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The term "problem structuring methods" as a label for these techniques began to be used in the 1980s in the field of operations research, [8] especially after the publication of the book Rational Analysis for a Problematic World: Problem Structuring Methods for Complexity, Uncertainty and Conflict. [9]
Thought experiments, which are well-structured, well-defined hypothetical questions that employ subjunctive reasoning (irrealis moods) – "What might happen (or, what might have happened) if . . . " – have been used to pose questions in philosophy at least since Greek antiquity, some pre-dating Socrates. [15]
Cognitive psychology is a branch of psychology that investigates internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language; all of which are used in thinking. The school of thought arising from this approach is known as cognitivism , which is interested in how people mentally represent information processing.
A wide range of research methods are used in psychology. These methods vary by the sources from which information is obtained, how that information is sampled, and the types of instruments that are used in data collection. Methods also vary by whether they collect qualitative data, quantitative data or both.
Test construction strategies are the various ways that items in a psychological measure are created and decided upon. They are most often associated with personality tests but can also be applied to other psychological constructs such as mood or psychopathology.
Semi-structured interviews constitute a middle ground: they include both predetermined questions and questions not planned in advance. [4] [77] [78] Structured interviews make it easier to compare the responses of the different participants and to draw general conclusions. However, they also limit what may be discovered and thus constrain the ...
Structured observation is frequently employed by clinical and developmental psychologists, or for studying animals in the wild. One benefit to structured observation is that it allows researchers to record behaviors that may be difficult to observe using naturalistic observation, but that are more natural than the artificial conditions imposed ...
Open questions are those questions that invite the respondent to provide answers in their own words and provide qualitative data. Although these types of questions are more difficult to analyze, they can produce more in-depth responses and tell the researcher what the participant actually thinks, rather than being restricted by categories.