/
Chapter 1 Introduction to Scientific Thinking Chapter 1 Introduction to Scientific Thinking

Chapter 1 Introduction to Scientific Thinking - PowerPoint Presentation

mitsue-stanley
mitsue-stanley . @mitsue-stanley
Follow
349 views
Uploaded On 2018-10-29

Chapter 1 Introduction to Scientific Thinking - PPT Presentation

Course Syllabus amp Mechanics COURSE WEBSITE httppsychfilesnet Recommended Texts Assignments Completed CITI Certification Pairled class discussion on readings My Favorite Experiment ID: 702531

research scientific method science scientific research science method data knowledge knowing step scientists observations intuition ideas results belief analysis

Share:

Link:

Embed:

Download Presentation from below link

Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Chapter 1 Introduction to Scientific Thi..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.


Presentation Transcript

Slide1

Chapter 1

Introduction to Scientific ThinkingSlide2

Course Syllabus & Mechanics

COURSE WEBSITE:

http://psychfiles.net

Recommended Texts:

Assignments:Completed CITI Certification Pair-led class discussion on readings“My Favorite Experiment” – 15 minute presentationResearch Proposal (written)Presentation of Proposal (~30min)

Privitera

, Gregory J. Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd Ed)

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6

th

Ed) Slide3

Chapter Outline

How do we come to know things?Science as a method of knowing

The scientific method

The goals of science

Approaches in acquiring knowledgeSlide4

How do we come to know things?

There are several nonscientific ways of knowing. Four common nonscientific ways of knowing are:

Intuition

Authority

RationalismEmpiricismSlide5

Intuition – Method of knowing based largely on an individual’s hunch or feeling that something is correct

Ex. Students may use their intuition to choose a major that fits their interestsDisadvantage: No definitive basis for the belief

Intuition has some value in science

Researchers can use intuition to some extent when developing a research hypothesis

In science, researchers’ intuition is then tested using the scientific methodHow do we come to know things?Slide6

Authority – Method of knowing accepted as fact because it was stated by an expert or respected source in a particular subject area

Ex. Health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) often create regulations that most Americans will trust without ever questioning themDisadvantage: Knowledge is often accepted without question

Authority has value in

science

How do we come to know things?Slide7

Rationalism – Method of knowing that requires the use of reasoning and logic

Ex. If a spouse is unfaithful to a partner, the partner may reason that the spouse does not love him or herDisadvantage: Often leads to erroneous conclusions

Rationalism has some value in science

Researchers can use rationalism to develop research hypotheses, then subject their hypothesis to the rigor of the scientific methodHow do we come to know things?Slide8

Empiricism – Method of knowing based on one’s experiences or observations

Reflects the adage “seeing is believing”

How do we come

to know things?Slide9

How do we come

to know things?

Social Cognition Biases

Belief perseverance

– the tendency to hold onto a belief, even in the face of contradictory evidence.Confirmation bias – the tendency to seek out information only in support of belief, ignoring contradictory informationAvailability heuristic – tendency to overestimate the frequency with which unusual or memorable events occurSlide10

How to correct for bias.

One way to correct for empiricism is to operationally define variables observedDefined in terms of how the observed variable is measured such that other researchers could observe that variable in the same waySlide11

Science as a Method of Knowing

Science is specifically the acquisition of knowledge using the scientific methodThe

most reliable way to develop a belief; independent of pre-existing bias and

opinion

AssumptionsDeterminism – All events have causes; statistical determinismDiscoverability – through systematic observation, these causes can be foundSlide12

The Scientific Method

Step 1: Identify a Problem – The research process begins when you identify a problem to be investigated, or a problem that can be resolved in some way by making observations

(1) Determine an area of interest

(2) Review the literature

(3) Identify new ideas in your area of interest(4) Develop a research hypothesisResearch hypothesis: Specific, testable claim or prediction about what you expect to observe given a set of circumstancesSlide13

The Scientific Method

Step 2: Develop a research plan – The development of a research plan, or a strategy for testing a research hypothesis, is needed to complete steps 3 and 4 of the scientific process

(1) Define the variables being tested

Variable: Any variable that can change or vary across observations

Operational definition: Defines how each variable is measuredSlide14

The Scientific MethodSlide15

The Scientific Method

Step 2: Develop a research plan continued

(2) Identify participants or subjects and determine how to sample them

Population: Set of

all individuals, items, or data of interest about which scientists will generalizeSample: Set of selected individuals, items, or data taken from a population of interest(3) Select a research strategy or designThe plan will largely depend on how variables are defined(4) Evaluate ethics and obtain institutional approval to conduct researchSlide16

The Scientific Method

Step 3: Conduct the studyThe goal of step 3 is to execute a research plan by actually conducting the study

