by a number, termed the correlation coefficient
● Its value may range from +1.0 through 0.0 to -1.0

Merits
● Correlation helps in the prediction between the given variables
● Can examine issues that cannot be studied ethically or practically in experiments

Demerits
● Fails to establish cause and effect relationship between variables

Survey research
● It came into existence to study opinions, attitudes, and social facts by use of
techniques such as questionnaires, interviews, etc.

Merits
● A properly selected representative sample may yield an accurate result
● It is flexible and adaptable to individual situations
● Information can be gathered quickly and efficiently

Demerits
● Unrepresentative samples may yield misleading results
● Interviewer bias and social desirability bias may distort the findings
● Inaccurate information may be obtained at times

Case study
● It is an in-depth study of a particular case.
● It employs multiple methods for collecting information such as interviews,
observations and psychological tests from a variety of respondents who in some way
or the other might be associated with the case and can provide useful information.

Merits
● Provides rich descriptive information
● Helps in an in-depth study of a rare phenomenon.

Demerits
● Fails to establish a cause-and-effect relationship
● It may be subject to the biases of the researcher.

Psychological Testing
● A psychological test is a standardized and objective instrument that is used to assess
an individual’s standing about others on some mental or behavioural characteristics
 ● The construction of a test is a systematic process and involves certain steps. It
involves a detailed analysis of items and an estimation of their reliability, validity, and
norms.
○ Reliability refers to the consistency of scores obtained by an individual on the
same test on two different occasions
○ Validity refers to the question, “Does the test measure what it claims to
measure?”
○ Norms help in making a test standardised. Norm is referred to as the average
performance of the group.

Analysis of Data
Quantitative Method
Psychological tests, interviews, questionnaires contain a series of close-ended questions and
the probable response to these questions are given in a scaled manner and that clearly
illustrates the strength and magnitude of the response.

Qualitative Method
Human experiences are very complex. This complexity is lost when one elicits information
from a respondent based on a question.

Limitations in Methods of Enquiry in Psychology

Lack of true zero-point
Psychological measurements lack an absolute zero point.
For example, even after scoring zero on a vocabulary test, it can’t be said that the respondent
has zero knowledge of vocabulary.

Relative nature of psychological tools

The nature of psychological tools is relative, not absolute and they are developed keeping in
view the important features of a particular context.

Subjective interpretation of qualitative data

The interpretation of the qualitative data used in the research is characterized by subjective
interpretation which means that it varies from individual to individual.

Ethical Issues with Methods of Enquiry in Psychology

Informed consent
The principle of informed consent states that potential participants must understand what will
happen in the experiment and to them during the study so that they can make an informed
decision about their participation in the study.

Confidentiality of data source

Participants of the study have the right to privacy and the researcher must safeguard the
privacy of the participants by keeping the information provided by them confidential.

Voluntary participation
As per this principle, the participants must have the freedom to decide whether to participate
in the study or not.

Debriefing
Once the study is over, the participants are provided with the necessary information to
complete their understanding of the research. The researcher should make efforts to remove
any sort of anxiety which may have taken place as a result of the experiment