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One catalogue of research methods — learn how each one works, when to use it, and what it can’t do.

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Entries are compiled from published sources for reference. Verifying the accuracy and suitability of any information for your own use remains your responsibility.

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MethodStatistics1,836AI & ML1,661Decision Sciences932Research Methods1,354Measurement1,745Causal & Evidence532Research Practice118
570 methods in PsychologyClear
Real methods matching your filter.
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psychometrics

2PL IRT

The two-parameter logistic item response model, formalised by Frederic Lord (1980), describes the probability that a respondent answers a binary test item correctly as a smooth S-shaped function of the respondent's latent ability. By estimating a separate discrimination parameter for each item alongside a difficulty pa

2 sources1980
psychometrics

3PL IRT

The three-parameter logistic (3PL) model, introduced by Allan Birnbaum in 1968, is an item response theory model that describes the probability of a correct response to a binary test item as a function of three item-level parameters — difficulty, discrimination, and a lower asymptote representing guessing — and one per

2 sources1968
bereavement psychology

AAG

The Adult Attitude to Grief Scale (AAG) is a measure assessing individual beliefs, attitudes, and values regarding grief and bereavement. Developed by Richard K. Barrett, the AAG captures how adults conceptualize grief—including beliefs about whether grief is acceptable, whether emotions should be expressed, whether se

1 source1994
neuropsychology

Abbreviated Mental Test Score

The Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) is a brief, 10-item cognitive screening instrument developed by Hodkinson in 1972 and originally published in Age and Ageing. It was specifically designed to quickly assess cognitive function in older hospitalized patients, detecting delirium and dementia in acute hospital settings. Th

3 sources1972
educational psychology

Academic Burnout Scale

The Academic Burnout Scale measures three dimensions of student burnout: emotional exhaustion, cynicism toward studies, and reduced academic efficacy. Developed by Schaufeli and colleagues in 2002, it adapts the Maslach Burnout Inventory framework to the academic context, providing researchers and educators with a vali

2 sources2002
educational psychology

Academic Help-Seeking Scale

The Academic Help-Seeking Scale measures students' inclination to seek academic help, their preferred sources of assistance (instructors, peers, tutors), and barriers that inhibit help-seeking (fear of judgment, embarrassment, preference for independence). Developed by Karabenick and colleagues in the 1990s, the AHSS r

2 sources1990
educational psychology

Academic Integrity Scale

The Academic Integrity Scale measures students' attitudes, values, and likelihood of engaging in academic dishonesty including cheating, plagiarism, and unauthorized collaboration. Multiple validated versions exist, each assessing different facets of academic integrity such as personal integrity commitment, perceived c

2 sources2000
educational psychology

Academic Motivation Scale

The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) is a 28-item self-report instrument developed by Vallerand et al. (1992) to assess the quality of students' academic motivation. It distinguishes between intrinsic motivation (motivation for knowledge, accomplishment, and stimulation), extrinsic motivation (external regulation, intro

2 sources1992
educational psychology

Academic Resilience Scale

The Academic Resilience Scale measures the capacity of students to withstand and recover from academic adversity, including setbacks, failures, and difficult transitions. Developed by Cassidy in 2016, the ARS-30 conceptualizes resilience as a dynamic, multidimensional process involving perseverance, adaptive help-seeki

2 sources2016
educational psychology

Academic Self-Efficacy Scale

The Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) measures students' beliefs about their capability to succeed in academic tasks. Grounded in Bandura's social cognitive theory, the instrument assesses perceived competence in diverse academic domains—understanding lectures, completing assignments, performing on exams, and engagin

2 sources1977
clinical psychology

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a values-based, process-oriented psychotherapy developed by Steven C. Hayes and colleagues that helps individuals create meaningful lives while living with difficult thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Using mindfulness, values clarification, and behavioral commitment, ACT rep

2 sources1999
social psychology

Acculturation Rating Scale

The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA) is a self-report measure designed to assess the degree to which Mexican American and Mexican immigrant individuals adopt or maintain cultural practices, values, and identity. Originally developed by Cuéllar, Harris, and Jasso in 1980 and revised as ARSMA-II i

1 source1995
social psychology

Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), formalized by Kenny, Kashy, and Cook, is the standard framework for analyzing dyadic data in which two people's outcomes depend on both their own and their partner's characteristics. For each member of a dyad, the model estimates an actor effect -- the influence of a pers

1 source2006
neuropsychology

Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination

The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) is a brief yet comprehensive clinician-administered cognitive battery designed to assess multiple cognitive domains and differentiate between types of dementia. Originally developed by Mathuranath and colleagues at Cambridge University in 2000, the ACE was created to addres

