Types Of Studies In Psychology Guide

These are similar to experiments, but participants aren't randomly assigned. This is often used for ethical or practical reasons—for example, you can't "assign" someone to be a smoker; you have to find people who already smoke.

Comparing different groups of people at a single point in time (e.g., comparing 20-year-olds to 60-year-olds today). 5. Quasi-Experiments

An in-depth look at a single person or a small group (e.g., studying a patient with a rare brain injury).

This is the "gold standard" for determining cause and effect.