Unit-2

SCIENTIFIC METHOD/APPROACH
Psychologists use the scientific method to conduct their research. The Scientific Method is a
standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions,
and interpreting results.
Researchers make observations in order to describe and measure behavior. After observing
certain events repeatedly, researchers come up with a theory that explains these observations.
A Theory is an explanation that organizes separate pieces of information in a coherent way.
Researchers generally develop a theory only after they have collected a lot of evidence and made
sure their research results can be reproduced by others.
The scientific method is a step-by-step process that investigators can follow to determine if there
is a causal connection between two or more variables.
Psychologists and other scientists regularly suggest motivations for human behavior. On a more
casual level, people judge other people’s intentions, incentives, and actions daily.
While our standard assessments of human behavior are subjective and anecdotal, researchers use
the scientific method to study psychology objectively and systematically.
All utilize a scientific method to study distinct aspects of people’s thinking and behavior. This
process allows scientists to analyze and understand various psychological phenomena, but it also
provides investigators and others a way to disseminate and debate the results of their studies.
The outcomes of these studies are often noted in popular media, which leads numerous to think
about how or why researchers came to the findings they did.

Making Research Scientific

Psychological research, like research in other fields, must meet certain criteria in order to be
considered scientific. Research must be:
 Replicable
 Falsifiable
 Precise
 Parsimonious
Research Must Be Replicable
Research is Replicable when others can repeat it and get the same results. When psychologists
report what they have found through their research, they also describe in detail how they made
their discoveries. This way, other psychologists can repeat the research to see if they can
replicate the findings.
After psychologists do their research and make sure it’s replicable, they develop a theory and
translate the theory into a precise hypothesis. A Hypothesis is a testable prediction of what will
happen given a certain set of conditions. Psychologists test a hypothesis by using a specific
research method, such as Naturalistic Observation, a Case Study, a Survey, or
an Experiment. If the test does not confirm the hypothesis, the psychologist revises or rejects
the original theory.

A Good Theory
A good theory must do two things: organize many observations in a logical way and allow
researchers to come up with clear predictions to check the theory.
Research Must Be Falsifiable
A good theory or hypothesis also must be Falsifiable, which means that it must be stated in a
way that makes it possible to reject it. In other words, we have to be able to prove a theory or
hypothesis wrong. Theories and hypotheses need to be falsifiable because all researchers can
succumb to the confirmation bias. Researchers who display Confirmation Bias look for and
accept evidence that supports what they want to believe and ignore or reject evidence that refutes
their beliefs.
Research Must Be Precise
By stating hypotheses precisely, psychologists ensure that they can replicate their own and
others’ research. To make hypotheses more precise, psychologists use operational definitions to
define the variables they study. Operational Definitions state exactly how a variable will be
measured.
Research Must Be Parsimonious

The Principle Of Parsimony, also called Occam’s Razor, maintains that researchers should
apply the simplest explanation possible to any set of observations. For instance, psychologists try
to explain results by using well-accepted theories instead of elaborate new hypotheses.
Parsimony prevents psychologists from inventing and pursuing outlandish theories.
Parsimony
Parsimonious means “being thrifty or stingy.” A person who values parsimony will apply the
thriftiest or most logically economical explanation for a set of phenomena.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Every science has goals. In physics, the goals are concerned with learning how the physical
world works. In astronomy, the goals are to chart the universe and understand both how it came
to be and what it is becoming.
The goals of psychologist conducting basic research are to describe, explain, and predict and
control behaviour.
The applied psychologist has a fifth goal also, that is application of psychological techniques and
principles to improve the quality of human life. Most applied psychologist are able to conduct
their own basic research, scientifically studying particular problem in order to solve them. The
process of accomplishing one goal and moving on to the next is ideally a natural , flowing ,
experience, energized, by the psychologist’s interest in the question being studied
Description:
What is Happening?
The first step in understanding anything is to give it a name. Description involves observing a
behaviour and noting everything about it, as for example, what is happening, where it happens,
to whom it happens, and under what circumstances it happens.
For example, a teacher might notice that a young girl in second grade classroom is not behaving
properly. She’s not turning in her homework, her grades are slipping badly, and she seems to
have a very negative attitude toward school. The teacher here describes the student’s behaviour,
and this description of what she is doing gives a starting place for the next goal: why is she doing
it?
