other methods

• case study


  • in depth study of an individual or small group
  • data can be collected from many sources: observations, interviews, formal records and psychological tests
  • psychologists produce a description of the case, followed by an interpretation of the findings
  • high validity, data is qualitative and detailed
  • each case study is unique - results cannot be generalised, time consuming
• meta analysis 


  • systematic review - a review that involves identifying an aim and then analysing research studies that have addressed similar hypotheses
  • meta analysis - produces an effect size of the DV in order to asses overall trends (e.g the average weight loss in a specific programme is 30 pounds, the effect size is 30 pounds)
  • reviewing results from several studies increases validity of the conclusion
  • studies are not truly comparable as research designs differ
• content analysis


  • a systematic method used to quantify the content of any form of media
  • researcher analyses a persons communication
  • read document/transcript, find common themes, identify behaviour categories, reread and tally behaviour categories
  • enables the analysis of a wide range of materials, high ecological validity
  • findings limited by researchers expectations as categories are decided beforehand, behaviour may be taken out of context
• cross cultural study 


  • comparing behaviours in different cultures
  • a way of seeing whether cultural practises are related to behaviour
  • a form of natural experiment
  • a way to see if certain behaviours are due to nature or nurture
  • impose etic - a construct from one culture is applied inappropriately to another
• longitudinal study 


  • study constructed over a long period of time
  • comparisons are made at certain milestones/ages in a persons life and conclusions can be drawn
  • allow us to see trends and patterns in behaviour over time
  • high drop out rates can skew data