We are concerned at A-level with the broad variety of ways in which psychologists can study human behaviour. To begin, you might wish to watch a video overviewing alternative methods at www.tinyurl.com/nn4bl7w (you will either love or hate the presenter). You can read a good basic introduction to the spectrum of psychological research methods at simplypsychology.org: www.tinyurl.com/qczk6ng.
Of particular importance to psychologists is the experimental approach to research. Experiments are studies that test cause and effect, or, put more scientifically, they test the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable. You can read a good introduction to types of experiment and experimental designs at www.tinyurl.com/p5kgrq2. At www.tinyurl.com/n9lcoxw you can see an excellent introduction to the experimental method, although beware that the authors do not use the term ‘experimental design’ in the same way as we do in psychology A-level.
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