Feautures of Science Flashcards
What is theory construction?
A theory is an explanation for observing a phenomenon based on observations about the world. Theories allow us to predict things around us. Theory construction allows us to make predications about behaviour and and make a hypothesis to test empirically. We can then use this to support/refine our original theory and progress through the scientific cycle of enquiry.
What is hypothesis testing?
A hypothesis should be testable and falsifiable, testing to see if its true or false. A testable hypothesis allows us to refine theories through acceptation or rejection of the alternative or null hypothesis.
What are empirical methods?
Empirical methods is when information is gained from direct observation or experiment rather than opinion/
What is a paradigm?
Its where scientific disciplines have a set of shared assumptions. A science must have a universally accepted paradigm. A pardon shift is a revolutionary change in scientific assumptions where the old paradigm is replaced with a new one.
What is replicability?
When the research is repeated using the same procedure to check fro similar findings. The procedure must be operationalised and detailed to check the results are externally valid. The psychologists use a different set of people to see if similar behaviour is obsevered which helps to generalise the findings to a wider population which increases the confidence in results.
What is objectivity?
Where the research is not affected by the expectations of the researcher using factual measurements and measurable data or controlled conditions to reduce subjectivity.
What is falsification?
The ability to prove a theory wrong. This means a testable hypothesis should include an alternative and a null hypothesis.
