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Identify the basic steps in the scientific method
and describe how the scientific method is used
to answer questions such as, “Why are some
marriages successful and others are not?”
Explain what it means to say that the scientific
method or the research process can be viewed
as a never ending circle or a spiral of steps
rather than a linear process that leads to an
end.
Scientific Method
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Are girls more likely to cyber-bully than boys
are?
Are children of divorced parents less likely to
commit to romantic relationships?
Can parents’ preoccupation with their own
weight influence their children’s dieting
behavior?
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How many hours of sleep are necessary to avoid a
decline in mental alertness?
Are adolescents who play violent video games more
aggressive than adolescents who do not play violent
video games?
Do children who grow up with brothers and sisters
develop better social skills than children who grow up
without brothers and sisters?
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Required
Reading and understanding research articles
Understand abbreviated descriptions of studies
To be educated consumers of information
Evaluating journal articles
Learn how to do research
Learn about others’ practices (methods)
Decision making
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The method of tenacity
The method of intuition
The method of authority (the method of faith )
The rational method
The empirical method
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Information is accepted as true because it has
always been believed or because superstition
supports it.
Overemphasis on memorization harms your
cognitive reasoning.
You cannot teach an old dog new tricks
Opposites attract
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Information is accepted on the basis of a hunch
or “gut feeling”
Information is accepted as true because it “
feels right”
Speaking mother language at home will harm
students’ achievement in school.
You look at a student and realize he is not
understanding.
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A person finds answers by seeking out an
authority on the subject.
This can mean consulting an expert directly or
going to a library or a website to read the
works of an expert.
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It does not always provide accurate
information.
The answers obtained from an expert could
represent subjective, personal opinion rather
than true expert knowledge.
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Expert in what?
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Not really an expert.
When a famous athlete appears on television telling you what soup is more
nutritious, should you assume that being an outstanding football player makes
him an expert on nutrition?
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Is a variant of the method of authority in which
people have unquestioning trust in the
authority figure and, therefore, accept
information from the authority without doubt
or challenge.
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Involves seeking answers by logical reasoning.
Research shows technology improves learning.
Mr. Fox uses technology in his teaching. Mr.
Fox improves his students’ learning
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The empirical method, or empiricism, uses
observation or direct sensory experience to
obtain knowledge.
Attempts to answer questions by direct
observation or personal experience.
I use technology in my courses to see if it helps
my students.
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It is fairly common for people to misperceive or
misinterpret the world around them.
• Sunrise & Sunset
• Long and Short lines
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Is an approach to acquiring knowledge that
involves formulating specific questions and
then systematically finding answers.
The planned and systematic application of the
empirical method
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By combining several different methods of
acquiring knowledge, we hope to avoid the
pitfalls of any individual method used by itself.
The scientific method is a carefully developed
system for asking and answering questions so
that the answers we discover are as accurate as
possible.
Step 1: Observe behavior or other phenomena
Step 2: Form a tentative answer or explanation (a hypothesis
(guess a reason)
Step 3: Use your hypothesis to generate a testable prediction
Step 4: Make systematic, planned observations (data collection)
Step 5: Use the observations to evaluate (support, refute, or
refine) the original hypothesis
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It is not necessary to start with a well- planned,
systematic investigation.
Simply observe the world around you until
some behavior or event catches your attention.
ina , Jennifer & Sue told me this winter is very depressing
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Induction, or inductive reasoning, involves
using a relatively small set of specific
observations as the basis for forming a general
statement about a larger set of possible
observations.
People are more depressed during winter
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This step in the process usually begins by
identifying factors, or variables, that are
associated with your observation.
Identify
Why are people more depressed during winter?
What other variables are associated with winter and
depression?
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Health: People tend to catch colds and get the
flu during the winter, and perhaps their illness
leads to depression.
Weather: Perhaps people become depressed in
the winter because the weather is literally dark
and depressing.
Weather
This is the actual research or data collection phase of the
scientific method. The goal is to provide a fair and unbiased
test of the research hypothesis by observing whether the
prediction is correct.
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Use the observations to support, refute, or
refine the original hypothesis
To what extent do the observations agree with
the predictions?