3 sources2000
psychiatry

Addiction Severity Index

The ASI is a multidimensional, clinician-administered semi-structured interview assessing severity of substance use disorder and related psychosocial problems across seven domains: medical, employment, drug use, alcohol use, legal, family/social, and psychiatric. Developed by McLellan and colleagues in 1980 and refined

3 sources1980
clinical psychology

Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale

The ASRS-v1.1 is an 18-item self-report screening scale for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults, developed by Kessler and colleagues in 2005 under World Health Organization auspices. A brief 6-item version provides rapid initial screening. The scale has become standard first-step screening in primary car

1 source2005
positive psychology

Adult Dispositional Hope Scale

The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, developed by C. Rick Snyder in 1991, is a 12-item measure assessing hope as a cognitive motivational system composed of two independent dimensions: Agency (the motivation and determination to pursue goals) and Pathways (the ability to generate routes to achieve those goals). Grounded

1 source1991
trauma psychology

Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire

The ACE Questionnaire is a 10-item instrument assessing exposure to adverse experiences during childhood, including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Originally developed by Felitti and colleagues at Kaiser Permanente in 1998 as part of the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, the ACE Score quantifies

2 sources1998
social psychology

Affect Misattribution Procedure

The Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP), introduced by Payne, Cheng, Govorun, and Stewart in 2005, is an implicit measure of attitudes built on a simple cognitive error: people misattribute the feeling evoked by one stimulus to another. On each trial a brief affective prime (such as a Black or White face, or a positi

2 sources2005
clinical psychology

Affective Lability Scale

The ALS is a 54-item self-report measure of affective lability—rapid, unpredictable shifts in mood and anxiety states. Developed by Harvey, Greenberg, and Serper in 1989, it distinguishes normal emotional responsiveness from pathological mood instability. Affective lability is recognized as feature of bipolar disorder,

1 source1989
political psychology

Affective Polarization Measurement

Affective polarization measurement quantifies the gap between how positively people feel toward their own political party (the in-party) and how negatively they feel toward the opposing party (the out-party). Iyengar, Sood and Lelkes (2012) showed that this affective divide has grown sharply even where issue positions

2 sources2012
social psychology

Affective Priming Task

The affective priming task, developed by Hermans, De Houwer, and Eelen in 1994, demonstrates that stimulus evaluation is automatic and goal-independent. Like evaluative priming it pairs a valenced prime with a valenced target, but instead of asking participants to judge the target's valence it asks them simply to prono

2 sources1994
bereavement psychology

AGS

The Anticipatory Grief Scale (AGS) is a measure developed by Theut, Jordan, and colleagues in 1990 to assess grief responses in individuals facing impending loss—such as family members caring for a terminally ill loved one or anticipating a predicted death. The AGS captures the emotional burden, depression, existential

1 source1990
psychiatry

Alcohol Dependence Scale

The ADS is a 25-item self-report scale designed to measure the severity of alcohol dependence symptoms according to the alcohol dependence syndrome concept. Developed by Skinner and Allen in 1982, it focuses on dependence-specific features (withdrawal, tolerance, loss of control, continued use despite harm) rather than

3 sources1982
neuropsychology

Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive

The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) is a clinician-administered cognitive assessment instrument designed specifically to measure cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. Developed by Rosen, Mohs, and Davis in 1984 and published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the ADAS-Cog has become th

3 sources1984
social psychology

Ambivalent Sexism Inventory

The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) is a 22-item self-report measure developed by Peter Glick and Susan T. Fiske in 1996 to assess both hostile and benevolent sexism toward women. The scale captures the dual nature of sexism: overtly antagonistic attitudes and paternalistic but ultimately restrictive attitudes that p

1 source1996
psychometrics

Anchor-Based Minimal Important Difference

The anchor-based method for establishing Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) is a technique for determining the smallest change in a patient-reported outcome (PRO) that patients or clinicians perceive as meaningful or important. Pioneered by Guyatt, Jaeschke, and Singer in 1989, this approach anchors changes

3 sources1989
political psychology

Anti-Immigrant Prejudice Scale

The Anti-Immigrant Prejudice Scale, developed by Thomas Pettigrew and Roel Meertens in 1995, measures prejudice toward immigrants along two dimensions: blatant prejudice, which is hot, close, and direct, expressing open rejection and perceived threat, and subtle prejudice, which is cool, distant, and indirect, expressi

2 sources1995
social psychology

Asch Conformity Paradigm

The Asch conformity paradigm, established by Solomon Asch in the 1950s, demonstrates the power of group pressure to make people publicly endorse a manifestly false judgment. A naive participant joins a group of confederates for a simple perceptual task -- matching the length of a standard line to one of three compariso

