The 12 types of research techniques: characteristics and functions.

A summary of the various types of quantitative and qualitative research techniques.

Just as science studies many different aspects, the methods needed to address them must also be different, with appropriate characteristics to address one or another object of study.

Research techniques are all the tools that science uses to increase its field of knowledge, both of people as individuals and as a whole, as well as to learn about natural phenomena, such as animal behavior.

In the following we will see what are the main research techniques and we are going to include them according to whether they are quantitative techniques or qualitative techniques.

Research techniques

Research techniques are the processes and instruments used in the approach and study of a given phenomenon, fact, person or social group. With these methods, researchers can collect, examine, analyze and expose the information they have come across. they have encountered. It is through these processes that research achieves its main objective, which is to acquire new knowledge and expand science.

Not all research techniques are suitable for the same objects of study. Depending on their characteristics, some techniques will be more appropriate than others. At the moment in which what is to be studied is proposed, the research group will decide to choose the most appropriate technique, this choice being a fundamental point in any research project.

Types of research techniques

Broadly speaking, There are two types of research techniques: quantitative techniques and qualitative techniques.. Within these two types there are different tools that are used depending on the data to be obtained and the way they will be analyzed.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research is empirical, and is based on objectivity. Quantitative techniques usually collect data by transforming them into numbers, and relating these values in such a way that it is possible to establish whether or not there are causal relationships between the different variables evaluated.

1. Surveys

The purpose of a survey is to to measure the characteristics of a population by collecting data, obtained from the answers given by the respondents, and analyzing them statistically.and analyzing them statistically.

Data is collected by means of questionnaires, i.e., lists of questions to be answered by the participants.

Among the questions that can be asked in a survey, there are practically all kinds: open questions, closed questions, dichotomous questions (option A or option B), multiple choice questions, fan questions, estimation questions, opinion questions...

Although they are easy and quick to implement, surveys involve some problems. Among them are the lack of sincerity in the participant's answers, in order to make a good impression.The lack of sincerity in the participant's answers, in order to make a good impression or to disguise the reality in the face of the researcher. Also, unconsciously or voluntarily, the participant may tend to answer "yes" to everything.

In addition, it may happen that participants do not understand it may happen that participants do not understand some of the items in the questionnaire.They answered in a way totally contrary to what they would have actually answered if they had understood them.

2. Tests

Tests could be considered a technique halfway between surveys and interviews. The difference with surveys is that tests tend to have a diagnostic purpose, whereas surveys aim to find out what they really mean.The difference with surveys is that tests usually have a diagnostic purpose, while surveys aim to know the public opinion, in an impersonal way and without knowing the name or personal data of the respondents.

Their purpose is to gather information on defined traits of the person, such as personality, behavior and personal characteristics, both individually and collectively. Among the characteristics evaluated we can find intelligence, academic performance, memory, degree of depression...

These research techniques are among the most classic tools in psychology and since the first ones were developed, new ones have been designed, adapted to all kinds of scientific needs. Tests are essential in experimental psychology, but also in sociology and educational sciences.

For a test to be adequate, it must be valid, i.e., it must study what it is intended to study and not something else.. For example, it makes no sense for a test to say that it evaluates intelligence if it contains questions on general culture, such as knowing the capital of France or how many years a five-year period is.

It must be understood that tests, despite being very objective, are not perfect. It is always possible that, as with surveys, the participant may not answer everything objectively or may not have understood the items that make up the questionnaire.

3. Correlational studies

Correlational studies make it possible to determine the degree to which two or more variables are related within a sample or population.. The degree of relationship is estimated using various statistical methods, which allow us to know whether the relationship between these variables is present and, if so, to know whether it is directly or inversely proportional.

An example of a positive relationship between two variables would be: grade obtained in an exam and hours dedicated to study by university students correlate in such a way that the more hours of study the better the grade.

An example of a negative relationship would be: grade obtained in an exam and hours spent chatting in the bar, correlating in such a way that the more hours spent in the bar the worse the grade in the exams.

4. Causal-comparative studies

Similar in some ways to correlational studies, causal-comparative studies aim to establish the time at which cause and effect occur in a given phenomenon. aim to establish the time at which cause and effect occur in a given phenomenon.. For this reason, these studies are subdivided into two types: retrospective and prospective causal-comparative studies.

In retrospective studies, the research group analyzes the problem when the effects have already occurred. In other words, the aim is to find the cause of a phenomenon that has already been observed. In prospective studies, on the other hand, the research begins before the events occur, starting from the causes and trying to find out what the effects will be.

5. Experimental studies

The main characteristic of experimental studies is that they are guided by the prior elaboration of one or more hypotheses.. That is to say, they start from a statement, in the form of an affirmation, and it is through research that the aim is to find out whether this statement is true or false, that is, to prove or disprove it. During the experiment, the research group controls one or several variables, evaluating the effects that occur based on the changes made on them.

Qualitative research

The main objective of qualitative research is to understand and interpret phenomena that, for various reasons, cannot be extrapolated to a laboratory context, or that depend on the context in which they occur. It is for this reason that qualitative research describes settings, people and communities in their natural form, without the researchers controlling and interpretingwithout the researchers directly controlling and modifying one or more variables.

