Research Methods Chapter 1 (What is Science I) Flashcards
what does it mean that psychologists are empirical?
It means that they base their theories on evidence from the senses or instruments that assist the senses.
What makes a good research producer?
- being an empricist
- testing theories and revising them
- they do further research
- they make their findings public
Explain the empirical cycle with each step
- Observation: seeing something interesting
- Induction: the thinking process of seeing a pattern and explanation
- Theory: coming up with a theory
- Deduction: thinking process of applying the theory to a situation
- Hypothesis/Prediction: specific theory/predicting the outcome
- Testing: doing the experiment
- Results: descriptive statistics
- Evaluation: Inferential statistics
What makes a good theory
- It is supported by the data
- It is falsifiable (can be proven wrong)
- Parsimony (not too complex)
What can you say when you find good evidence
You cannot say that the evidence proves the theory, you just say that it supports the theory
What are the three types of research
- Basic research (research that helps understanding of world
- Applied research (research that helps real life situtations
- Translational research (develops applied research from basic research
why is publication important
by publication other researchers can suggest improvements and do replications to support or disprove the theory
What are the risks of journalism
journalism can be good to help the public, but it can also be unaccurate and unimportant
what are the skills of a good research consumer
a good consumer can evaluate the evidence of other claims and also is able to ask the right questions to makemore informed decisions
What are the 3 rules of science
- Openness
- Go through the whole empirical cycle
- Honesty