1 source1956
psychiatry

Athens Insomnia Scale

The AIS is an 8-item self-report scale designed to assess insomnia severity in adolescents and adults, based on ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for insomnia disorder. Developed by Soldatos and colleagues in 2000, it is widely used in European primary care, psychiatry, and sleep medicine for screening and severity assessment

3 sources2000
sport psychology

Athletic Identity Measurement Scale

The AIMS is a 10-item questionnaire assessing the degree to which being an athlete is central to an individual's self-concept and identity. Developed by Brewer, Van Raalte, and Linder in 1993, the AIMS has become the standard instrument for measuring athletic identity and is widely used to predict athlete coping respon

2 sources1993
social psychology

Attachment Style Questionnaire

The Attachment Style Questionnaire is a self-report instrument measuring adult romantic attachment patterns based on attachment theory. Developed following Hazan and Shaver's seminal 1987 work extending John Bowlby's attachment theory to adult romantic relationships, the ASQ assesses individual differences in attachmen

2 sources1987
political psychology

Authoritarian Dynamic Measurement

The authoritarian-dynamic approach, developed by Stenner (2005) and Feldman (2003), measures authoritarianism as a latent predisposition toward favoring social conformity and order over individual autonomy and difference, typically assessed with four forced-choice child-rearing values items rather than attitude stateme

2 sources2005
child psychiatry

Autism Spectrum Quotient

The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is a brief self- or observer-report measure of autism-spectrum traits in adolescents and adults. Developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues in 2001, the original 50-item version (AQ-50) quantifies propensity toward autism across five domains: social skills, attention to detail, atte

2 sources2001
child psychiatry

Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale

The Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale (BAARS-IV) is a 27-item self- or observer-report measure of ADHD symptoms and executive function deficits in adolescents and adults. Developed by Russell Barkley and colleagues, the BAARS operationalizes ADHD beyond the traditional inattention and hyperactivity domains to include exe

2 sources2011
psychometrics

Bayesian Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis tests a pre-specified factor structure using Bayesian inference. Instead of point estimates with p-values, it produces full posterior distributions for loadings, factor correlations, and residual variances, allowing the researcher to incorporate prior knowledge and propagate parame

2 sources2007
psychometrics

Bayesian Construct Validity

Bayesian construct validity assessment uses Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis and related Bayesian structural equation models to evaluate whether a scale or test measures the intended latent construct. It yields full posterior distributions for factor loadings, structural coefficients, and model-fit indices rather

2 sources1955
psychometrics

Bayesian Convergent Validity

Bayesian convergent validity applies Bayesian statistical inference to assess whether different measures of the same construct converge as theory predicts. Rather than a single-point correlation estimate, it yields a full posterior distribution over the convergent correlation, enabling probability statements about the

2 sources2000
psychometrics

Bayesian Cronbach's alpha

Bayesian Cronbach's alpha applies Bayesian inference to estimate the classical internal-consistency coefficient, yielding a full posterior distribution over alpha rather than a single point estimate. This allows researchers to quantify uncertainty with credible intervals and incorporate prior knowledge, making reliabil

2 sources2011
psychometrics

Bayesian Differential Item Functioning

Bayesian differential item functioning analysis detects whether a test item behaves differently across demographic or cultural groups — such as males vs. females — after accounting for the underlying ability or trait being measured. It applies Bayesian IRT estimation to obtain posterior distributions of item parameters

2 sources1990
psychometrics

Bayesian Discriminant Validity

Bayesian discriminant validity assessment evaluates whether two theoretically distinct latent constructs are empirically separable, using posterior distributions and credible intervals rather than single-point null-hypothesis tests. It is applied within Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis or via the Bayesian heterotr

2 sources2020
psychometrics

Bayesian EFA

Bayesian exploratory factor analysis applies a full probabilistic framework to the common factor model. By placing prior distributions over factor loadings and unique variances, it yields posterior distributions rather than point estimates, quantifies uncertainty around every loading, and can treat the number of factor

2 sources2004
psychometrics

Bayesian Item Analysis

Bayesian item analysis applies Bayesian inference to estimate item-level statistics — difficulty, discrimination, and distractor effectiveness — by combining observed response data with prior knowledge. It produces full posterior distributions over item parameters rather than single point estimates, providing richer un

2 sources1990
psychometrics

Bayesian McDonald's omega

Bayesian McDonald's omega applies Bayesian statistical estimation to the omega reliability coefficient, yielding a full posterior distribution over omega rather than a single point estimate. This provides credible intervals and probabilistic uncertainty quantification for the reliability of a composite or scale score,

2 sources1999
psychometrics

Bayesian Measurement Invariance

Bayesian measurement invariance testing evaluates whether a scale's factor loadings and item intercepts are equivalent across groups, using a Bayesian framework that allows parameters to deviate from strict equality by a small, probabilistically specified amount rather than imposing an exact constraint.

