5 Research methodology
An overview of how psychologists collect and judge evidence: the research methods, sampling techniques and research considerations that run through every approach and context in the course.
- IB Psychology
- SL and HL
What 5 covers
From the subject guide: what you need to know and be able to do.
How psychologists design studies, choose samples and judge the quality of research.
3 subtopics in Research methodology
Each one has its own page once something is published for it.
- 5.1Research methodsnotes
- 5.2Sampling techniquesnotes
- 5.3Research considerationsnotes
Key terms introduced here
Each is in the Psychology glossary, with every other term in the subject.
- Aim
A general statement of what a study sets out to investigate, usually naming the behaviour, the variables or the population of interest, without predicting the result.
- Research methodology
The study of how psychologists plan and carry out research: the choice of method, sampling, procedures, data collection and analysis, and the considerations that decide how far findings can be trusted.
An overview of 5 Research methodology
Research methodology is the study of how psychologists find things out: how they turn a question about behaviour into a study, who they study, how they collect data, and how they decide whether the findings can be trusted. Every claim in psychology, from the effect of a hormone to the causes of prejudice, rests on research, so methodology is the toolkit for understanding and evaluating all the other topics.
Research methodology is a set of procedures and standards rather than a body of theories about behaviour, and it is used everywhere. The same experiment, interview or sampling technique appears in biological, cognitive and sociocultural research, and in all four contexts.
Questions research methodology tries to answer
Which method best answers a given research question, and what can each method show or not show?
How can complex, invisible constructs such as memory, stress or attachment be turned into something that can be measured?
When can a study show that one variable causes another, and when can it show only a relationship?
Who should take part in a study, and how far do findings from one group apply to other people and cultures?
How do the expectations of participants and researchers distort findings, and how can this be reduced?
How can qualitative research, which interprets people’s words and experiences, be made credible?
How do ethical responsibilities limit and shape the research that can be done?
The subtopics
Subtopic | What it covers |
|---|---|
5.1 Research methods | The six methods (experiments, observations, surveys or questionnaires, interviews, correlational studies and case studies) with their sub-types; quantitative and qualitative research; variables, hypotheses, experimental designs and controls; choosing a method; the strengths and limitations of each |
5.2 Sampling techniques | Target populations, sampling frames and samples; random, stratified, opportunity, self-selected and snowball sampling (plus purposive sampling); sampling bias; sample size; sampling across cultures |
5.3 Research considerations | Reliability and the kinds of validity; participant and researcher bias; credibility and trustworthiness in qualitative research; reflexivity; generalisability, transferability and replication; ethics as it shapes research designs |
How the subtopics connect
The three subtopics follow the life of a study. A research question leads to three linked decisions: the method, which decides how data are collected; the sample, which decides whose behaviour is studied; and the ethical limits, which decide what may be done at all. These produce quantitative or qualitative data. Research considerations then ask how far the resulting findings can be trusted (reliability, validity, credibility, bias) and how far they apply beyond the study (generalisability and transferability).
The subtopics constantly overlap. A natural experiment is a choice of method, but whether it can show cause depends on internal validity, a research consideration. An online survey is a method, but its value depends on whether its self-selected sample represents the population. A qualitative interview study depends on purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews and member checking all at once. For this reason, evaluating a study usually means moving between all three subtopics.
Methodology, the concepts and the rest of the course
Research methodology is where the six concepts become most concrete. Causality depends on the choice between experimental and non-experimental methods and on controlling confounding variables. Measurement depends on how variables are operationalised and on the reliability and validity of the measures. Bias appears as sampling bias, participant bias and researcher bias. Responsibility shapes every design through consent, deception, protection from harm and the honest reporting of results. Perspective appears in the choice between quantitative and qualitative research and in the dominance of Western samples, and change is measured by longitudinal designs and randomised controlled trials.
Methodology also links the approaches to the contexts. Biological research relies heavily on correlational and quasi-experimental designs, brain imaging and twin studies; cognitive research on laboratory experiments; sociocultural research on field studies, observations, interviews and cross-cultural comparisons. In the contexts, each class practical applies one method: an interview in health and well-being, an observation in human development, a survey or questionnaire in human relationships and an experiment in learning and cognition. A class practical carries out one method on a small scale, while research methodology explains each method in general and how to judge it.
How SL and HL differ
SL and HL students study the same research methodology content, in the same depth, and it is assessed in the same way in Papers 1 and 2 and in the internal assessment. HL builds on it in two ways. In the HL extension on data analysis and interpretation, HL students analyse quantitative and qualitative data from sources (graphs, descriptive and inferential statistics, thematic analysis); SL students study data analysis too but are not assessed on it. HL students also apply research considerations, particularly credibility, bias and transferability in qualitative research, to unseen sources on culture, motivation and technology in Paper 3.
Assessment
Paper 1: research methodology is not the subject of Section A questions, but Section B scenarios may describe a study, and Section C concept-based essays are stronger when they evaluate the methods behind the evidence (for example, what a correlational design can show about causality).
Paper 2 Section A: four questions on one class practical, named by its method: describing it, explaining a concept in relation to it, comparing and contrasting it with another method, and designing a study on the same topic with a different method.
Paper 2 Section B: an unseen experimental or non-experimental study is evaluated with reference to two or more concepts, which draws directly on research methods, sampling and research considerations.
Paper 3 (HL): questions on interpreting data, analysing findings and research considerations (credibility, avoiding bias, transferability) in qualitative sources.
Internal assessment: the research proposal requires a justified choice of method, sampling technique and procedure, ethical considerations, a data collection tool, and reflection on researcher bias.
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