Summary Research Methods II
Week 1
CH1: Behavioural science
Behavioural science has three aspects:
• Research that generates knowledge.
• Theory that organises knowledge.
• Application that puts knowledge to use.
Science is the systematic process for generating knowledge and also has three aspects:
• Goals.
• Key values.
• Perspectives on the best way to generate knowledge.
The four goals of behavioural science are description, understanding, prediction, and control.
Description has four purposes:
• Defining the studied phenomena.
• Differentiating between closely related phenomena.
• Recording events that may be useful or interesting.
• Describing the relationships among phenomena.
Understanding refers to determining why phenomena occur. To answer this question,
hypotheses can be tested. Causality is implied when the test of a hypotheses closely meets
the following three conditions:
• Covariation.
• Time precedence of the cause.
• No plausible alternative explanations.
Scientific predictions can take two forms. First, future events can be predicted. For
example, SAT scores can predict college GPA. Second, established theories can be used to
derive research hypotheses. This ensure the validity of the theory.
Control refers to using knowledge to influence phenomena. Of course, the question arises
if we should control behaviour based on knowledge from behavioural science. There is no
simple answer to this question, and the answer may vary from situation to situation.
However, one appropriate situation in which knowledge from behavioural science can be
used for control is for therapeutic purposes.
The four key values of behavioural science are empiricism, scepticism, tentativeness, and
publicness. Empiricism refers to the notion that scientific knowledge should be based on
objective evidence rather than subjective intuition. Scepticism means that researchers should
always be questioning the quality of knowledge. Tentativeness refers to the notion that
knowledge can change as new findings become available. Publicness means that all research
and the way it was carried out should be publicised. This allows others to use the results,
check the validity of the research, and replicate the research.
, An epistemology is a set of beliefs about the nature of science and knowledge in general.
The most common epistemology in modern science is logical positivism; knowledge can best
be generated through empirical observation, tightly controlled experiments, and logical
analysis of data. A contrasting view is the humanistic perspective; science should produce
knowledge that serves people, people are best understood in their natural environments, and
full understanding of people comes through empathy and intuition rather than logical
analysis. The following table summarises the contrasts between the logical positivist and
humanistic epistemologies:
Social constructionists tend to embrace the humanist perspective. Social constructionists
believe that people’s understanding of the world is linked to a particular time and place and is
influenced by the perceiver’s social experiences. They also believe that the scientific
process is shaped by the perceiver’s values and expectations as scientists are influenced by
their social world as well.
A theory is a set of statements about relationships between variables. Theories have four
components; assumptions, narrative definitions, definitions of hypothetical constructs, and
propositions. Assumptions are beliefs that are given. These are usually not tested in
empirical research. Theories include three types of assumptions; general scientific
assumptions, paradigmatic assumptions, and domain assumptions. General scientific
assumptions deal with the nature of reality and include the following:
• An objective reality exists separately from subjective beliefs.
• This reality can be understood with reasonable accuracy.
• Reality involves order; events do not happen randomly.
• Events have causes that are identifiable.
, Paradigmatic assumptions are assumptions about the general ways of conceptualising and
studying subjects of a particular field. Logical positivism and humanism are examples of
paradigms for the study of human behaviour. Finally, domain assumptions are assumptions
about specific subjects of a theory (e.g., psychopathology, memory). For example, when
hypothesising that performance goals increase quality of work performance, an assumption is
made that human activity is goal directed.
Narrative definitions are explanations of the meaning of a construct in words. The
following table shows several examples of narrative definitions:
Hypothetical constructs are invented or constructed terms that refer to variables that
cannot be directly observed. Neuroticism is an example of a hypothetical construct.
Hypothetical constructs cannot be used in research, as they are too abstract. Therefore, we
need operational definitions; concrete representations of hypothetical constructs. Two
pitfalls can arise when using hypothetical constructs. The first is reification; treating a
hypothetical construct as reality. Just because there is a word for a certain concept, it does not
mean that a corresponding item of physical or psychological reality must exist. Another
related pitfall is to use hypothetical constructs as explanations for behaviour. Instead,
behaviour defines the hypothetical construct. Hypothetical constructs can be either
unidimensional or multidimensional. Unidimensional constructs are composed of only a
single component whereas multidimensional constructs are composed of two or more
independent components. When the components of a multidimensional construct are
correlated, it is called a multifaceted construct.
Theories consist of propositions; statements about the relationships among hypothetical
constructs. Noncausal propositions are statements about correlations between constructs
whereas causal propositions state that one construct causes the other.
A variable is anything that can take on more than one value. An independent variable
causes a dependent variable. Other factors that can provide alternative explanations for the
relationship between the independent and dependent variables are called extraneous
variables. In a causal chain relationship, mediating variables come between the independent
and dependent variables. In this case, the independent variable causes the dependent variable
indirectly through the mediating variable. Finally, moderating variables change the
relationship between independent and dependent variables.
