Methods in Psychological Research. Annabel Ness Evans
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Название: Methods in Psychological Research
Автор: Annabel Ness Evans
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Зарубежная психология
isbn: 9781506384917
isbn:
We have discussed the tenets of science, but what makes a science a science? You may have heard the terms hard and soft science. These terms, which we disapprove of, classify science by its subject matter. Chemistry is considered by some to be a hard science and psychology a soft science. Some people claim that chemistry is a more rigorous science than psychology. Why do they claim this? We think it lies in the variability of the behavior of the subject matter, not in the rigor of the method used. Molecules are less variable in behavior than humans are, but chemistry outside the laboratory can be just as variable as psychology. A discipline is a science if the scientific method is the primary method used in the research process.
Conceptual Exercise 1B
1 John is a volunteer at a local emergency room (ER). The medical personnel tell John that on nights when there is a full moon, there are many more shooting and knifing cases in the ER. The workers believe that the moon is the cause. John keeps records and finds that, indeed, on full-moon nights, there are many more of these cases that come into the ER than on nights with no full moon. He contacts other ERs and finds that they too report many more of these cases on those nights. He concludes that the full moon has powers that increase criminality in people. What tenet of science has John failed to follow?
2 A student conducted a survey on the Internet to measure attitudes about funding of animal research. She found that people are opposed to the use of animals in research on cosmetic products. Another student used an interview method and learned that her sample had no such opposition to the use of animals in cosmetic testing. What tenet of science is the problem here?
3 Mary, a social worker, has observed that evil people do evil things and good people do good things. She has seen many examples of this in her practice, and her colleagues report that they have, too. When a person does evil, Mary claims it is the evil within him or her that caused this behavior. Likewise, good behavior is evidence of goodness. What tenet of science has Mary ignored?
The Scientific Method
The method of science involves logical steps toward finding truth. The steps are as follows:
1 Assume a natural cause for the phenomenon (i.e., determinism)
2 Make an educated guess about the cause (i.e., generate a testable hypothesis)
3 Test your guess
4 Revise your hypothesis
5 Retest your guess
6 Make a conclusion
Consider a psychology student who lives in a small town in southern Alabama. She has noticed that people of the town often visit a recluse who lives outside of town when they have aches and pains. The townspeople believe that the recluse is a witch who has supernatural healing powers. Our psychology student decides to apply the scientific method to assess the beliefs of the townspeople. (This example is a variation on one given by Willie Runquist, the PhD supervisor of Annabel Evans.)
Step 1. She assumes that there is a natural explanation for her observation that the townspeople do appear to feel better after they visit the witch.
Step 2. She has noticed that the witch always gives the townspeople a potion to drink when they visit, and she assumes that the potion contains something medicinal. She has discovered that the potion contains eye of newt, desiccated bat wings, and ground poppy seeds. She decides that the eye of newt might be the active medicinal ingredient.
Step 3. She finds a way to substitute an inert substance for the witch’s supply of eye of newt. For the next week, she observes the effects of the potion on the visitors. She finds that they report that they feel better as often as they did before she made the substitution.
Step 4. She revises her hypothesis and systematically replaces the bat wing ingredient and the poppy seed ingredient.
Step 5. She observes that the townspeople no longer report that they feel better after visiting the witch when the poppy seeds have been replaced.
Step 6. She concludes that poppy seeds have a medicinal quality that promotes feelings of well-being.
Theories, Concepts, and Hypotheses
The objectives of science can be seen in theories. We use theories to describe what is known in an area, present an explanation of those findings, and make predictions for further research. A theory is a formal statement of how concepts are related. Concepts are the general category of ideas that are represented by our variables. Theories may be very general and account for many phenomena, such as Skinner’s behavioral theory, with applications to all of human behavior, or more specific and limited in scope, such as Epling and Pierce’s theory of activity-based anorexia.
If we were all-knowing, we would not need theories. We would know how the universe worked, and research would be predictable and boring. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy research, we do not have all the answers, so we construct theories of how we think the world works. The main advantage of a theory is that it provides an explanation of how concepts are related. So rather than having to remember a whole library of specific research findings, we need only to remember and apply the theory. The theory will describe how general concepts are related.
Theories are an integral part of the research process. In addition to explaining what we already know, we use theories to make new predictions that can be empirically tested. By using specific instances of the general concepts, we can derive new testable hypotheses. A hypothesis is a prediction of how concepts are related that is often deduced from a theory. We then conduct our research to test the hypothesis. If the hypothesis is supported by the research, the theory is strengthened. On the other hand, if the hypothesis is not supported, the theory may have to be altered. Theories do not live forever. They start out wonderfully, explaining and organizing a whole collection of observations. Over their life, they gain support from some research, they may make surprising new predictions, and they may fail to explain some research findings. When enough research is compiled that does not fit the theory, a new theory will be proposed.
So what is the nature of empirical research? Where do scientists get their ideas, and how do they go about meeting their goals to describe, explain, predict, and control phenomena? Let’s look at five common reasons researchers might have for conducting research.
Why We Do Research
To Evaluate a Theory
In psychology, theories abound. Theories, if they are good theories, generate testable hypotheses. Good theories allow us to test the hypotheses derived from them. Bad theories often do not. In fact, one criterion of a good theory is whether testable СКАЧАТЬ