Chapter 6 - Formulating the Hypothesis

What is an experimental hypothesis?

A statement about a predicted relationship between at least two variables; specifically, a cause-and-effect statement about how antecedent conditions affect behavior.

What is a nonexperimental hypothesis?

A prediction about how events, traits, or behaviors might be related, without claiming a cause-and-effect relationship.

What are some sources of research ideas?

Experience, unsystematic observation, systematic observation, published research, previous/ongoing research, Internet research, theories, and applied issues.

What is unsystematic observation?

Observation of everyday or animal behavior that can help generate a general research idea.

What is systematic observation?

Focused observation of real-world behavior.

What is inductive reasoning?

Developing general principles from observations of specific instances.

What is deductive reasoning?

Reasoning from general principles to specific instances.

How are inductive and deductive reasoning used together in research?

Induction develops hypotheses and theories; deduction uses theories to make predictions and refine them.

What makes a research question answerable?

It must be confirmable or disconfirmable and identify variables that can be defined using observable characteristics.

What types of statements should be avoided when developing answerable research questions?

Analytic statements (always true) and contradictory statements (always false)

What makes a research question the "right" question?

It must be testable, specific, falsifiable, and empirica

What is an operational definition?

Defining a variable in terms of the operations required to measure it.

What makes a research question important?

It should justify the time and expense of conducting the research and clarify theoretical, empirical, or practical issues.

What does it mean for a research question to be parsimonious?

It makes as few assumptions as possible.

What is a scientific theory?

A partially verified statement of a scientific relationship that cannot be directly observed.

What is the difference between a theory and a hypothesis?

A theory is more complex and involves multiple variables, while a hypothesis is simpler and makes a specific prediction.

What is the difference between a theory and a law?

A law is a theory that has been substantially verified empirically

What is a model?

A model can be a specific implementation or application of a general theory

What is a computer model?

A program that defines variables and how those variables change over time or trials.

What is a descriptive theory?

A theory that describes relationships among variables

What is an analogical theory?

A theory that explains relationships among variables by using an analogy to a well-understood model.

What is a fundamental theory?

A theory that proposes a new structure to explain relationships among variables.

ex of descriptive theory

A researcher notices that as stress increases, sleep tends to decrease.

The theory describes the relationship between stress and sleep, but doesn't necessarily explain why it happens.

ex of analogical theory

Information processing theory compares human memory to a computer.

→ The computer is a familiar model used to help explain how human memory works.

ex of fundamental theory

A researcher proposes a new structure or mechanism to explain why people behave a certain way.

Instead of just describing a relationship or comparing it to something familiar, the theory proposes a new way of explaining the relationship.

What are the roles of theory in science?

Understanding, prediction, organizing/interpreting research results, and generating new research.

What is the heuristic value of a theory?

A theory's ability to generate new research ideas.

What are the characteristics of a good theory?

It accounts for data, has explanatory relevance, is testable, predicts novel events, and is parsimonious

What does it mean for a theory to account for data?

It must account for most existing data and well-established facts within its domain.

What does it mean for a theory to have explanatory relevance?

It provides a logical link between variables that explains why a phenomenon should occur under specified conditions.

What are the three strategies for testing theories?

1. confirmational strategy

2. disconfimational strategy

3. strong inference

what is confirmational strategy

look for evidence supporting the theory

what is disconfirmational strategy

look for evidence that contradicts or disconfirms the theory

what is strong inference strategy

1. test

2. modify

3. retest

while comparing alternative explanations