1. Unit 2
Research and Methods

2. Module 5 – The Scientific Method and Description

3. 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

4. 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

5. The Scientific Method in Action

6. The Scientific Method in Action

7. The Scientific Method in Action

8. The Scientific Method in Action

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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?