How Can the Scientific Method Be Used to Solve Day to Day Problems? Cite at Least 2 Examples.

Psychology and the Scientific Method: From Theory to Determination

The scientific method offers a standardized mode for psychologists to examination hypotheses, build on theories, and proceeds knowledge almost the mind.

Learning Objectives

Defend each step of the scientific method as necessary to psychological research

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The scientific method was first outlined by Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) to provide logical, rational problem solving across many scientific fields.
• The basic steps of the scientific method are: 1) make an observation that describes a problem, 2) create a hypothesis, 3) test the hypothesis, and 4) depict conclusions and refine the hypothesis.
• The major precepts of the scientific method employed past all scientific disciplines are verifiability, predictability, falsifiability, and fairness.
• The application of the scientific theory to psychology took the discipline from a form of philosophy to a form of science.
• Critical thinking is a cardinal component of the scientific method. Without information technology, yous cannot use logic to come to conclusions.

Fundamental Terms

• social scientific discipline: Sciences concerned with the social behavior of individuals and groups (e.thousand., sociology, anthropology, or psychology) and that are often considered more subjective due to the focus of report.
• scientific method: A method of discovering noesis nigh the natural world based on making falsifiable predictions (hypotheses), testing them empirically, and developing peer-reviewed theories that all-time explain the known data.
• natural science: Sciences concerned with predicting and describing natural phenomena (e.g., biology, physics, or chemistry), using systematic data drove and performing controlled experiments.

All scientific disciplines are united by their use of the scientific method. The scientific method offers an objective methodology for scientific experimentation that results in unbiased interpretations of the globe and refines knowledge. The scientific method was showtime outlined by Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626) and allows for logical, rational trouble solving across many scientific fields. Beyond all scientific disciplines, the major precepts of the scientific method are verifiability, predictability, falsifiability, and fairness.

The Scientific Method: The scientific method is a process for gathering information and processing information. It provides well-defined steps to standardize how scientific cognition is gathered through a logical, rational problem-solving method. This diagram shows the steps of the scientific method, which are listed below.

The Basic Principles of the Scientific Method

Ii key concepts  in the scientific approach are theory and hypothesis. A theory is used to make predictions about hereafter observations. A hypothesis is a testable prediction that is arrived at logically from a theory.

Several types of studies exist inside the scientific method— experiments, descriptive studies, example studies, surveys, and non-descriptive studies. In an experiment a researcher manipulates certain variables and measures their event on other variables in a controlled environment. Descriptive studies draw the nature of the relationship between the intended variables, without looking at crusade or effect. A example study covers i specific example in which something unusual has occurred. This is oftentimes washed in farthermost or rare cases, usually with a unmarried subject. Surveys are used with large groups of people who respond questions well-nigh specific subjects. Non-descriptive studies use correlational methods to predict the relationship between ii (or more than ) intended variables.

Verifiability ways that an experiment must exist replicable by another researcher. To reach verifiability, researchers must brand certain to document their methods and clearly explicate how their experiment is structured and why information technology produces certain results.

Predictability in a scientific theory implies that the theory should enable us to brand predictions about futurity events. The precision of these predictions is a measure of the forcefulness of the theory.

Falsifiability refers to whether a hypothesis can disproved. For a hypothesis to exist falsifiable, it must be logically possible to brand an observation or exercise a physical experiment that would show that there is no support for the hypothesis. Even when a hypothesis cannot exist shown to be false, that does not necessarily mean information technology is not valid. Future testing may disprove the hypothesis. This does not mean that a hypothesis has to be shown to exist false, but that information technology can be tested.

To decide whether a hypothesis is supported or not supported, psychological researchers must behave hypothesis testing using statistics. Hypothesis testing is a type of statistics that determines the probability of a hypothesis existence true or false. If hypothesis testing reveals that results were "statistically significant," this means that at that place was back up for the hypothesis and that the researchers can exist reasonably confident that their outcome was not due to random take chances. If the results are non statistically significant, this means that the researchers' hypothesis was not supported.

Fairness implies that all data must be considered when evaluating a hypothesis. A researcher cannot pick and cull what data to keep and what to discard or focus specifically on data that support or do not support a particular hypothesis. All information must be accounted for, even if they invalidate the hypothesis.

The Bones Steps of the Scientific Method

The basic steps in the scientific method are:

• Discover a natural miracle and define a question about it
• Make a hypothesis, or potential solution to the question
• Test the hypothesis
• If the hypothesis is true, find more evidence or find counter-prove
• If the hypothesis is false, create a new hypothesis or try again
• Depict conclusions and repeat–the scientific method is never-ending, and no result is ever considered perfect

In order to ask an important question that may amend our understanding of the world, a researcher must first observe natural phenomena. Past making observations, a researcher can define a useful question. Later on finding a question to respond, the researcher can then make a prediction (a hypothesis) about what he or she thinks the reply will be. This prediction is usually a statement about the relationship between ii or more variables. Afterward making a hypothesis, the researcher will then pattern an experiment to test his or her hypothesis and evaluate the data gathered. These data will either support or refute the hypothesis. Based on the conclusions drawn from the data, the researcher volition then find more evidence to back up the hypothesis, look for counter-evidence to further strengthen the hypothesis, revise the hypothesis and create a new experiment, or keep to incorporate the information gathered to answer the research question.

Instance of the Scientific Method

To ameliorate understand the process of the scientific method, take a look at the post-obit example:

• Observation: My toaster doesn't work.
• Question: Is something wrong with my electrical outlet?
• Hypothesis: If something is wrong with the outlet, my coffeemaker also won't work when plugged into it.
• Experiment: I plug my coffeemaker into the outlet.
• Result: My coffeemaker works!
• Conclusion: My electrical outlet works, only my toaster still won't toast my breadstuff.
• Refine the hypothesis: My toaster is broken.

From this indicate, the process would exist repeated with a refined hypothesis.

Why the Scientific Method Is Important for Psychology

The employ of the scientific method is one of the main features that separates modern psychology from before philosophical inquiries about the mind. Compared to chemistry, physics, and other "natural sciences," psychology has long been considered one of the "social sciences" because of the subjective nature of the things it seeks to study. Many of the concepts that psychologists are interested in—such equally aspects of the homo mind, beliefs, and emotions—are subjective and cannot be directly measured. Psychologists often rely instead on behavioral observations and cocky-reported information, which are considered past some to be illegitimate or defective in methodological rigor. Applying the scientific method to psychology, therefore, helps to standardize the approach to understanding its very different types of data.

The scientific method allows psychological information to be replicated and confirmed in many instances, nether different circumstances, and by a variety of researchers. Through replication of experiments, new generations of psychologists tin reduce errors and augment the applicability of theories. It also allows theories to be tested and validated instead of just being conjectures that could never be verified or falsified. All of this allows psychologists to gain a stronger agreement of how the human mind works.

Scientific articles published in journals and psychology papers written in the manner of the American Psychological Association (i.east., in "APA style") are structured around the scientific method. These papers include an Introduction, which introduces the background information and outlines the hypotheses; a Methods section, which outlines the specifics of how the experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis; a Results section, which includes the statistics that tested the hypothesis and state whether it was supported or not supported, and a Discussion and Conclusion, which country the implications of finding back up for, or no support for, the hypothesis. Writing articles and papers that adhere to the scientific method makes it piece of cake for future researchers to repeat the study and endeavour to replicate the results.

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