MOD 1

CH 1

What makes a psychological scientist:

  • act as empiricist in their investigation

  • test theories, revise based on results

  • Prioritize objectivity and fairness

  • empirical approach to applied and basic research

  • make their work public through journals for peer review and discussion

  • Applied research: done with a practical problem in mind, researchers conduct their work in a local, real-world context. Also, help identify certain people more fit for a particular job

    • ex: testing the school district's new language teaching method to see if it’s working better than the past one

  • Basic research: enhances the general body of knowledge, the opposite of applied research. looking broader, and the results may be used later on and applied to real-world issues

    • ex: studying the brain and its functions

  • research producer:

  • research consumer:

  • empiricists:

    • do not base conclusions on intuition, casual observation of their own or others' experiences

    • also referred to as the empirical method or empirical research

      • uses evidence as the basis of a conclusion

      • aim to be systematic and rigorous, and to make their work public

  • empirical evidence

    • collected using quantitative or qualitative methods

    • quantitative: turns findings into numbers, uses statistics to estimate how many or strongly certain variables are related. More prevalent is psychological

    • qualitative: creates descriptions that are not simplified into numbers. Aims to capture the complexity through interviews, focus groups, or participant observations

      • . They practice reflexivity: self-consciously considering how their research can be effective for sensitive studies or marginalized groups, because it seeks and values multiple perspectives

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The Theory-Data Cycle

  • scientists collect data to test, revise, and update theories

  • theory—>hypothesis—>data—>results—>revise/update if needed

  • studies DONT PROVE theories, ‘proved’ is not used in science, instead use ‘supports’ or ‘is consistent with’

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Scientist social norms based on Sociologist Robert Merton

  • universalism: scientific claims are evaluated according to their merit, independent of the researcher’s credentials or reputation; the same preestablished criteria apply to all scientists and researchers

    • interpretation: even a student can do science, you don’t need an advanced degree or research position

  • communality: scientific knowledge is created by a community, and its findings belong to the community

    • interpretation: scientist should transparently and freely share their results with the public and peers

  • disinterestedness: scientists strive to discover the truth, whatever it is; they should not be swayed by conviction, politics, idealism, or profit

    • interpretation: view it strictly objectively, no personal feeling should affect the hypothesis or be affected by whether the hypothesis was supported or not. Your own beliefs should not cause a bias in your research interpretation

  • organized skepticism: scientists question everything, including their own theories, widely accepted ideas, and ancient wisdom

    • Should not accept anything at face value, always ask for evidence

VOCAB

  • empiricism: the use of evidence as the basis for conclusions (empirical method, empirical research)

  • quantitative method: a way to collect empirical data by converting it into numbers for future statistical analysis

  • qualitative method: a way to collect empirical data by creating rich, in-depth descriptions of a phenomenon or group of people. often done via interviews or extended observations

  • reflexivity: a process where researchers reflect on their own values/beliefs/biases/experiences and how they might shape the topics they study and the interpretations they make

  • theory: a statement or set of statements that describes general principles about the variables related to one another

  • hypothesis: a statement of the specific result the researcher expects to observe from a particular study if the theory is accurate. (prediction)

  • data: (plural, singular: datum) a set of abservations representing the values of some variable, collected from one or more research studies

  • preregistered: a term referring to a study in which, before collecting any data, the researcher has stated publicly what the study’s outcome is expected to be.

  • replication: The process of conducting a study again to test whether the result is consistent

  • weight of the evidence: A conclusion drawn from reviewing scientific literature and considering the proportion of studies that is consistent with a theory

  • falsifiability: A feature of a scientific theory, in which it is possible to collect data that will indicate that the theory is wrong

  • self-correcting: A process in which scientists make their research available for peer review, replication, and critique, to identify and correct errors in the research.

  • applied research: Research whose goal is to find a solution to a particular real-world problem

  • basic research: Research whose goal is to enhance the general body of knowledge, without regard for direct application to practical problems

  • journalism: new and commentary published or broadcast in the popular media and produced for a general audience

  • journal: a monthly or quarterly periodical containing peer-reviewed articles on a specific academic discipline or subdiscipline written for a scholarly audience. (scientific journal)

  • universalism: One of Merton’s four scientific norms, stating that scientific claims are evaluated according to their merit, independent of the researcher’s credentials or reputation. The same preestablished criteria apply to all scientists and all research. See also communality, disinterestedness, and organized skepticism.

  • communality: One of Merton’s four scientific norms, stating that a community creates scientific knowledge, and its findings belong to the community. See also disinterestedness, organized skepticism, universalism.

  • disinterestedness: One of Merton’s four scientific norms, stating that scientists strive to discover the truth, whatever it is; conviction, idealism, politics, or profit do not sway them. See also communality, organized skepticism, and universalism.

  • organized skepticism: One of Merton’s four scientific norms, stating that scientists question everything, including their own theories, widely accepted ideas, and “ancient wisdom.” See also communality, disinterestedness, universalism.

QUESTIONS

  • What happens to a theory when the data do not support the theory’s hypotheses? What might a scientist say and do if the data fail to support the theory? p11-12

  • Why can’t theories be proved in science? p.16 n table1.1

  • Merton proposed four norms that people in the scientific community strive to follow. How many can you name without looking back? p13-15

  • Describe at least two ways journalists might distort (intentionally or not) the science they attempt to publicize. -By selecting poor studies to report on, overstating results of studies, or by getting the details wrong.

  1. Which of the following jobs most likely involves producer-of-research skills rather than consumer-of-research skills?

    1. police officer

    2. university professor

    3. physician

    4. journalist

  2. As a true empiricist, one should

    1. base one’s conclusions on direct observations

    2. strive to prove all theories with research

    3. be sure that one’s research can be applied in a real-world setting

    4. discuss one’s ideas in a public setting, such as on social media.

  3. A statement, or set of statements, that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another is a(n)

    1. prediction

    2. hypothesis

    3. empirical observation

    4. theory

  4. Why is publication an important part of the research process?

    1. Publication enables practitioners to use the research in applied settings

    2. When a study is published, other scientists can verify or challenge it, making science self-correcting

    3. Journalists can make the knowledge available to the general public

    4. Publication is the first step of the theory-data cycle

  5. Which of the following research questions best illustrates an example of basic research?

    1. Has our company’s new marketing campaign led to an increase in sales?

    2. How satisfied are our patients with the sensitivity of the nursing staff?

    3. Does wearing kinesio-tape reduce joint pain in figure skaters?

    4. Can 2-month-old human infants tell the difference between four objects and six objects?