1. Unit 1: History of Psychology and Research Methods
1.4 Observational Research Methods

2. Observational Research
1. Case Studies:
Observational research focusing on one person/few individuals
Advantages:
- deep understanding of individuals
- get more information that most other methods
Disadvantages:
- not usually representative of the general population
- can’t always replicate the study
- not always ethical

3. Observational Research
2. Naturalistic Observations: - observing behavior in its natural context to gain information Advantages: - provides large amounts of valid and realistic data - can study unethical topics - can be used for humans and animals Disadvantages: - difficult to set up and control - observer bias can distort results - doesn’t explain the cause of the behavior

4. Observational Research
3. Laboratory Observation: - the study of behavior in a controlled environment - can be used for animal and human observation - might influence behavior because people know they are being studied 4. Testing Method: - Psychological tests like intelligence, personality, and aptitude tests - used to tell if people are socially outgoing, aggressive, etc

5. Observational Research
5. Surveys:
- study of a large portion of people’s attitudes and behavior
2 types of surveys: interviews and questionnaires
Advantages:
gathers large amounts of data from large numbers of people quickly
Potential disadvantages:
- survey questions may be “leading” or badly phrased
- participants don’t always represent the population being studied
- people can be reluctant to admit bad things about themselves or may say what they think the surveyor wants to hear

6. Observational Research
6. Sampling: - selecting a portion of the population to survey (for when you can’t survey everyone) Population – the entire group of individuals researches want to study Random Sample – every person from population has an equal chance of participating - if there isn’t an equal chance, that is a biased sample Stratified Sample – subgroups in the population are represented proportionally in the sample

7. Observational Research
6. Sampling:
- selecting a portion of the population to survey
Advantages:
- larger sample = more reflective of actual population
able to better generalize about larger population as a whole
Disadvantages:
- not able to collect depth of information on each person
- not always accurate responses

8. Observational Research
7. Longitudinal Studies:
- Research on a particular group of people over extended period of time
- Administer same test/survey at different points in participants life time
- ex. Testing dietary habits at age 20, 30, and 40
- used often to research disease
can have participants drop out over time (called attrition)
8. Cross-sectional Studies:
- compares multiple groups of the general population at the same time
- ex. Testing dietary habits of 20, 30, and 40 year olds and comparing them