The field of psychology requires effective research methods. The very important part of a psychological research is the skills used for conducting research. These research methods in the field of psychology include quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative method uses hard numbers to gather numerical data which can be measured and converted into statistics (Abrams & Curran, 2017). These measurable quantities of variables are used to give and formulate results from research facts. On the other hand, qualitative research method focuses on giving understanding facts and opinions of human behaviors to help formulate and develop hypotheses and ideas by giving insights by interpreting meanings of a given set of problem.
The Journal, “Finding the Right Way to Use Ketamine for Depression,” by Pedersen (2018) is a prominent example of a qualitative study. The focus of the journal shows that despite ketamine being considered as the best treatment for people suffering from extreme depression, the method of administering the drug to patients poses the biggest challenge for psychiatrist thereafter contributing to the adoption of less invasive way of administering the drug besides the nasal spray method. The study is qualitative because it relies on studies conducted by other researchers to present its findings. Additionally, the study is mainly descriptive in nature rather than presenting empirical facts.
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Finally, if I were to conduct a quantitative study, I would embark on a process of collecting raw data from a set sample. The qualitative study would act as a basis of forming the research question that I would seek to solve by gathering raw data from the participants. Some of the tools I would use to gather data include questionnaires, interviews and surveys (Babbie, 2010). I would then analyze the findings using methods such as regression analysis. For the data presentation, I would use tools such as pie charts and bar graphs to display the data in a form that is appealing and easy to understand.
References
Abrams, L. S., & Curran, L. (2009). “And You're Telling Me Not to Stress?” A Grounded Theory Study of Postpartum Depression Symptoms among Low ‐ Income Mothers. Psychology of Women Quarterly , 33 (3), 351-362.
Babbie, E. (2010). Unobtrusive research. The Practice of Social Research, 12th ed., Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA , 331-361.
Pedersen, T. (2018). Ketamine Nasal Spray for Depression: Finding the right way to use ketamine for depression. Journal of Psychology , 19 (3), 405-413.
