Unit 2 Research and Methods
Module 5 – The Scientific Method and Description
Module 4 Objectives SWBAT: explain the aspects of the scientific method and how it is used to investigate the natural world SWBAT: identify the types of descriptive research
Scientific Method Theory Explanation of a natural phenomenon that uses observable data to predict future events and behavior Not just a mere hunch = “theory” of gravity doesn’t mean there’s a chance gravity doesn’t work Hypothesis A testable prediction that can be confirmed or refuted (shown to be false) Operational Definition An EXACT, carefully worded definition of procedures used in a study EX: human intelligence is operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures Replication Being able to repeat a research study (usually with different participants and situations) to see if the basic findings can be applied again
The Scientific Method in Action
The Scientific Method in Action
The Scientific Method in Action
The Scientific Method in Action
Descriptive Research Descriptive Research Only DESCRIBES behavior or events, does not explain Typically used for one of three reasons: Too few people or cases to study Cannot perform the study ethically Studying the behavior in a lab would change the behavior
Descriptive: The Case Study In-depth and detailed study of ONE person’s behaviors or actions Hopes to reveal universal truths Problems with non-typical individuals Cannot be generalized to other people Freud LOVED these Useful if there are too few people
Descriptive: Naturalistic Observation An observation of the behavior in the NATURAL world, ex: Observing children playing on a playground Observing chimpanzees active in the wild Observing the behaviors of travelers in an airport The researcher does not interject themselves in the environment Describes behavior, does not explain it Useful when studying the behavior in a lab would change the behavior
Descriptive: The Survey A record of the self-reported behaviors or thoughts of a group of people Looks at many cases at once, ex: Political opinion polls, exit surveys, Yelp reviews Potential Problems: Word Effects – how you word something changes how people respond to it “Do you agree with killing babies?” is different than “Do you support legal abortion?” “Do you consider yourself a Republican?” is different than “Do you agree with Republican lawmakers?” Random sampling error Your sample (the people you survey) should be like the population you WANT to know about Sampling bias: a flawed sampling process affects your outcome if you’re trying to survey ideas about prom, you don’t survey freshmen – you survey seniors
Descriptive: The Survey How does sampling work? Population = the group of people you want to know about, or whose attitudes you want to know about Random sample = a selection randomly pulled from the population that BEST represents the population itself. EX: Say you want to determine how students feel about the new dress code policy. Your school has 900 students and is 45% Latinx, 45% African-American, 5% white, and 5% other races. Instead of asking all 900 people, you decide to ask 100. What is the racial make-up of that 100?