Assignment one
Principles of Research: Introducing research and the scientific process
Is psychology a science?
Science helps humans gain explanations and knowledge of the behaviours of the world around us. It
allows us to gain control and predict outcomes, with a systematic approach to understanding and
verifying knowledge. Scientists find their evidence/data through observation of the natural world,
experimenting in a laboratory and running a model. They may often merge different procedures to
gather their data [American Museum of Natural History (no date) The Scientific Method: 5 Steps for
Investigating Our World | AMNH]. Psychologists use their evidence and knowledge to help explain
how and why people think, feel, and behave in the ways they do. Just like other sciences, psychology
bases its evidence on research; using the systematic approach to do this also. Due to this, many
regard psychology as a science- especially due to the fact many of the theories approached are
testable. However, many others do not see psychology as a science due to the lack of physical being.
Deductive and Inductive reasoning to solve problem.
Deductive reasoning is when a psychologist starts with a general idea or hypothesis of what they
believe could be true and use evidence and examples to reach a conclusion in their study. It follows
a pathway of ‘theory- hypothesis- observation- confirmation.’ An example of this can be shown
through rugby teams. for example, your hypothesis could be that a rugby team plays well,
observation can be shown through evidence and examples of good plays, and confirmation shows
that they are a good team, through being top of the league. One strength of deductive reasoning is
that it is dependable. This is because if the original hypothesis is true, it is likely all evidence will
confirm this. However, a weakness of deductive reasoning is the fact it heavily relies on the
hypothesis being correct. [Streefkerk, Raimo. (2022). Inductive vs Deductive Reasoning | Difference
& Examples (scribbr.co.uk)] For example, a study may go into all neighbourhood dogs being violent.
This hypothesis is already incorrect- as many dogs have become accustomed to humans so are
friendly. This work makes any further evidence incorrect.
Inductive reasoning is when we create a theory based on an observation made. This is a common
way to conduct research on something that there is little information on, due to here being no
theory to test. It follows a pathway of ‘observation-pattern-hypothesis-theory'. An example of this
may be watching a rugby team play well in a rugby game (observation), then watching the rest of
their games (pattern) and realising they play well. You then device theory that the rugby team is
particularly good at the sport (theory and hypothesis). One strength of inductive reasoning is it
allows researchers to narrow down different probabilities by finding incorrect conclusions. It allows
researchers to find direction within their research, by narrowing down what answers are incorrect.
however, a weakness of inductive reasoning is that due to it being down to researchers' observation,
there may be bias in findings- so results may lack validity. [Jordan, James (2021).Advantages and
Disadvantages of Inductive Reasoning - The Classroom]
Scientific processes
Objectiveness is one scientific process that states that scientific knowledge should not be affected
bias or perspective- and what is left is equal to fact. [Reiss, Julian and Sprengar Jan. (2020). Scientific
Objectivity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)] Objective research is contrasted from fiction and
propaganda, often defined as impartial, value-free, dependable, and real. [Resnik, D.B. (2001)
‘Objectivity of Research: Ethical Aspects’ pp. 10789-10793]. In theory, true objectivity would lead to
only the true answers, as everyone’s explanations would be the same due to lack of bias. one
strength of this form of research is that it gives us a fair and unbiased understanding of the topic,
, Assignment one
meaning that the concept is not corrupted with someone’s private opinions. A weakness of this
process however is it difficult for research to stay completely unbiased in their work. The more
attention a topic gets, the harder it is to keep personal bias down.
Empirical evidence is evidence collected directly through observation and experience and used to
support scientific experiment. An example of empirical evidence is primary data- as it is collected
directly from the researcher, so it is first-hand experience. One strength of empirical evidence is that
it is dependable due to it using real life experiences, and not just theories. However, a weakness may
be that it is very time consuming, compared to using earlier studies.
A controlled variable is anything that stays constant through a research study. The variable is not the
topic of the experiment, however, could sway outcomes- so is kept at a constant. An example of this
is if you were checking soil quality and plant growth- the controlled variables would be temperature,
amount of light and water. One strength of off controlling variables is that it helps set up a causation
easily. However, a weakness would be that by controlling variables it does not stand for everyday life
due to them being set in laboratory environments, so in turn are very artificial. [Crossman, A. (2019).
Controlled Experiments: Definition and Examples (thoughtco.com)
Cause and effect define when one event makes another event happen. An example of this would be
not exercising leads to weight gain. One strength of cause and effect is that it helps researchers
decide the best route to take with the least amount of effect on participants. This allows researcher
to compare different options and outcomes. However, a weakness of cause and effect would be that
you need to focus on many things at once, rather than go into depth on one effect.
Generalizability is the extent in which the research preformed on a smaller group can be applied to
the wider community. An example of generalisability could be interviewing a small group of college
students for how their college life is going and using this as well as academic papers to make a
judgement for the wider public. One Strength of this method is that it is a quick way to get
information due to taking a small sample size, however a weakness could be because of this small
sample size- the results may not correlate to the wider public.
Strengths and weaknesses of the scientific method
One strength of the scientific method is that it is based on empirical evidence. This means that all its
evidence is based on primary research gained through direct experience. This is important because it
ensures that empirical evidence through being able to replicate the test again. Another strength of
the scientific method is that scientists remain impartial to the study. This is important as
experiments should not be affected by bias so that all information can stay correct. A final strength
of the scientific method is that it is backed up by evidence. This is significant as without evidence a
theory cannot be proved as true.
On the other hand, there are some negatives when it to this method. For example, no scientist can
be completely unbiased. It could even be affected by the way a researcher poses a question or how
they react to an answer. This means that the results of the study have been unintentionally affected.
Another negative of the scientific study is that nothing can be fully knowledgeable. There can always
be more information to find, so there can never be a fully complete study.
Overall, the scientific method is a very effective way of collecting research. This is because it is based
on fact and tries to use objectiveness, which means it is very high in validity and reliability. However,
because no research can ever be complete, it does leave some gaps in knowledge.
