stats 1

Correlation

• Positive Correlation (r > 0): As one variable (x) increases, the other variable (y) tends to increase, indicating a direct relationship.
• Negative Correlation (r < 0): As one variable (x) increases, the other variable (y) tends to decrease, indicating an inverse relationship.
• Strength of Correlation:
  • A higher absolute value of r (closer to 1 or -1) indicates a stronger relationship between the variables.
  • Values closer to 0 indicate a weaker relationship.

Methods and Techniques in Research

• Importance: Methods and techniques are essential for conducting and understanding scientific research.
  • Applications:
  • Understanding and appreciating research.
  • Setting up your own research and interpreting data.
  • Developing psychological measuring instruments and calculating data.
• Practical Implications:
  • Crucial for analyzing data in educational settings (e.g., interpreting school scores for parents).
  • Helps draw correct conclusions from collected information.
  • Encourages critical thinking about the world.

Sources of Knowledge

• Types of Knowledge Sources:

  • Intuition: Relying on personal feelings to determine truths.
  • Tradition/Habit: Acceptance of truths based on historical practices.
  • Authority: Acceptance of truths based on the words of knowledgeable individuals, with science often acting as an authority.

• Problems with Non-Scientific Knowledge:

  • Lack of critical thinking leads to uncritical acceptance of claims.
  • Difficulty resolving conflicts due to unexamined arguments and long-standing beliefs.

Solutions for Knowledge Assessment

• Rationalism:
  • Using logic and theories to understand reality.
  • Critique: Rationalizing potentially incorrect assumptions.
• Empiricism:
  • Knowledge gained through experience; however, unique experiences can lead to confirmation bias.
• Science:
  • Involves systematic observation and testing, minimizing personal bias. This is done through:
  • Observation: Collecting initial data from real-world scenarios.
  • Testing through systematic research methods.

Goals of Scientific Research

• Describe: Identify specific aspects of behaviors, emotions, and thoughts using coding systems.
• Explain: Develop hypotheses leading to theories about the relationships and causes of thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
• Predict: Make testable if-then statements; validate hypotheses if predictions hold true.
• Control: Test hypotheses under controlled conditions to derive causal conclusions.

Characteristics of Empirical Science

• Empirical Approach: Methodical testing of hypotheses against reality.
• Empirical Cycle:
  • Observation: Noticing phenomena that lead to hypotheses (e.g., student study habits).
  • Induction: Formulating general statements from observations (hardworking individuals).
  • Deduction: Making predictions based on general laws (motivation leads to harder work).
  • Testing: Validating predictions through systematic observations.
  • Evaluation: Reassessing theories based on findings and inductive reasoning.
• Principles:
  • Objective truth discovery through accumulated evidence.
  • Focus on testable, falsifiable questions with operational definitions.
  • Requirement for public accountability and self-correction over time.

Critical Thinking in Science

• Questions to enhance critical thinking:
  • What claim is being made?
  • What is the credibility of the source?
  • What supporting or counter-evidence exists?
  • What is the quality of the provided evidence?
  • Are there alternative explanations?
  • Is more evidence needed for a clear conclusion?
  • Given the current evidence, what conclusion is most likely?