A Research On An Undergraduate Psychology Student

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In the scientific world most arguments are supported by data. In regards to personality, at first glance, it may seem impossible to collect quantitative data. However, as the text book points there are “LOTS” of ways to collect personality data. “LOTS” is an acronym for L-data, life record data, O-data, observer data, T-data, test data, and S-data, self-report data (Cervone & Pervin, 2013). So in fact there are scientific ways to collect data on personality. As an undergraduate psychology student pursuing a degree in psychology, it is important for me to not only understand the different methods when doing research in the field of psychology, as well as recognizing which method works best for the research being conducted. Being able to…show more content…
The major problem with observational data is collecting data without the individual or individuals of interest noticing the observer. If spotted, the individuals of interest may behave differently than in a true naturalistic setting. T-data relies on experiments to collect data. The advantage of using this method of data collection is that the experimenters have control over the variables being measured, they can chose which expressed personality characteristics they want to measure and select the participants they want. Another advantage of using T-data is that unlike correlational data, T-data can support causality between two or more variables. While experimental data may be the most supportive, it is also more challenging to conduct. Experiments require more resources such as money and personnel, which can limit smaller institutions and psychologists with limited resources from using T-data. In addition to the cost and personnel to run the experiment, it also takes more time to conduct because the researchers must find enough participants to make the sample size relevant enough to generalize the results back to the population.
S-data is one of the more popular methods for collecting data because of its convenience and cost. The cost of producing and administering self-report material is significantly less than T-data for instance. Additionally, it is more convenient to administer due to the ease of being able to
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