Research Methods Chapter 2 (What is Science II)

Question 1

Why can you not base evidence on personal evidence

Answer 1

Because you dont have a comparison group to compare it to the normal condition.
There also may be confounds, which means that there may be other causes from variables that you didnt control

Question 2

What does it mean that research is probabilistic

Answer 2

It predicts what happens most of the time by chance, not what happens all the time

Question 3

What are the five big biases and explain them

Answer 3

1. Good story bias: we believe more in good stories
2. availability heuistic bias: we believe what comes easily to mind
3. present bias: we dont see the evidence that disproves a theory
4. confirmation bias: we tend to see evidence that supports our theory
5. bias blind spot: we think that biases dont apply to us

Question 4

Why is believing theories from authorities often dangerous

Answer 4

because often they only base their theories on own experience and people tend to believe authorities more often

Question 5

what are the two types of journal articles

Answer 5

1. Empirical journal article: describe one study detailed

2. Review journal article: describe and compare many studies by summarizing

Question 6

How is a normal empirical journal article divided

Answer 6

1. Abstract: Summary of the article
2. Introduction
3. Method: How was the study conducted
4. Results
5. Discussion: how important are the findings and what alternate theories are there
6. References: sources and citations

Question 7

What two questions should you be asking when reading a journal article

Answer 7

1. What is the argument?

2. What is the evidence?