Psychology is the field of knowledge which can be discussed as any other science with references to its specific concepts and methods. The major concepts with which psychologists work in the context of their everyday practice are the scientific method which involves the collection and examination of the definite quantitative and qualitative data and the scientific theory construction. To concentrate on psychology as a science, it is necessary to pay attention to all these aspects which form the fundamental concepts of research methodology in the area of psychology.
The science of psychology discusses the peculiarities of the personal mental and emotional processes with references to the individual’s emotional state and behavior. Psychologists focus on the work of the personal mind in order to answer the questions about one’s psychological state and behavior. It is important that “psychologists develop theories and conduct psychological research to answer questions about behavior and mental processes; these answers can impact individuals and society” (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister, & Zechmeister, 2005, p. 3).
Thus, not only internal mental and emotional processes can influence the personal state and behavior but also the external or social effects. As any other science, psychology is based on the research which can make the psychologists’ ideas and proposals about this or that case be scientifically supported and developed. Moreover, the results of the psychological research contribute to the development of the means of prediction, treatment, and alternation of the definite psychological problems or clinical situations (Elmes, Kantowitz, & Roediger, 2011).
That is why the scientific method in the psychological research is closely associated with the empirical approach. The scientific method is the way to gain the knowledge about the definite psychological case and develop the necessary study (Shaughnessy et al., 2005). The significant elements of the scientific method are the statement of the certain research question, the proposal of the possible hypothesis, and the development of the research design. The scientific method is based on conducting the required observations and experiments, collecting, and analyzing the data. The hypothesis can be proved or not by the results of the research.
From this point, it is necessary to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative data used during the research. These two types of data are equally influential for presenting the full picture of the definite psychological case or conducting an investigation. The quantitative data are provided in the form of numbers and used to present the information about the frequency, duration, stability of the definite processes. The statistical information which is used for the research is also the type of the quantitative data. The qualitative data are the “verbal description and logical argument” (Shaughnessy et al., 2005, p. 119). The qualitative data is the necessary part of the controlled observations.
The scientific method depends on the process of scientific theory construction and testing. When psychologists propose the definite hypothesis as the way of answering the research question, they develop the process of scientific theory construction. Psychologists focus on the relationships between the certain variables which are examined with the help of testing and provide the valid conclusions with references to the quantitative results. In this case, objectivity is the significant condition for conducting and analyzing the research.
Psychology is a science which has its own specific methodology and approaches to the research. Thus, psychological investigations and studies are based on the scientific method and provide the valid results used for the work with definite cases and aspects of psychology.
References
Elmes, D. G., Kantowitz, B. H., & Roediger, H. (2011). Research methods in psychology. USA: Cengage Learning.
Shaughnessy, J. J., Zechmeister, E. B., & Zechmeister, J. S. (2005). Research methods in psychology. New York: McGraw Hill.