Research Methods

Axia College Material

Appendix B

Research Methods Matrix

A psychologist is planning to conduct a study that would examine pathological liars and the quality of their romantic relationships. You have been asked to provide the psychologist with a recommendation for which research method should be used to gather data on the pathological liars and their spouses.

Using the table below list each research method and its advantages and disadvantages for use in this study.

|Research Method |Advantages |Disadvantages |

| |The participants behavior is more likely to |The presence of an observer may alter the |

|Naturalistic Observation |be natural than behaviors taking place in a |participant’s behavior. |

| |laboratory. | |

| |This type of research yields a great deal of |The cases studied may not be a |

|Case Studies |detailed descriptive information. |representative sample. These studies can |

| | |also be time consuming and expensive. |

| |Surveys enable an immense amount of data to |Accuracy depends on ability and |

|Surveys |be gathered quickly and inexpensively. |willingness of participants to answer |

| | |questions accurately. |

| |Correlation research may clarify |This does not permit researchers to draw |

|Correlation Research...