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what is a theory ?
A set of organized ideas, concepts and their relationships or principles used to describe systematically a set of phenomena or to provide an explanation of a phenomena
belief based explanations
come from a trusted source or consistent with a large system of belief
no evidence required to support explanation common sense
what is a hypothesis ?
A proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation
should be testable
should link 2 variables with a statement indicating the expected relationship between them
name three method types
method of authority
rational method
scientific method
method of authority
involves consulting sources that consider to be authoritative on son issue in Q's
professor
supervisor
church
applied research example
reduce stuttering behaviors
improve agriculture crop
improve energy efficiency of homes offices or mode of transportation
scientific method
imperial in nature (proven by evidence based on observation)
types of quantitative research
1. experiments
2. quasi-experiments
3. non experimental quant design
correlations
surveys
scales
meta analysis
Roles of theory in science
1. represent a particular way to understand a phenomenon
2.They can provide a way to predict the behavior of a system
3. Theories often provide ideas for new research
common sense
based on available info from the observed info from the observed event and what our previous experience has told us is true: informal observation
may feel right but lack power to apply across a variety of similar situations
Inductive reasoning
Starts with observation of particular instances of an event arrive at general conclusions regarding the nature and causation of the event
bottom-up
Qualitative research
interviews
conversational analysis
case studies
grounded theory
ethnography/ field work
good scientific theories
Great scientific theories are testable
every genuine test of a theory I an attempt to refute it
Good theories stand the test of time
withstand continuous attempts to falsify or refute them
rational method
arrive at truth using pure reasoning
begins with skepticism
anytime you use logic to deduce conclusion
deductive reasoning
used to test a theory
starts with rules or logical premises assumed to be valid
top-bottom
basic research examples
how did universe begin
how do slime molds reproduce
what is the specific genetic code of first fly
Scientific Explanations
1. based on evidence of the senses empirical based
2. rational (follow rules of logic and are consistent with known facts )
3. testable
4. as simple as possible
5. are general
basic research
investigate issues relevant of theoretical positions
driven by scientific curiosity or interest in scientific question
motivation to expand on mans knowledge
4 components of scientific method
1.Observing a phenomenon
2.formulating tentative explanation
3.Further observing and experimentation
4. Refining and retesting explanation
why qualitative approaches have a history of being marginalized?
not trusted not trusted initially because didn't involve hypothesis testing they were marginalized as data collection techniques
applied reaserch
design to solve practical problems of modern world rather than to acquire knowledge
goal to improve human condition
purposes of research
1. bureaucratic reasoning
2. curiosity
3. solve practical problems
4. to demonstrate certain effects
5. explain events
steps of research
1. develop research idea or hypothesis
2. choose research design
3. choose subjects
4. decide on what to observe and appropriate measures
5. conduct your study
6. analyze results
7. report results
8. start process over again
quantitative characteristics
research per perspective important
value free
measure objective behavior
objective conclusion
structure data
experimental protocol fixed
focuses on variable
reliability key
data source laboratory situation
many cases big sample
Qualitative Characteristics
particular perspective important
values present
construct social meaning
subjective conclusions
unstructured data
research protocol fluid
authenticity key ( real world situation (data))
small # of participants
thematic analysis