Features of science Flashcards
What are the 7 features of science?
- Objective
- Empiricism
- Replicability
- Falsifiability
- Paradigm
- Popper’s hypothetico-deductive model
- Kuhn’s paradigm and paradigm shift
What does objective mean?
- Unbiased
- Can occur unconsciously without the researcher being aware
- Achieved by studying observable, measurable, concrete concepts
- Uses methods not open to interpretation
What does empiricism mean?
- Evidence should be gathered through direct observation
- Believe all behaviour is acquired after birth and is therefore observable
- Evidence is physical/ observable
- Hypothesis should test be empirically through experiments
- Rather than researched argument/ unfounded beliefs
What does replicability mean?
- Ability to repeat research and achieve the same findings from the original study
- Achieved by having standardised procedures and a high degree of control
- Replication helps to show temporal validity
What does falsifiability mean?
- Findings should be possible to refute
- Science advances through rejection of theory
- Scientists aim to accept the null hypothesis
What does paradigm mean?
- An agreed subject matter and set of procedures
- Any science is based on a set of shared assumptions and methods
- When there’s strong evidence against the current paradigm, a new one replaces it
What is Popper’s hypothetico-deductive model?
(Theory construction and hypothesis testing)
- An observation is made of phenomena in the world
- Results are analysed to evaluate whether the hypothesis is supported or not
- A hypothesis is tested using empirical methods
- A theory is developed to explain the observation and a hypothesis is developed in line with the theory
- Refine/ modify
What is the ‘however’ of Popper’s hypothetico-deductive model?
- There could always be an exception or disproof that has not yet been found
- Scientists should therefore create and test as many different hypotheses as possible in this process so we can be more confident and the theory develops into general laws
What is the generation of laws/principles?
- When a theory has been tested and retested and has never been disproved, it is developed into laws and principles
- Scientific laws are universal and invariable
What is Kuhn’s paradigm and paradigm shift?
Science is more resistant to change and requires a complete revolution in order to progress
What are Kuhn’s 3 stages of development of science?
- Pre-science
- Normal science
- Revolutionary science
What is pre-science?
- There is no generally accepted paradigm
- At this stage, there are several different opinions about the best approach to be taken
What is normal science?
1 paradigm is dominant and research seeks to support it
What is revolutionary science?
Evidence mounts against the dominant paradigm and a new paradigm becomes dominant