Explanation:
Why is it Happening?
To find out why the girl is not behaving properly, the teacher would most likely ask the school
counselor to administer some tests. Her parents might be asked to take her to a pediatrician to
make sure that there is no physical illness, such as an allergy. They might also take here to a
psychologist to be assessed. In other words, the teacher and others are looking for an explanation
for the young girl’s behaviour.
Finding explanation for behaviour is a very important step in the process of forming theories of
behaviour. A theory is a general explanation of a set of observations or facts. The goal of
description provides the observations, and the goal of explanation helps to build the theory.
If all the tests seem to indicate that the young girl has a learning problem, such as dyslexia (an
inability to read at expected levels for a particular age and degree of intelligence), the next step
would be trying to predict what is likely to happen if the situation stays the same.
Prediction:
When will it Happen Again?
Determining what will happen in the future is a prediction. In the example, the psychologist or
counselor would predict (based on previous research into similar situations), that this little girl
will probably continue to do poorly in her schoolwork and may never to be able to reach her full
learning potential.
Clearly, something needs to be done to change this prediction, and that is the point of the last of
the four goals of psychology: changing or modifying behaviour.
Control:
How can it be changed?
Control, or the modification of some behaviour, has been somewhat controversial in the past.
Some people hear the word control and think it is brainwashing, but that is not the focus of this
goal. The goal is to change a behaviour from an undesirable one (such as failing in school) to a
desirable one (such as academic success). Such efforts also include attempts at improving the
quality of life.
In the example of the young girl, there are certain learning strategies that can be used to help a
child (or an adult) who has dyslexia. She can be helped to improve her reading skills.(Aylward
etal,2003;Shaywitz,1996). The psychologist and educators would work together to find a training
strategy that works best for this particular girl.
Application:
Improving the quality of life
Psychological research are often conducted to solve various problems faced by the society at
different levels such as individual, organisation, or community. Psychological applications to
solve problems in diverse settings, such as in a classroom in a school, or in an industry, or in a
hospital, or even in a military establishment, demand professional help. Applications in the
health sector are remarkable. Because of these efforts quality of life becomes a major concern for
psychologists.
Not all psychological investigations will try to meet all five of these goals. In some cases, the
main focus might be on description and prediction, as it would be for a personality theorist who
wants to know what people are like (description) and what they might do in certain situation
(prediction).
Some psychologists are interested in both description and explanation, as is the case with
experimental psychologists who design research to find explanations for observed (described)
behaviour. Therapists, of course, would be more interested in control, although the other four
goals would be important in getting to that goal.
Step 1: Make An Observation (Theory Construction)
Every researcher starts at the very beginning. Before diving in and exploring something, one
must first determine what they will study – it seems simple enough!
By making observations, researchers can establish an area of interest. Once this topic of study
has been chosen, a researcher should review existing literature to gain insight into what has
already been tested and determine what questions remain unanswered.
This assessment will provide helpful information about what has already been comprehended
about the specific topic and what questions remain, and if one can go and answer them.
Specifically, a literature review might implicate examining a substantial amount of documented
material from academic journals to books dating back decades. The most appropriate information
gathered by the researcher will be shown in the introduction section or abstract of the published
study results.
The background material and knowledge will help the researcher with the first significant step in
conducting a psychology study, which is formulating a research question.
This is the inductive phase of the scientific process. Observations yield information that is used
to formulate theories as explanations. A theory is a well-developed set of ideas that propose an
explanation for observed phenomena.
Inductive reasoning moves from specific premises to a general conclusion. It starts with
observations of phenomena in the natural world and derives a general law.
Step 2: Ask A Question
Once a researcher has made observations and conducted background research, the next step is to
ask a scientific question. A scientific question must be defined, testable, and measurable.
A useful approach to develop a scientific question is: “What is the effect of…?” or “How does X
affect Y?”
To answer an experimental question, a researcher must identify two variables: the independent
and dependent variables.
The independent variable is the variable manipulated (the cause), and the dependent variable is
the variable being measured (the effect).
An example of a research question could be, “Is handwriting or typing more effective for
retaining information?” Answering the research question and proposing a relationship between
the two variables is discussed in the next step.
