Title: Psychological research - Wikipedia
Headings: Psychological research
Psychological research
Contents
History
Philosophical foundations
Ethical considerations
Methodology
Experimental methods
Observational methods
Descriptive methods
Case studies
Surveys
Psychometric methods
Archival methods
Cross-sectional methods
Longitudinal methods
Cross-cultural methods
Cohort methods
Computational methods
Unobtrusive methods
See also
Notes
References

Content: During naturalistic observations, researchers can avoid interfering with the behavior they are observing by using unobtrusive methods, if needed. Both types of observational methods are designed to be as reliable as possible. Reliability can be estimated using inter-observer reliability, that is, by comparing observations conducted by different researchers. Intra-observer reliability means estimating the reliability of an observation using a comparison of observations conducted by the same researcher. The reliability of conducted studies is important in any field of science. For a statistical perspective of reliability, see also Reliability (statistics) . Descriptive methods
Main article: Descriptive research
All scientific processes begin with a description based on observation. Theories may develop later to explain these observations or classify associated phenomena. In scientific methodology, the conceptualizing of descriptive research precedes the hypotheses of "explanatory research".