9990 · 3.1.2
Research methodology
**Research methodology** (3.1.2) is Paper 2. Practise **designing studies** and **interpreting stats** under timed conditions. Health Psychology topics (adherence, pain, stress) rely heavily on **self-report** and **field experiments** — always evaluate validity and ethics.
Need to know
What you need to know
- The core purpose is to test a hypothesis about cause and effect between an IV and a DV.
- Control over extraneous variables is crucial to ensure changes in the DV are caused by the IV alone.
- Laboratory experiments prioritise control, field experiments prioritise realism, and natural experiments investigate pre-existing IVs.
- Internal validity refers to the confidence that the IV caused the DV change; ecological validity refers to how well findings generalise to real life.
Explanation
Research methodology
- The core purpose is to test a hypothesis about cause and effect between an IV and a DV.
- Control over extraneous variables is crucial to ensure changes in the DV are caused by the IV alone.
- Laboratory experiments prioritise control, field experiments prioritise realism, and natural experiments investigate pre-existing IVs.
- Internal validity refers to the confidence that the IV caused the DV change; ecological validity refers to how well findings generalise to real life.