Psychology / Unit 1: Introduction and Research Methods
1.3 Descriptive Research Methods
Notes
Descriptive methods describe behavior but cannot show cause and effect.
- Naturalistic observation: watching behavior in its real setting without interfering.
- Case study: an in-depth look at one person or small group. Results may not apply to everyone.
- Survey: questionnaires or interviews given to many people. Wording of questions and honesty of answers matter.
- A population is the whole group of interest; a sample is the part studied. A random sample gives every member an equal chance of being picked, so it is more likely to be representative.
Practice
A researcher quietly watches how children share toys on a playground without interacting with them. This is:
Observing behavior in a natural setting without interference is naturalistic observation.
Which is the main weakness of a case study?
One individual may be unusual, so results may not generalize.
A school wants a sample that represents all 2,000 students. Which method is best?
Random selection gives each student an equal chance, reducing bias.
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