Research Methods Part 1 Flashcards
What are the four common sources that people refer to for information?
common sense, superstition and intuition, authority, tenacity
Common Sense and Folk Wisdom
people tend to believe information simply because it is part of collective wisdom (e.g., opposites attract)
potential problems:
- just because it is said does not mean it is true
- you can almost always find directly opposing common sense statements
- not based on a system collection or evaluation of evidence
Superstition and Intuition
gaining knowledge on subjective feelings, gaining knowledge without being consciously aware of where that knowledge comes from, interpreting random events as being causally related
potential problems:
- being consciously unaware of where the knowledge comes from becomes a problem because it means we can’t evaluate it
- interpreting random events as causal is a problem because correlation does not mean causation
Information from Authority
gain knowledge from authority figures, someone determined to be more qualified
However, you still need to evaluate the evidence
- Is the person an authority in this area
- Is there enough evidence to support their claim
- Authority figures can have biases too
Information from Tenacity
Gaining knowledge by hearing information so often you accept that it is true, failure to change your opinion despite evidence that contradicts your belief
problems:
- A problem is that we don’t know if the evidence was ever accurate when something is informed by tenacity
- People don’t try to evaluate the claim because they have already accepted them as a truth
Characteristics of the Critical Thinker
- rationality
- analytical
- logical
- skeptical
- open-minded
- able to update an opinion based on evidence
Critical thinking
The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue to form a judgement.
.. is skills required to make independent judgements based on evidence. It allows someone to feel more confident about the decision they have made. It is not instinctive. It is domain specific: people need knowledge to be able to evaluate a claim.
Assumptions of Science
scientific-determinism, parsimony, empiricism, testability, verification
Scientific Determinism
the idea that there is some underlying systematic order to many phenomena in the universal
- all events have a meaningful, causal explanation
- however, not everything must have one individual explanation
Parsimony
The idea that when you have competing hypotheses that are equally good at predicting the results, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected.
- this means that you should always choose the explanation that is simpler.
Empiricism
Claims must be supported by evidence
- hearsay and expert opinion are not good enough
- evidence must be physical and empirical
- evidence must be systematic and well-collected
- the more unusual the claim the stronger the evidence needs to be (extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence)
Verification
You must be able to provide evidence that supports your claim. It must be observed and confirmed for it to be appropriate evidence. The evidence must be verified by someone else.
Testability
Supporting evidence does not “prove” a hypothesis is true, it merely suggests that there is some evidence in favour of the hypothesis.
Evidence must be Falsifiable
Method must allow gaps for future research to prove your research wrong. It must be possible for evidence to be found against your claim. Your scientific claim should allow for the possibility that you are incorrect. Good theories must be able to be falsified.
- Karl Popper
Falsification Example
When people were determining whether all swans were white, the process undertaken by people testing the hypothesis was to look for white swans and keep a tally. However, a better way to test this would have been to look for a non-white swan. Once the statement is not true, the statement has been falsified (falsification, Karl Popper).