1. Observation

Observation, as its name suggests, involves observe attentively the phenomenon, fact or concrete case, taking the necessary information and recording it more or less systematically. more or less systematically.

Indeed, observation is a fundamental element of all research, no matter how quantitative it is intended to be in the end. In fact, observation is such an important tool for science that, basically, most scientific knowledge has been obtained using this qualitative technique.

The research team relies on observation to obtain as much data as possible.. Thus, they observe behaviors that may not be evaluable through the administration of questionnaires or that the subject under study is not aware of performing. This technique is also frequently used at the beginning of research, when insufficient information is available on a specific phenomenon.

There are different forms of observationLet us see what they are.

• Direct observation: the researcher is personally in contact with the fact to be investigated.
• Indirect observation: the phenomenon is known through observations made by other people.
• Participant observation: the researcher enters the phenomenon, obtaining information "from the inside".
• Non-participant observation: information is gathered from outside, without intervening in the phenomenon.
• Unstructured observation: observation is carried out without the help of technical or special elements.
• Structured observation: it is carried out with the help of appropriate technical elements, such as tables, cards, etc.
• Field observation: it is carried out in places where the facts or phenomena to be investigated occur.
• Laboratory observation: research is carried out with previously determined human groups, under laboratory conditions.

2. Bibliographic research

The bibliographic research is a qualitative technique that is responsible for exploring everything that has been written about a given topic or problem.. This type of research is intended to fulfill the following functions:

• To support and sustain, in a theoretical way, the work to be done.
• To prevent the current research from being a replica of something that has already been done.
• To allow to make known previous experiments elaborated to refute/confirm them.
• To help in the continuation of previous research that was interrupted or incomplete.

3. Ethnographic studies

Ethnographic studies are used when it is desired to to know more in depth the behavior, habits and ways of life of a human group, ethnicity, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture.ethnicity, culture, linguistic group, sexual orientation or any political tendency.

Each human group may have very different behaviors, beliefs and attitudes, but they make up the same cultural unit, which is why this special type of study is used, given that there are sociocultural aspects that are difficult to evaluate and obtain by quantitative means.

4. Grounded theory

This research method involves elaborating the theory from the data. In other words, the starting point is not the theoretical framework or a previous bibliographic search, but rather the elaboration of the theory from the data obtained during the process.

Grounded theory is not only used in the social sciences, but is also a method applied in the health sciences.. An example of this would be in the evaluation of a patient's symptoms and signs, which will determine the diagnosis and the intervention process.

5. Narrative and visualization methods

The narrative technique involves asking people to tell their stories or experiences about a certain event, explaining their testimony and how they experienced it..

A similar technique is the visualization methods, in which subjects are asked to report a phenomenon, element or event in a pictorial form, such as drawing a map, a diagram or a more or less artistic representation of their experiences.

An example of a visualization method would be to ask someone to make a diagram of their community or of the elements that are part of their daily life, such as their home, school, the neighborhood bakery...

6. Case studies

Case studies involve an in-depth examination of a single person or a single institution.. The main objective of these techniques is to provide as accurate a representation as possible of the individual being studied, trying to obtain all kinds of information relevant to what is to be studied.

The case study is a very popular tool in psychology, especially if it is a very complex case or one that needs special attention, or in the case of a patient who comes to the psychotherapist's office. By approaching the person individually and in depth, the investigator has a detailed understanding of the problem, the investigator has a detailed understanding of the problem or issue to be addressed..

7. Interviews

The interview is a technique with which data are obtained from the dialogue between two people: the interviewer, or the researcher, and the interviewee.

The role of the interviewee can be played by a research participant, a patient, a job candidate, or an expert in a particular subject. This interview is conducted in order to obtain information from the interviewee, which will vary depending on the object of study of the research..

The interview is one of the oldest research techniques. It has long been used in psychology and is also applied in sociology and education. In fact, it is in these sciences, along with observation, that the interview is an indispensable technique, since it makes it possible to obtain data directly from the person who is the object of study.

The use of the interview is used when it is considered necessary for there to be interaction and dialogue between the researcher and the person being investigated.. It is also a good tool to use when the population being studied is small and manageable, whether it is one person or a small group of people.

The interviewer should be a person who demonstrates self-confidence. In addition, he/she should put him/herself at the interviewee's level, presenting the interview in terms that are easily understood by the interviewee and that do not lead to ambiguities.

Bibliographical references

• Anguera, M.T. (2003). The observation. In C. Moreno Rosset (Ed.), Evaluación psicológica. Concept, process and application in the areas of development and intelligence (pp. 271- 308). Madrid: Sanz y Torres.
• Blanco-Villaseñor, A. (1997). Metodologies qualitatives en la investigació psicològica. Barcelona: Edicions de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.
• Blanco Villaseñor, A. (1993). Reliability, precision, validity and generalization of observational designs. In M.T. Anguera (Ed.), Metodología observacional en la investigación psicológica (Vol 2, Fundamentación, pp 151-261). Barcelona: PPU.
• Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (2001). Ethnography. Métodos de investigación. Barcelona: Ediciones Paidós.
• Losada, J.L. and López-Feal, R. (2003). Research methods in human and social sciences. Barcelona: Paraninfo-Thomson.