• Select a topic
• Narrow down to research question
• Review the literature (theory and past research)
• Develop a hypothesis or hypotheses
• Design a study
• Collect data
• Analyze Data
• Interpret data
• Inform Others

Linear

-we revisit certain steps throughout the research process

Role of Theoretical Perspective

Different approaches

(falls out of scientific approach)

• Positivist approach - reality consists of objective facts
• Interpretative approach - realities are constructed [everyone has their own social reality]
• Critical Approach - intersection of objective and constructionist view of reality  [ there might be an objective reality but it's been distored (e.g, political studies, feminism things)]

It organizes and explains a variety of specific facts or descriptions of behaviour

-a framework for making these facts and descriptions comprehensible

The Role of Theory

What are the two approaches?

• Deductive approach - testing theories with data
• Inductive approach - use data to build theory (e.g., grounded theory)

• Testability and specificty
• Internal consistency and clarity
• Empirical Support
• Parsimony
• Scientific Impact

What Makes a Good Theory?

Testability and specificity definition:

-Must be empirically testable

-Must allow us to make predictions that are specific

What Makes a Good Theory?

Internal consistency and Clarity Definition

 - Principles should NOT contradict one another, does not not make condradictory redictions about the outcomes that will occur in a particular situation 

-Concepts and links between them should be clearly specified

What Makes a Good Theory?

Empirical Support Description

-Must be consistent with the known empirical facts @ that time

-Cannot rest on the laurels of preexisting evidence

What makes a Good Theory?

Law of Parsimony

What Makes a Good Theory?

Scientific Impact description 

-Should stimulate research and contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge

Proof and Disproof

It is always possible that our results are due to _______

Chance

-A single set of results cannot disprove a hypothesis derived from a theory 

Inductive Reasoning

-Specific to general

-Data to theory 

-Data driven "bottom up" 

-e.g. medical diagnosis based on symptoms

-used for generating hypotheses 

Deductive Reasoning:

-General to specific

-Theory to data 

-Theory driven "top down" 

-E.g., all people have a _____. Pat is a person, therefore Pat has a ______

Deductive Reasoning:

In adpoting the scientific method, researchers are more likely to use Deductive reasoning to develop a _________

Logic and Inference

Falsification

-Karl Popper's description of how science is performed 

-Science should be concerned with Disproving theories through logic based on observation 

-NUMERICAL data 

-Statistical analysis

-hollistic or thematic description & understanding of behaviour

-Primarily nonstatistical analysis of data

Purpose of Conducting Research

the 3 different kinds of research

• Exploratory
• Descriptive
• Explanatory 

Puprose of Conducting Research

Exploratory Research

-Little is known of the topic or minimal research has examined the topic

-Asks "what"

-Rich qualitiative data [documenting in words]

Purpose of Conducting Research

Descriptive Research

-Have ideas about a topic but need to describe it

-Asks "how?" "where?" "who?"

Can inclute observational, correlational research - describing relationships we are seeing and maybe even consequences - are there identified patterns we can elaborat on? How does it fit in with other events?

Puprose of Conducting Research

Explanatory Research

-Lack an understanding of the sources of a particular phenomenon 

-Asks "why?" 

-Causal relationships, getting at the why - not always ethical or practical

Operational Definition

-Definition of CRUCIAL terms in the hypothesis in reference to concrete operations 

Two types of operational definitions:

-Measured: may specify both how observations are to be made and what is to be observed and measured 

-Experimental: describes how experimental procedures are to be followed

Variables 

definition

Variables

examples of variables:

One

and ONLY one value

(e.g. =, male OR female - you can never be both or neither)

-Laboratory settings offer researchers ________

-Field settings offer researchers a "____-_____" context 

-Field experiments still entail _____________ of an IV, but occur in a ______ setting as apposed to a ___ setting

-Control 

-"real - world"

-Manipulation

-Natural

-lab

-Represents the degree to which we can confidently infer that our study demo'd that one variable had a causal effect on another variable 

The presence of confounds

(extraneous variables that systematically vary along with the variables we are studying and therefor provide potential alternative explanations for our results.)

Concerns inferences about the generalizability of the findings beyond the circumstances of the present study.

(application)

• Through impartial, sytematic observation using logically sound research design
• Through Statistical description and inference 
• Through reason and logic
• By emphasizing perspective and context