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Chapter 1: Introduction, acquiring knowledge and the scientific method
Why is Research Methods a required course? The simple answer is that professionals in the
behavioral sciences rely on the methods of science to gather and interpret information.
To actually conduct a research study
Reading and critically evaluating other studies (from third parties)
Understanding brief descriptions of studies
Gathering and evaluating information in your daily life – to enable you to find and
evaluate the original source of the information
1.1 Methods of knowing and acquiring knowledge – five nonscientific approaches
1. Method of tenacity
* Holding on to ideas and beliefs simply because they have been accepted as
facts for a long time or because of superstition
* Referred as belief perseverance
* You cannot teach an old dog new tricks; Opposites attract
* Problem: The information acquired might not be accurate. With regard to the
statement about old dogs not being able to learn new tricks, the elderly can and
do learn
2. Method of intuition
* Information is accepted as true because it feels right
* With intuition, a person relies on hunches and “instinct” to answer questions
* At a casino, if someone puts his money on the number 23 at a roulette table
because he “feels” it is going to come up, then that person would be using the
method of intuition to answer the question of which number to play
* Problem: The method of intuition is that it has no mechanism for separating
accurate from inaccurate knowledge.
3. Method of authority
* Information is found by seeking out an authority on the subject – e.g.
consulting an expert directly or going to a library or a website to read the works
of an expert
* Problem:
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, A. It does not always provide accurate information – E.g. authorities can be
biased
B. Answers obtained from an expert could represent subjective, personal
opinion rather than true expert knowledge
C. We assume by virtue of the person’s status as an authority
D. People often accept an expert’s statement without question and false
information is often taken as true
E. Not all “experts” are experts: There are a lot of supposed “experts” out
there
* Often called the method of faith because people accept on faith any
information that is given – Variant of the method of authority in which people
have unquestioning trust in the authority figure and, therefore, accept
information from the authority without doubt
4. Rational method
* This method is the practice of employing reason as a source of knowledge
* Also known as rationalism, involves seeking answers by logical reasoning
All 3-year-old children are afraid of the dark. (premise)
Amy is a 3-year-old girl. (premise)
Therefore, Amy is afraid of the dark.
* Premises are statements assumed to be true. If they actually are, and the logic is
sound, then the conclusion is guaranteed to be correct.
* 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 yield
a conclusion
* A common application of the rational method occurs when people try to think
through a problem before they try out different solutions
* Problem:
A. If the premise statements are incomplete or do not totally represent the
real-world situation, then the conclusion might not be accurate
B. People are not good at logical reasoning usually
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, 5. Method of empiricism
* Also known as empiricism
* Attempts to answer questions by direct observation or personal experience
* This method is a product of the empirical viewpoint in philosophy, which holds
that all knowledge is acquired through the senses
* Problem:
A. We cannot believe everything we see or hear and feel – your perceptions
may be shaped by previous knowledge, expectations, feelings, beliefs
B. Time consuming
Hence, the scientific method is not the only way to know the answers or find the answers
to questions. The methods of tenacity, intuition, authority, rationalism, and empiricism are
different ways of acquiring knowledge.
1.2 The scientific method
Approach to acquiring knowledge that involves formulating specific questions and then
systematically finding answers. The scientific method is a carefully developed system for
asking and answering questions so that the answers we discover are as accurate as possible.
Steps defining the scientific method:
1. Observe behaviour or other phenomena
People commonly tend to generalize beyond the actual observations: Involves
using a relatively small set of specific observations as the basis for forming a
general statement about a larger set of possible observations.
2. Form a tentative answer or explanation (hypothesis)
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, Usually involves identifying other factors, or variables, that are associated with
your observations
Leads to find possible explanation to your observation: Hypothesis – A statement
that describes or explains a relationship between or among variables
3. Use hypothesis to generate testable prediction
Taking the hypothesis and applying it to a specific, observable, real-world situation
This logical process is known as deduction, or deductive reasoning: We begin with
a general (universal) statement and then make specific deductions
4. Evaluate the prediction by making systematic, planned observations
This is the actual research or data collection phase of the scientific method
5. Use the observation to support, refute or refine the original hypothesis
Compare the actual observations with the predictions that were made from the
hypothesis
Lack of agreement indicates that the original hypothesis was wrong or that the
hypothesis was used incorrectly
It is not a linear process that moves directly from a beginning to an end, but rather is a
circular process, or a spiral, that repeats over and over, moving higher with each cycle as
new knowledge is gained.
1.3 Other elements of the scientific method
A. Science is empirical
* Answers are obtained by making observations that are structured and systematic so
to accurately answer the question under a specified set of conditions
B. Science is public
* Makes observations available for evaluation by others, especially other scientists:
Other individuals should be able to repeat the same step- by-step process that led to
the observations so that they can replicate the observations for themselves –
Replication
* Making public by publishing
C. Science is objective
* Scientific method is objective – observations are structured so that the researcher’s
biases and beliefs do not influence the outcome of the study
D. Science versus pseudoscience
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