Scientific Method Flashcards
What is epistemology?
The study of knowledge
what are three methods by which philosophers obtain knowledge (truth)
Divine insight
Pure logic and thought
Scientific methods and scientific “manipulation”
What is meant by scientific manipulation?
scientists manipulate the independent variable in order to determine the effects of the dependent variable
Define materialism
the belief that all things which exist exist in a physical form, and all things are subject to the physical laws
Define idealism
reject the reality of a physical world, but believe instead in a dream like existance
Define a theory
a prediction of behaviour or events after a review and synthesis of relevant literature, based on fact
define specualtion
a prediction that has backing in facts
what is a huge requirement of a hypothesis?
It must be testable
what defines a good theory
the potential for it to be proven wrong
define “operational definition”
defines the variables of interest
what is a “double blind” study?
Neither the subject or the experimenter knows what amount of dosage has been given (say of a drug)
what is a null hypothesis?
We always assume that the test will not change the dependent variable
Define unexplained variance
Ignorance!
what is statistical variance?
Division of explained by unexplained variance
Define explained variance
when the independent variable causes the dependent variable to change
