Research methods chapter 1

Method of Intuition

Information is accepted on the basis of a hunch or "gut feeling"

The method of authority

a person relies on information or answers from an expert in the subject area

Qualitative Research

based on making observations that are summarized and interpreted in a narrative report

What is deduction or deductive reasoning?

uses a general statement as the basis for reaching a conclusion about specific examples

What are variables?

variables are qualities, properties, or characteristics of persons, things, or situations that change or vary. They need to be concisely defined to promote their manipulation and measurement in quantitative research.

Methods of Acquiring Knowledge

ways in which a person can know things or discover answers to questions

In the rational method you begin with

A set of known assumptions and use logic to reach a conclusion or get an answer to a question

What is a hypothesis?

A statement of predicted relationships between variables or predicted outcomes. (possible explanation)

example of deductive reasoning

All green apples are sour. If I eat a green apple, it will be sour.

What are the limitations of the method of authority

Authorities can be biased and more personal opinion rather than true expert knowledge

A drawback of the method of tenacity is that it:

Does not allow for the correction of erroneous ideas

The method of tenacity is based on

Habit or superstition

example of inductive reasoning

Harold is a grandfather. Harold is bald. Therefore, all grandfathers are bald.

Jan decides to play the lottery because she just feels like it is her day to win. She picks the numbers based on those that feel right. Jan is relying on which of the following for her decisions?

Intuition

The problem with the method of intuition

Is that there is no mechanism for separating accurate from inaccurate knowledge

Upon hearing that one of her favorite actors has died, Natasha worries out loud about who the other two deaths will involve, as she is certain that deaths come in threes. Natasha's assertion that deaths come in threes is based on which of the following?

Tenacity

What is a disadvantage of the rational method

The conclusion is not necessarily true unless both of the premise statements are true, even in a valid logical argument

In an argument using the rational method

The first two sentences are premise statements which are facts or assumptions that are known or assumed to be true. The last sentence is a logical conclusion based on the premises

One problem with the method of tenacity is

The information acquired might not be accurate

Many ethical decisions or moral questions are resolved by

The method of intuition

An example of the method of tenacity is

You cannot teach an old dog new tricks

An example of the method of faith

Young children believing every answer they get front heir parents

what is a downside to the empirical method?

Your observations can be biased and many people misperceive the world around them based of expectations, prior knowledge, and emotions. it can also be time consuming

Pseudoscience

a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method.

Scientific Method

a method of acquiring knowledge that uses observations to develop a hypothesis and then uses the hypothesis to make logical predictions that can be empirically tested by making additional, systematic observations

Method of Faith

a variant of the method of authority in which people have unquestioning trust in the authority figure and, therefore, accept information from the authority without doubt or challenge

scientific method

an approach to testing beliefs that involves choosing a question, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing a conclusion

An example of pseudoscience is

astrology because it is unsupported by empirical evidence

Finding an unanswered research question is often the result of:

critical reading

what do premise statements do?

describe facts or assumptions that are presumed to be true

summary of intuition

from a hunch or a feeling

summary of authority

from an expert

summary of empiricism

from direct sensory observation

summary of tenacity

from habit or superstition

summary of rationalism

from reasoning; a logical conclusion

subjects

individuals in an experiment that are nonhuman

Participants

individuals who take part in research studies (human)

Method of Tenacity

information is accepted as true because it has always been believed or because superstition supports it

what is induction or inductive reasoning

involves using a relatively small set of specific observations as the bias for forming a general statement about a larger set of possible observations

The scientific method is

objective because the observations are structures so that the researcher's biases and beliefs do not influence the outcome of the study

Repetition

repetition of observations- allows verification of the findings

Quantitative Research

research that examines variables that typically vary in quantity(size, magnitude, duration, or amount), usually numerical values

The rational method (rationalism)

seeks answers by the use of logical reasoning

the empirical method (empiricism)

uses observation or direct sensory experience to obtain knowledge