Fundamentals of Social Science Research
Characteristics of Science
1. Empirical and objective
a. Not just based on authority, common sense, logic
b. Verifiable by direct observation/experience
c. Can be objective report of a subjective experience
2. Self-correcting, progressive and tentative
a. New evidence can correct previous beliefs
b. Increasingly closer to truth
3. Parsimonious: simplest possible explanation
4. Concerned with theory: the Why?
Goal of science
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Development of a theory
o Description of phenomena
o Search for cause
Must be falsifiable
How?
o Hypothesis: statement assumed to be true for purpose of testing its validity
 Having Gene X is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease
o Operational definition: statement of the precise meaning of a procedure/concept
within an experiment (i.e. what are we measuring)
 Copies of genetic variant? Age of onset? Brain size? Memory?
Ethics
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American Psychological Association (APA): Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct
o Competence (Little Albert Experiment – Fear Conditioning)
o Participants informed of research procedures (e.g. potential risks, incentives, right to
withdraw
o Willing participation
o Experiments may require participants be naïve to research hypothesis
o Inform participants ASAP about nature of study, answer questions and remove
misconceptions
o Ascertain whether the deception (i.e. the experimental manipulation was successful)
o Sometimes delay until the end of the entire study
o Plagiarism
o If significant errors are discovered, take reasonable steps to correct them
o Do not fabricate data
o Min discomfort, infection, illness and pain of animals
o Treated with humane consideration of well-being in conjunction with research goals
Institutional Review Board (IRB): Ensures that studies present as little risk as possible and
have scientific merit
Singapore: Human Biomedical Research Act (HBRA)