Summary Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences - Research Workshop: Experiment
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Research Workshop: Experiment
Institution
Universiteit Van Amsterdam (UvA)
Book
Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences
This is a full Summary of the notes from lectures book and SOS remarks for the experiment exam that will help you pass the course and know your stuff for the tutorials.
Book Summary Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, Research Workshop Experiment (774223001Y) PART II
Book Summary Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, Research Workshop Experiment (774223001Y) PART I
Book Summary Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, Research Workshop Experiment (774223001Y)
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Communicatiewetenschap
Research Workshop: Experiment
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EXPERIMENT
week 1
READINGS CHAPTER 1
5 NON-scientific approaches
1. The method of tenacity
- holding on to ideas and beliefs simply because they have been accepted as
facts for a long time or because or superstition
- based on habit (belief perseverance) and superstition ( beliefs reacted
to as facts)
● advertisers use it when repeating messages hoping consumers will accept
them
● DIS: information might not be accurate
2. The method of intuition
- Information is accepted on the basis of a hunch or “gut feeling”
- quickest way to obtain answers
● DIS: it has no mechanism for separating accurate from inaccurate
knowledge
3. The method of authority
- A person relies on information or answers form an expert in the subject
area
- quickest and easiest way of obtaining knowledge
- DIS: does not provide always accurate info + the answer obetained from
an expert could represent subjective personal opinion + expertise can be
generalized to include the question we are asking + people often accept an
experts word without questioning it + not all experts are experts
● method of faith= when people accept the word of authority because
they have complete trust in the authority figure - without verification
HOW TO INCREASE CONFIDENCE IN THE INFO:
1. evaluating the source of info
, 2. evaluating the info itself
4. The rational method or rationalism
- seeks answers by the use of logical reasoning
- In logical reasoning, premise statements describe facts or assumptions
that are presumed to be true
- An argument is a set of premise statements that are logically combined to
reach a conclusion
● DIS: still a chance that the conclusion is not true even in a valid logical
argument + a logical conclusion is only valid for the specific situation
described by the premise statements - if the premise statements are
incomplete then the conclusion might not be accurate + people are not at
logical reasoning
● rain example
● logic is a way of establishing truth in the absence of evidence
5. The method of empiricism - empiricism
- uses observation or direct personal sensory experience to obtain
knowledge
● DIS: we can't believe everything we see + perceptions can be altered by
prior knowledge + time consuming and sometimes dangerous
The scientific method
-> combines elements from each of the other methods to produce general
question-answering technique
● more complicated/ better quality answers- higher level of confidence
THE STEPS OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD
STEP 1. Observe Behavior or other Phenomena
,Begins with casual or informal observations until some behavior or event catches
your attention
● Here people generalize beyond the actual observations
- the process of generalization is an almost automatic human response
known as induction where you reach a general conclusion based on
examples
STEP 2. Form a tentative answer or explanation (a hypothesis)
Begins with identifying variables -> characteristics that change or have
different values for different individuals
● winter and depression example
● hypothesis-> possible explanation for your observation
STEP 3. Use your hypothesis to generate a testable prediction - rational
method
Taking the hypothesis and applying it to a specific observable, real-world
situation
● Here the logical process is known as deduction
● If we have predictions #1,#2 then for the prediction to be tricky
testable, both outcomes must be possible
STEP 4. Evaluate the prediction by making systematic, planned observations
the empirical method
Providing a fair and unbiased test of the research hypothesis by observing
whether the prediction is correct
● research and data collection phase
STEP 5. Use the observations to support, refute or refine the original hypo
Comparing actual observations with the predictions that were amde from the
hypothesis
- if the results show no difference between the 2 groups, we must not
conclude on this or that
SCIENTIFIC METHOD-> A method of acquiring knowledge that uses
observations to develop a hypothesis, then uses the hypothesis to make logical
predictions that can be empirically tested by making additional, systematic
, observations. .Typically, the new observations lead to a new hypothesis, and the
cycle continues
THREE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD
1. It is empirical
- Answers are obtained by making observations
● structured and systematic
2. It is public
- scientific method makes observations available for evaluation by other
- Replication
- Checks and balances against errors
3. It is objective
- The observations are structured so that the researcher’s biases and
beliefs do not influence the outcome of the study
SCIENCE vs PSEUDOSCIENCE
- SCIENCE= is intended to provide a carefully developed system for
answering questions so that the answers we get are as accurate and
complete as possible - gathering evidence from careful, systematic and
objective observations
- PSEUDOSCIENCE = a system of ideas often represented as science but
lacking some of the key components that are essential to scientific
research e.g. astrology
DIFFERENCES
1. testable and refutable hypothesis
2. Science demands an objective and unbiased evaluation of all the available
evidence - Pseudoscience relies on subjective evidence
3. Science tests its own theories and adapts them to new evidence -
Pseudoscience ignores non-supporting evidence and treats criticism as a
personal attack
4. Scientific theories are grounded in past science - Pseudoscience tends ot
create entirely new disciplines and techniques that are un-connected to
established theories
THE RESEARCH PROCESS
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