2.5: Summary of the Scientific Method

Key Takeaways

• Research can be described by a simple cyclical model. A research question based on the research literature leads to an empirical study, the results of which are published and become part of the research literature.
• The research literature is all the published research, consisting primarily of articles in professional journals and scholarly books.
• Early in the research process, it is important to conduct a review of the research literature on your topic to refine your research question, identify appropriate research methods, place your question in the context of other research, and prepare to write an effective research report.
• Research questions and reading previous research will lead to a complete research hypothesis.
• It is important to evaluate how interesting a research question is before designing a study and collecting data to answer it. Factors that affect interestingness are the extent to which the answer is in doubt, whether it fills a gap in the research literature, and whether it has important practical implications.
• A sample is a small subset of a larger population that is selected to participate in the research study. There are many different ways of sampling participants including convenience sampling and simple random sampling.
• The final step of the research process involves reporting results at scientific conferences, in journal articles, and/or in books.

What's next?

Now that you have a deeper understanding of the scientific method, you will learn when and how to ethically collect data from humans (and other animals).

Exercises

• Practice: Find a description of an empirical study in a professional journal or in one of the scientific psychology blogs. Then write a brief description of the research in terms of the cyclical model presented here. One or two sentences for each part of the cycle should suffice.
• Watch the following TED Ed video, in which David H. Schwartz provides an introduction to two types of empirical studies along with some methods that scientists use to increase the reliability of their results:
  

  A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/psychmethods4e/?p=271

• Practice: Generate three research ideas based on each of the following: informal observations, practical problems, and topics discussed in recent issues of professional journals.
• Practice: Generate an empirical research question about each of the following behaviors or psychological characteristics: long-distance running, getting tattooed, social anxiety, bullying, and memory for early childhood events.
• Practice: Find a recent empirical research report in a professional journal. Read the introduction and highlight in different colors descriptions of theories and hypotheses.
• Practice: Using the research article you found in a professional journal identify whether the study was experimental or non-experimental. If it was experimental identify the independent and dependent variables.
• Practice: Using the research article you found in a professional journal identify which descriptive statistics were reported.
• Practice: Describe why theories can be supported but not proved.