2 sources2013
psychometrics

Bayesian Scale Development

Bayesian scale development applies Bayesian statistical inference to the construction and evaluation of psychometric scales. Rather than relying on single point estimates of item and person parameters, it produces full posterior distributions that quantify uncertainty, incorporate prior knowledge, and support principle

2 sources1990
clinical psychology

Beck Anxiety Inventory

The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a 21-item self-report scale designed to measure the severity of somatic and cognitive symptoms of anxiety in adolescents and adults. Developed by Aaron T. Beck and Robert A. Steer in 1993, the BAI is widely used in clinical assessment, treatment monitoring, and research to quantify a

1 source1993
clinical psychology

Beck Depression Inventory

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is a 21-item self-report instrument designed to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in adolescents and adults. Developed by Aaron T. Beck in 1961 and revised as the BDI-II in 1996, it has become one of the most widely used screening and monitoring tools in clinical psychology

2 sources1961
clinical psychology

Beck Depression Inventory-II

The Beck Depression Inventory-II is a 21-item self-report instrument designed to assess the presence and severity of depressive symptoms in adolescents and adults. Originally published by Aaron T. Beck in 1961 and revised significantly in 1996, the BDI-II is one of the most widely used depression assessment tools in cl

3 sources1996
clinical psychology

BES

The BES is a 16-item self-report questionnaire designed specifically to measure the behavioural and emotional features of binge eating in obese and non-obese populations. Developed by Gormally and colleagues in 1982, the BES uses a forced-choice format and focuses on the subjective experience of loss of control, severi

3 sources1982
forensic psychology

BHS

The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is a 20-item self-report instrument developed by Aaron Beck and colleagues (1974) to measure the degree of hopelessness and pessimism about the future in adolescents and adults. It is grounded in Beck's cognitive theory of depression and suicide and is widely used in clinical, psychiat

2 sources1974
clinical psychology

BIDQ

The BIDQ is a brief self-report questionnaire screening for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a disorder characterized by preoccupation with a perceived defect in appearance and repetitive behaviours (mirror checking, grooming, comparing with others). Developed by Castle and colleagues, the BIDQ focuses on the core diagn

3 sources2006
psychometrics

Bifactor Model

The bifactor measurement model specifies that every indicator loads simultaneously on a single general factor and on one of several specific (group) factors. Formally introduced by Holzinger and Swineford in 1937 and brought into mainstream psychometrics by Reise (2012), it is now the standard tool for evaluating wheth

2 sources1937
social psychology

Big Five Inventory

The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a 44-item self-report measure operationalizing the Five-Factor Model of personality, capturing Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Developed by Oliver John and colleagues in 1991, the BFI is a more concise alternative to longer personality instrumen

3 sources1991
social psychology

BIS/BAS Scales

The BIS/BAS Scales, developed by Carver and White in 1994, are self-report measures of two fundamental motivational systems proposed by Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory. The Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) governs sensitivity to punishment, threat, and nonreward, and underlies anxiety and avoidance; the Behav

1 source1994
political psychology

Blatant Dehumanization Scale

The Blatant Dehumanization Scale, also called the Ascent of Man measure, captures the willingness to overtly deny full humanity to an out-group. Developed by Nour Kteily, Emile Bruneau, Adam Waytz, and Sarah Cotterill in 2015, it uses the iconic evolutionary image of a creature progressing from ape to upright human and

2 sources2015
social psychology

Bogus Pipeline

The bogus pipeline, devised by Jones and Sigall in 1971, is a methodological technique for reducing social-desirability bias in the measurement of attitudes, especially sensitive ones such as prejudice. Participants are connected to an impressive-looking apparatus and convinced that it functions as an accurate lie dete

1 source1971
psychiatry

Borderline Symptom List

The BSL-95 is a 95-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure the severity of borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms across nine subscales: affect dysregulation, distrust, self-harming behaviors, suicide risk, identity disturbance, negative relationships, and dissociation. Developed by Bohus and colleag

3 sources2007
bereavement psychology

BRI

The Bereavement Risk Index (BRI) is a structured assessment tool designed to identify bereaved individuals at elevated risk for complicated grief, depression, or other adverse bereavement outcomes. By systematically evaluating established risk factors (manner of death, relationship quality, concurrent stressors, prior

1 source1986
clinical psychology

Brief Phobia Scales

Brief Phobia Scales are a collection of short, focused self-report instruments designed to measure fear and anxiety related to specific phobias such as agoraphobia, claustrophobia, fear of flying, fear of heights, and other circumscribed fears. Developed by various researchers including Woody and Lohr, these scales pro

1 source2005