Research+Methods

** Research methods and ethics associated with the study of psychology. **   • experimental research: construction of hypotheses; identification of independent, dependent and extraneous variables • sampling procedures in selection of participants: random sampling; stratified sampling • techniques of qualitative and quantitative data collection: case studies; observational studies; surveys; questionnaires; interviews; rating scales; longitudinal, cross-sectional, twin and adoption studies • statistics: calculation of percentages; construction of tables, bar charts, histograms, pie charts, line graphs and frequency polygons; generalisation of findings to other populations (external validity) • ethical principles and professional conduct: the role of the experimenter; protection and security of participants’ rights; confidentiality; voluntary participation; withdrawal rights; informed consent procedures; use of deception in research; debriefing; use of animals in research; role of ethics committees.