Step 3: Form A Hypothesis (Make Predictions)
A hypothesis is an educated guess about the relationship between two or more variables.
A hypothesis is an attempt to answer your research question based on prior observation and
background research. Theories tend to be too complex to be tested all at once; instead,
researchers create hypotheses to test specific aspects of a theory.
For example, a researcher might ask about the connection between sleep and educational
performance. Do students who get less sleep perform worse on tests at school?
It is crucial to think about different questions one might have about a particular topic to
formulate a reasonable hypothesis. It would help if one also considered how one could
investigate the causalities.
It is important that the hypothesis is both testable against reality and falsifiable. This means that
it can be tested through an experiment and can be proven wrong.
The falsification principle, proposed by Karl Popper, is a way of demarcating science from non-
science. It suggests that for a theory to be considered scientific, it must be able to be tested and
conceivably proven false.
To test a hypothesis, we first assume that there is no difference between the populations from
which the samples were taken. This is known as the null hypothesis and predicts that the
independent variable will not influence the dependent variable.
Examples of “if…then…” Hypotheses:
 If one gets less than 6 hours of sleep, then one will do worse on tests than if one obtains
more rest.
 If one drinks lots of water before going to bed, one will have to use the bathroom often at
night.
 If one practices exercising and lighting weights, then one’s body will begin to build
muscle.
The research hypothesis is often called the alternative hypothesis and predicts what change(s)
will occur in the dependent variable when the independent variable is manipulated.
It states that the results are not due to chance and that they are significant in terms of supporting
the theory being investigated.
Although one could state and write a scientific hypothesis in many ways, hypotheses are usually
built like “if…then…” statements.
Step 4: Run An Experiment (Gather Data)
The next step in the scientific method is to test your hypothesis and collect data. A researcher
will design an experiment to test the hypothesis and gather data that will either support or refute
the hypothesis.
The exact research methods used to examine a hypothesis depend on what is being studied. A
psychologist might utilize two primary forms of research, experimental research, and descriptive
research.
The scientific method is objective in that researchers do not let preconceived ideas or biases
influence the collection of data and is systematic in that experiments are conducted in a logical
way.
Experimental Research
Experimental research is used to investigate cause-and-effect associations between two or more
variables. This type of research systematically controls an independent variable and measures its
effect on a specified dependent variable.
Experimental research involves manipulating an independent variable and measuring the
effect(s) on the dependent variable. Repeating the experiment multiple times is important to
confirm that your results are accurate and consistent.
One of the significant advantages of this method is that it permits researchers to determine if
changes in one variable cause shifts in each other.
While experiments in psychology typically have many moving parts (and can be relatively
complex), an easy investigation is rather fundamental. Still, it does allow researchers to specify
cause-and-effect associations between variables.
Most simple experiments use a control group, which involves those who do not receive the
treatment, and an experimental group, which involves those who do receive the treatment.
An example of experimental research would be when a pharmaceutical company wants to test a
new drug. They give one group a placebo (control group) and the other the actual pill
(experimental group).
Descriptive Research
Descriptive research is generally used when it is challenging or even impossible to control the
variables in question. Examples of descriptive analysis include naturalistic observation, case
studies, and correlation studies.
One example of descriptive research includes phone surveys that marketers often use. While they
typically do not allow researchers to identify cause and effect, correlational studies are quite
common in psychology research. They make it possible to spot associations between distinct
variables and measure the solidity of those relationships.
Step 5: Analyze The Data And Draw Conclusions
Once a researcher has designed and done the investigation and collected sufficient data, it is time
to inspect this gathered information and judge what has been found. Researchers can summarize
the data, interpret the results, and draw conclusions based on this evidence using analyses and
statistics.
Upon completion of the experiment, you can collect your measurements and analyze the data
using statistics. Based on the outcomes, you will either reject or confirm your hypothesis.
Analyze the Data
So, how does a researcher determine what the results of their study mean? Statistical analysis can
either support or refute a researcher’s hypothesis and can also be used to determine if the
conclusions are statistically significant.
When outcomes are said to be “statistically significant,” it is improbable that these results are
due to luck or chance. Based on these observations, investigators must then determine what the
results mean.
