Introduction, Acquiring

Knowledge, and the Scientific

Method
Chapter 1

Dusana Rybarova
Psyc 290B
May 15 2006

Outline
1. Introduction to research methodology
- Why take a research methods class and how
is understanding research methodology useful?

2. Methods of Inquiry
- The method of authority, The method of
intuition, The method of tenacity,The rational
method, The method of empiricism

3. The scientific method

- the 5 steps of the scientific method

4. The research process

- the 10 steps of the research process

1. Introduction to research
methodology
How is understanding research
methodology useful?

Psychology is a science
this means that psychologists and behavioral

scientists in general use the methods of science

to gather and interpret information
science provides a carefully developed system
for answering questions so that the answers we
get are as accurate, objective and complete as
possible

1. Introduction to research
methodology (cont.)
How is understanding research
methodology useful?

Conducting a study
one might object that you do not plan to

conduct any studies in the future

each student in this class has to develop a
research outline following the 10 steps of
research process
to keep up to date in your profession, you will
probably need to read and understand the most
recent research publications

1. Introduction to research
methodology (cont.)
How is understanding research
methodology useful?

Reading and Evaluating Other Peoples

Studies
this class will help you critically evaluate the
research presented in journal articles
you will be able to determine to what extent
the evidence supports conclusions

1. Introduction to research
methodology (cont.)
How is understanding research
methodology useful?

Understanding brief descriptions of studies

there are basic principles that every scientific
study follows and knowing about these
principles will help you to better understand
the meaning of abbreviated descriptions of
studies that you will find in your textbooks for
other classes

1. Introduction to research
methodology (cont.)
How is understanding research
methodology useful?

Making decisions in our daily lives

you must understand and appreciate the role and
capabilities of science and experimentation so
that you can evaluate and act on research results
e.g. ads for weight-loss programs
this class will help you make educated decisions
about the research claims you encounter in
everyday life

1. Introduction to research
methodology (cont.)
How is understanding research
methodology useful?

Being a better thinker

science is a logical and objective method of

critical thinking
this class may help you to evaluate evidence
in a more sophisticated way and make a
more objective decisions in everyday life

2. Methods of Inquiry
methods of inquiry are ways in which

a person can know things or discover

answers to questions

Method of authority
a person relies on information or answers from
an expert in the subject area
Problems
people sometimes assume that a persons status as
an authority in one area transfers into some other
area (e.g. athletes eating cereals are not nutrition
experts)
authorities can be biased (e.g. psychodynamic vs.
behavioral psychologists)
answers from an expert may represent subjective
opinion rather than true expert knowledge
experts statements are often accepted without
question
just being called an expert does not make someone
an expert

 The method of intuition

information is accepted as true because it feels
right; you rely on your intuition
Problem
reliability
there is not mechanism for separating accurate from
inaccurate knowledge

The method of tenacity

information is accepted as true because it has
always been believed or because superstition
supports it (e.g. black cats and opposites
attract)
Problem
accuracy
difficult to correct in the face of evidence

The rational method

involves seeking answers by logical reasoning
uses arguments consisting of premises and
conclusions
if the premise statements are true and the logic is
sound, then the conclusion is guaranteed to be
correct
Example:
All 3-year-old children are afraid of the dark.
Amy is a 3-year-old girl.
Therefore, Amy is afraid of the dark.
Problems
unless the premise statements are absolutely true, we
cannot draw any conclusions about Amy
people are not particularly good at logical reasoning

The rational method (cont.)

Compare the logic of these two
examples:

Example 1
All psychologists are human.
Some humans are women.
Therefore, some psychologists
are women.

Example 2
All apples are fruits.
Some fruits are oranges.
Therefore, some apples are
oranges

Method of empiricism
uses observation or direct sensory
experience to obtain knowledge
Problems
we can not necessarily believe everything we

see (e.g. illusions)

misinterpretation of observation
your perceptions can be drastically altered by
prior knowledge, expectations, feelings and
beliefs
Can be dangerous

3. The scientific method

the scientific method is an approach

to acquiring knowledge that contains

many elements of the methods
previously discussed
it tries to avoid pitfalls of any
individual method used by itself

The steps of scientific method

Step 1: Observe Behavior or Other Phenomena
often based on informal observations
often based on inductive reasoning: using a relatively
small set of specific observations to form general
statement

Step 2: Form a Tentative Answer or Explanation

(Hypothesis)
hypothesis is a possible explanation that is intended to
be tested and critically evaluated

Step 3: Use the hypothesis to generate a testable

prediction
more specific and concrete version of the original
hypothesis

Step 4: Evaluate the prediction by making

systematic, planned observation
this involves research / data collection

The steps of scientific

method
Step 5: Use the observations to support,
refute, or refine the original hypothesis
compare the actual results of step 4 with the

prediction made in step 3

based on the results decide whether the
original hypothesis was true, false or can not
be refuted or confirmed based on the
obtained data
decide on further aspects of the hypothesis
to be tested (this step can serve as step 1 of
another cycle of scientific inquiry)

Other elements of the

scientific method
science is empirical
it involves structured or systematic observation
science is public
scientific method makes observations available for

evaluation by others (especially other scientists) by

publishing them in scientific journals
other scientists should be able to repeat the same
step-by-step process that led to the observations
replication repetition of observation, allows
verification of findings

science is objective
minimizes the influence of experimenter bias the
influence of researchers biases and beliefs on the
outcome of the study

4. The research process

Step 1: Find a research idea

selecting general topic, reviewing the literature

(previous research)

Step 2: Convert your research idea into a

specific research hypothesis

Hypothesis is a statement about the relationship

between two (or more) variables
a good hypothesis must be testable (all of the
variables, events, and individuals are real and can
be defined and observed)
a good hypothesis is refutable (it can be
demonstrated to be false, allows for the possibility
that the outcome will differ from the prediction)

4. The research process

(cont.)
Step 3: Determine how you will define and

measure your variables

make a specific prediction about the outcome
of empirical observation
e.g. people who watch more violent
programs are more aggressive than those
who watch less TV violence
Step 4: Identify the participants or subjects
select the subject group

4. The research process

(cont.)
Step 5: Select a research strategy
the type of question asked (existence of a
relationship vs. causal relationship)
ethics and other constraints

Step 6: Select a research design

make decisions about the specific methods

and procedures you will use to conduct the
research study (one individual vs. more,
comparisons at the same time or over a
period of time)

4. The research process

(cont.)
Step 7: Conduct the study
decide whether the study will be
conducted in a laboratory or in the field

Step 8: Evaluate the data

use statistical methods to examine and
evaluate the data

4. The research process

(cont.)
Step 9: Report the results
describe what was done and how the
findings were interpreted

Step 10: Refine or reformulate your

research idea

test the boundaries of the results

refine the original research