How to Do Psychology Research in High School

Psychology is one of the most accessible research fields for high school students.

Why? Because the subject matter—human behavior, cognition, and emotion—is everywhere. You don't need an expensive lab. You don't need rare equipment. You need good questions, ethical methods, and rigorous analysis.

This guide walks you through conducting psychology research that can lead to publication and science fair success.

Why Psychology Research?

Advantages for High School Students

1. Low equipment needs: Most psychology research requires surveys, tests, or observational tools—not expensive lab equipment
2. Accessible participants: You can study students, families, community members
3. Relevant topics: Mental health, social media, education, relationships—topics you understand
4. Diverse methods: Surveys, experiments, content analysis, interviews
5. Growing field: Increasingly valued in academia and society

What You Can Study

• Cognitive processes (memory, attention, decision-making)
• Social behavior (conformity, attitudes, relationships)
• Developmental psychology (how people change with age)
• Mental health (stress, anxiety, well-being)
• Educational psychology (learning, motivation, study habits)
• Technology and behavior (social media effects, screen time)

Psychology Research Methods

1. Survey Research

Collecting self-report data through questionnaires.

Best for: Attitudes, beliefs, self-reported behaviors, personality

How to design good surveys:

• Use validated scales when possible (don't reinvent measures)
• Keep questions clear and unambiguous
• Avoid leading questions
• Consider order effects
• Pilot test before full distribution

Example project: "Relationship between social media usage patterns and self-reported anxiety levels in high school students"

2. Experimental Research

Manipulating variables to test cause-and-effect.

Best for: Testing specific hypotheses about what causes what

Key elements:

• Independent variable (what you manipulate)
• Dependent variable (what you measure)
• Control group vs. experimental group
• Random assignment when possible

Example project: "Effect of background music type on reading comprehension performance"

3. Correlational Studies

Examining relationships between variables without manipulation.

Best for: When you can't (or shouldn't) manipulate variables

Important note: Correlation ≠ causation. Your conclusions must reflect this.

Example project: "Correlation between sleep duration and academic performance among high school juniors"

4. Content Analysis

Systematically analyzing text, media, or other content.

Best for: Studying patterns in existing content

Applications:

• Social media posts
• News coverage
• Song lyrics
• Advertisements
• Online reviews

Example project: "Representation of mental health in top-viewed TikTok videos"

5. Observational Research

Watching and recording behavior systematically.

Best for: Natural behaviors that can't be surveyed or manipulated

Types:

• Naturalistic observation (in real settings)
• Structured observation (in controlled settings)

Example project: "Gender differences in playground interaction patterns among elementary students"

Designing Your Psychology Study

Step 1: Develop Your Research Question

Good psychology research questions are:

• Specific: Not "how does stress affect people" but "how does academic stress affect sleep quality in high school seniors"
• Testable: You can actually measure the variables
• Original: Adds to existing knowledge
• Ethical: Can be studied without harming participants

Step 2: Review the Literature

Before designing your study:

1. Search Google Scholar, PsycINFO, PubMed
2. Find what's already known about your topic
3. Identify gaps you can address
4. Find validated measures you can use

Step 3: Choose Your Method

Consider:

• What's the best way to answer your question?
• What resources do you have (time, participants)?
• What's ethical and practical?

Step 4: Define Your Variables

Independent variable (IV): What you manipulate or compare Dependent variable (DV): What you measure as the outcome Control variables: What you keep constant

Example:

• IV: Hours of daily social media use
• DV: Self-reported anxiety score
• Controls: Age, gender, grade level

Step 5: Plan Your Sample

Consider:

• Who: What population? (high school students? specific age?)
• How many: Power analysis or practical sample size
• How recruited: Volunteer? Random selection? Classroom?
• Inclusion/exclusion criteria: Who qualifies?

Ethics in Psychology Research

Why Ethics Matter

Psychology research involves people. Protecting participants is non-negotiable.

Key Ethical Principles

1. Informed Consent

• Participants (and parents if under 18) must understand what they're agreeing to
• They can refuse or withdraw at any time
• Written consent is best practice

2. Confidentiality

• Keep participant data private
• Use ID numbers, not names
• Store data securely
• Report aggregate results, not individual data

3. No Harm

• Minimize psychological discomfort
• Avoid topics that could traumatize
• Provide resources if studying sensitive topics (e.g., mental health hotlines)

4. Debriefing

• Tell participants the study's purpose after completion
• Answer their questions
• If deception was used, explain why and make sure they're okay

5. Honesty

• Don't fabricate data
• Report results accurately
• Acknowledge limitations

IRB Considerations

Many schools and competitions require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for human subjects research.

What this means:

• Submit your research protocol for ethics review
• Get approval before collecting data
• Follow any conditions imposed

Tip: Check competition requirements (ISEF has specific human subjects rules) early in your planning.

