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Investigations as research

In their own right, investigation reports represent a bulk of historical, structural and empirical research.

Whilst paranormal investigations can be treated as quasi-ethnographic case studies, they can also be a useful tool to inform lay psychical research.

Researchers can regard investigations as opportunities to:

■ Gather raw data and witness reports of phenomena experienced, to formulate practical research questions

■ Test hypotheses which can inform standalone research

Research and experimental findings can also inform both the methods we use to investigate the paranormal, and the procedures used to analyse results.

In the section, the field experiments section provides examples of how theories can be tested in investigation settings. Similarly, the experiments section provides examples of how investigations can be improved through experimentation.

 Field Expts