1. IDPSP Methods Info Treasure Hunt
Well doneYou’ve followed the clues successfully and found the methods “treasure”. The
information you were looking for is below. Jenna
Research designs and methods in developmental psychology
Carrying out research with children can make some of the more ‘traditional’ methods
in psychology difficult to use. This is particularly relevant for research with very
young children. As such, developmental psychologists often use a range of different
research designs and methods to investigate development (see table 1 & 2 below).
To find examples of research that employs these designs and methods, start with
Chapter 1: The scope and methods of developmental psychology (Slater and
Bremner 2011 – core text).
Table 1: Research designs for studying age-related changes in development
Research Design Description Examples?
Involve participants of
Cross-sectional different ages being studied
at a single point in time
Involve the same participants
Longitudinal being studied over time at
different points in their
development.
Involve a combination of
Sequential longitudinal and cross-
(or age/cohort) sectional designs to explore
differences in the
development of individuals
from different age cohorts.
Involve the same participants
Micro-genetic being repeatedly studied
over relatively short period of
time. A method that enables
change to be mapped as it
occurs.
There are other designs.
Have you come across any
other research designs
used to study child
development?
2. Table 2: Developmental Psychology Research Methods
Research Method Description Example
Observational methods Behaviour is observed and
recorded. Observations can
- Experimental be in laboratory
- Naturalistic (experimental) or natural
(naturalistic) settings.
Biographical Diaries often kept by primary
caregiver documenting child
development. These are
sometimes referred to as an
observational method.
Experimental Used to establish cause and
effect in child development.
Use of control groups.
Psychological testing Standardised tests to
measure psychological
functioning.
Correlational Looks at the relationship
- Concurrent between two variables.
- Predictive Concurrent – interested in
the relationship between two
variables at the same time.
Predictive – can one variable
predict another variable
Neurodevelopmental Used for understanding
Brain-behaviour links. Brain
development studies often
make use of technology such
as fMRI and PET
There are other methods.
Have you come across any
other research methods
applied to study child
development?