Data Collection Tips

Survey Best Practices

1. Use validated instruments: Don't create measures from scratch when good ones exist

   • Anxiety: GAD-7, Beck Anxiety Inventory
   • Depression: PHQ-9
   • Personality: Big Five Inventory
   • Self-esteem: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

2. Pilot test: Have 5-10 people try your survey before full deployment

3. Use appropriate tools: Google Forms, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey

4. Protect data: Use anonymous responses or secure storage

Experimental Best Practices

1. Standardize procedures: Every participant gets the same experience (except the manipulation)

2. Control confounds: Think about what else could explain your results

3. Random assignment: When possible, randomly assign participants to conditions

4. Blind procedures: If possible, participants (and researchers) shouldn't know which condition they're in

Analyzing Psychology Data

Basic Statistical Analysis

Most high school psychology projects use:

Descriptive statistics:

• Mean, median, standard deviation
• Frequencies and percentages

Inferential statistics:

• t-tests (comparing two groups)
• ANOVA (comparing multiple groups)
• Correlation (relationship between variables)
• Regression (predicting outcomes)
• Chi-square (comparing frequencies)

Tools for Analysis

• Excel: Fine for basic analysis
• Google Sheets: Accessible and collaborative
• JASP: Free, user-friendly statistics software
• R: More powerful, free, steeper learning curve
• SPSS: Industry standard (expensive, may have school access)

Interpreting Results

• Statistical significance: Is your result likely real or due to chance? (p < .05 is standard)
• Effect size: How big is the effect? (Cohen's d, r, etc.)
• Practical significance: Does this matter in the real world?

Writing Up Psychology Research

Psychology papers follow APA format. Standard sections:

Abstract

150-250 words summarizing the entire paper

Introduction

• Background and context
• Literature review
• Research gap
• Research question/hypothesis

Methods

• Participants (demographics, recruitment)
• Materials (measures, instruments)
• Procedure (step by step)

Results

• Statistical analyses
• What you found (tables, figures)
• Just the data—no interpretation yet

Discussion

• What results mean
• How they relate to prior research
• Limitations
• Future directions
• Conclusions

References

APA format citations for all sources

Psychology Science Fair Tips

What Judges Look For

1. Clear research question: Is the question specific and testable?
2. Appropriate methods: Is the design right for the question?
3. Ethical conduct: Were participants protected?
4. Rigorous analysis: Are statistics appropriate and correct?
5. Understanding: Do you understand what you did and found?

Common Psychology Project Mistakes

1. Small sample sizes: You need enough participants for meaningful statistics
2. No control group: Comparison is essential in experiments
3. Poor measures: Use validated instruments
4. Confounding variables: Control what you can
5. Over-claiming causation: Be careful about causal language with correlational data

Strong Psychology Project Examples

• "Effect of color on memory retention in adolescents"
• "Relationship between music preference and personality traits"
• "Social media comparison and body image satisfaction in teen girls"
• "Impact of mindfulness intervention on test anxiety"
• "Sleep deprivation effects on decision-making in high school students"

Getting Expert Guidance

Psychology research requires understanding research design, statistics, and ethics.

The YRI Fellowship provides:

• 1:1 PhD mentorship: Work with psychology researchers
• Study design guidance: Get your methods right from the start
• Statistical support: Help with analysis and interpretation
• Publication preparation: Format and submit to journals
• Competition coaching: Win science fairs with psychology research

Many YRI students publish psychology research and win competitions. Learn more about YRI's mentorship approach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do psychology research without a lab? Absolutely. Most psychology research requires surveys, observational tools, or simple experiments—no special lab needed. Many projects can be conducted entirely online or in classrooms.

How many participants do I need? Depends on your design, but typically 30+ per group for experiments, 100+ for correlational studies. More is generally better for statistical power.

Do I need IRB approval? Often yes, especially for competitions like ISEF. Check your school's and competition's requirements early. Even if not required, following ethical procedures is essential.

What topics are good for high school psychology research? Social media effects, academic stress, sleep and cognition, memory, attention, study habits, mental health factors. Choose something you're genuinely curious about.

How do I find validated measures? Search Google Scholar for "[topic] scale" or "[topic] questionnaire." Look for instruments with published reliability and validity data. Your mentor can help identify appropriate measures.

Can psychology research be published? Yes. Journals like the Journal of Emerging Investigators accept high school research. Your mentor can help identify appropriate venues.

Next Steps

1. Choose a topic: What aspect of human behavior interests you?
2. Review literature: What's already known? What questions remain?
3. Design your study: Choose methods appropriate to your question
4. Address ethics: Plan for informed consent and data protection
5. Get mentorship: Expert guidance makes all the difference

Apply to YRI Fellowship →

Related guides:

• How to Do Research in High School
• How to Choose a Research Topic
• How to Present Research at Science Fairs