Step 4: Analyze and evaluate the data

(1) Analyze and evaluate the data as they relate to the research hypothesis

Data (plural): Measurements or observations that are typically numeric

(2) Summarize data and report the research results

Data are often reported in tables or graphically

Statistical outcomes are reported by specifically using guidelines identified by the American Psychological Association (APA)Slide17

The Scientific Method

Step 5: Communicate the results

(1) Method of communication

Communicating work allows other professionals to review your work, learn what you did, test whether they can replicate results, or use the study to generate new ideas

Most typical ways to share results of a study are oral, written, or as a poster(2) Style of communicationWritten research reports must conform to the style and formatting guidelines provided in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA)Slide18

The Scientific Method

Step 6: Generate more new ideas

When the study is complete, publish the work and allow other researchers the opportunity to review and evaluate findings

If support for research is found, refine and expand on existing knowledge

If support for research is not found, propose a new idea and begin againSteps 1 to 6 of the scientific process are cyclic, not linearSlide19

Scientific methods are characterized by

objectivity.

Scientists need not be perfect; their results simply need be publicly verified and replicated.

Specific, detailed descriptions of method.

Scientists

are

data-driven

.

Science produces

tentative conclusions.

Science asks

answerable

questions.

Science develops

theories

that can be disproven (falsifiability).

The Scientific Method: key conceptsSlide20

Pseudoscience: any field of inquiry that appears to be scientific but is based on inadequate scientific methods and typically produces false conclusions.

May seem convincing! Anecdotal

evidence; effort justification

Sidesteps disproof

Psychological science vs pseudoscienceSlide21

Humanistic perspective

- - science should produce knowledge that serves people People

are best understood when studied in their natural environments rather than when isolated in laboratories

F

ull understanding of people comes through empathy and intuition rather than logical analysis The same data can be interpreted in many ways. Represents the aspects and interpretations of the true state of the world that best serve the interests of the status quo.. Logical positivism - knowledge results from empirical observation, tightly controlled experiments, and analysis of data. Scientists must be dis-interested

observers, generating knowledge for its own sake There is only one correct interpretation of scientific data; scientific knowledge accurately represents the true state of the world.

THE epistemology of science & Approaches in Acquiring KnowledgeSlide22

Approaches in Acquiring Knowledge

Applied Research – Uses the scientific method to answer questions concerning practical problems with potential practical

solutions

Basic Research – Uses the scientific method to answer questions that address theoretical issues about fundamental processes and underlying mechanisms related to the behaviors and events

being

studiedSlide23

Quantitative Research – Uses the scientific method to record observations as numeric data

Most research conducted in the behavioral sciences is quantitative because the data are numeric allowing for a more objective analysis of the observations made in a studyEx. A researcher may define fear as the time (in seconds) it takes to walk through a scary portion of campus. By defining fear as a number (seconds), the analysis is more objective

Approaches in Acquiring Knowledge

Qualitative Research – Uses the scientific method to make nonnumeric observations, from which conclusions are drawn without the use of statistical analysis

Ex. A researcher studying attraction may interview a small group of participants about their experiences with attraction. Each participant is allowed to respond however he or she wants. The researcher will look at how participants described attraction in order to interpret and explain attraction.Slide24

Does science need falsifiability?

Psychoanalysis, religion, physics?Is this what scientists really do? Try as hard as they can to falsify their most cherished hypotheses and then throw them away immediately?

Scientists

don't drop their

favorite theories when new empirical evidence suggests those theories are wrong. Most science is done within a particular "paradigm" and scientists are resistant to changing paradigms. (Kuhn, 1962)Paradigm shifts: Ptolemaic to Copernican astronomy, the move from Newtonian to Einsteinian physics, the "cognitive revolution" in psychology.Thoughts?Slide25

Feyerabend’s

anarchistic view of science “Any ideology that makes man question inherited beliefs is an aid to enlightenment. A truth that reigns without checks and balances is a tyrant who must be

overthrown.”

“Consider

the role science now plays in education. Scientific "facts” are taught at a very early age and in the very same manner in which religious "facts” were taught only a century ago. There is no attempt to waken the critical abilities of the pupil so that he may be able to see things in perspective.” “Science has now become as oppressive as the ideologies it had once to fight.”Science is a “stupid religion”Slide26

“Do ideas come from experience alone, or from experience plus an active experiencer? Is the individual merely the recipient of the ideas, contributing nothing except the tabula rasa upon which experience writes its message, or does the individual in some sense create the ideas through a modification of the stuff of experience?” –Cornelius Benjamin,

Philosophy of Science, 1943

Is the scientist an unbiased observer?