An experiment will support a hypothesis in some circumstances, but sometimes it fails to be
truthful in other cases.
What occurs if the developments of a psychology investigation do not endorse the researcher’s
hypothesis? It does mean that the study was worthless. Simply because the findings fail to defend
the researcher’s hypothesis does not mean that the examination is not helpful or instructive.
This kind of research plays a vital role in supporting scientists in developing unexplored
questions and hypotheses to investigate in the future. After decisions have been made, the next
step is to communicate the results with the rest of the scientific community.
This is an integral part of the process because it contributes to the general knowledge base and
can assist other scientists in finding new research routes to explore.
If the hypothesis is not supported, a researcher should acknowledge the experiment’s results,
formulate a new hypothesis, and develop a new experiment.
We must avoid any reference to results proving a theory as this implies 100% certainty, and there
is always a chance that evidence may exist that could refute a theory.
Draw Conclusions and Interpret the Data
When the empirical observations disagree with the hypothesis, a number of possibilities must be
considered. It might be that the theory is incorrect, in which case it needs altering, so it fully
explains the data.
Alternatively, it might be that the hypothesis was poorly derived from the original theory, in
which case the scientists were expecting the wrong thing to happen.
It might also be that the research was poorly conducted, or used an inappropriate method, or
there were factors in play that the researchers did not consider. This will begin the process of the
scientific method again.
If the hypothesis is supported, the researcher can find more evidence to support their hypothesis
or look for counter-evidence to strengthen their hypothesis further.
In either scenario, the researcher should share their results with the greater scientific community.
Step 6: Share Your Results
One of the final stages of the research cycle involves the publication of the research. Once the
report is written, the researcher(s) may submit the work for publication in an appropriate journal.
Usually, this is done by writing up a study description and publishing the article in a professional
or academic journal. The studies and conclusions of psychological work can be seen in peer-
reviewed journals such as Developmental Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, the Journal of
Social Psychology, and numerous others.
Scientists should report their findings by writing up a description of their study and any
subsequent findings. This enables other researchers to build upon the present research or
replicate the results.
As outlined by the American Psychological Association (APA), there is a typical structure of a
journal article that follows a specified format. In these articles, researchers:
 Supply a brief narrative and background on previous research
 Give their hypothesis
 Specify who participated in the study and how they were chosen
 Provide operational definitions for each variable
 Explain the measures and methods used to collect data
 Describe how the data collected was interpreted
 Discuss what the outcomes mean
A detailed record of psychological studies and all scientific studies is vital to clearly explain the
steps and procedures used throughout the study. So that other researchers can try this experiment
too and replicate the results.
The editorial process utilized by academic and professional journals guarantees that each
submitted article undergoes a thorough peer review to help assure that the study is scientifically
sound. Once published, the investigation becomes another piece of the current puzzle of our
knowledge “base” on that subject.
This last step is important because all results, whether they supported or did not support the
hypothesis, can contribute to the scientific community. Publication of empirical observations
leads to more ideas that are tested against the real world, and so on. In this sense, the scientific
process is circular.
A detailed record of psychological studies and all scientific studies is vital to clearly explain the
steps and procedures used throughout the study. So that other researchers can try this experiment
too and replicate the results.
The editorial process utilized by academic and professional journals guarantees that each
submitted article undergoes a thorough peer review to help assure that the study is scientifically
sound.
Once published, the investigation becomes another piece of the current puzzle of our knowledge
“base” on that subject.
By replicating studies, psychologists can reduce errors, validate theories, and gain a stronger
understanding of a particular topic.
Step 7: Repeat The Scientific Method (Iteration)
Now, if one’s hypothesis turns out to be accurate, find more evidence or find counter-evidence.
If one’s hypothesis is false, create a new hypothesis or try again.
One may wish to revise their first hypothesis to make a more niche experiment to design or a
different specific question to test.
The amazingness of the scientific method is that it is a comprehensive and straightforward
process that scientists, and everyone, can utilize over and over again.
So, draw conclusions and repeat because the scientific method is never-ending, and no result is
ever considered perfect.
The scientific method is a process of:
 Making an observation.
 Forming a hypothesis.
 Making a prediction.
 Experimenting to test the hypothesis.
The procedure of repeating the scientific method is crucial to science and all fields of human
knowledge.