Features of a science

• What is science?

  • “Science is a system of acquiring knowledge through a process known as the scientific method, which is defined as the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation and theoretical explanation of phenomena”
• The scientific method

  1. Observation of phenomenon
  2. Formulation of a hypothesis
  3. Performance of experimental tests
• Replicability: The extent to which scientific procedures and findings can be repeated by other researchers

  • The purpose of repeating research is to check the validity of the results in order to see the extent to which the findings can be generalised

  • For replicability to be feasible psychologists must report their investigation with as much precision and rigour as possible, therefore research has to be fully and clearly written up.
• Objectivity: When all sources of personal bias are minimised so as not to distort or influence the research process.

  • Scientific researchers must strive to maintain objectivity as part of their observations.

  • Objectivity is the basis of the empirical method which emphasise the importance of data collection based on direct, sensory experience
• Falsification/Falsifiability: The principle that a theory cannot be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being proved untrue.

  • Scientific theory must be empirically testable to see if it is false, which can be achieved through replication
• (Falsifiability)

  • Popper 1935 – no matter how many positive validations of a scientific theory occur through empirical testing, it doesn’t prove it as undeniably true. However, one example of falsification is enough to render a theory untrue.

  • Theories that survive attempts to falsify them become the strongest – not because they are necessarily true but because they have not been proved false. (This is why Psychologists avoid phrases such as ‘this proves’ and opt for ‘this supports’ or ‘this suggests’).
• Empirical Evidence:

  evidence that is gained through direct observation or experiment rather than unfound beliefs or reasoned argument
• Theory Construction and Hypothesis Testing

  • Occurs through gathering evidence via direct observation.
  • A theory is a set of general laws that have the ability to explain particular events or behaviours. These are used to generate predictions, expressed as testable hypotheses which are tested by rigorous empirical means. The data gather is analysed which may lead to theory adjustment.
  • Popper proposed two scientific processes which allow psychologists to test theories and check for falsifiability – Inductive and Deductive
• theory construction:

  
• Paradigms:

  A set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a scientific discipline
• Kuhn 1962 (paradigms)

  • What distinguishes scientific disciplines from non-scientific disciplines is a shared set of assumptions.

  • Social sciences (including Psychology) lack a universally accepted paradigm and are best seen as ‘pre-science’.

  • Progress within an established science occurs when there is a scientific revolution. (Paradigm Shifts: A significant change in the dominant unifying theory within a scientific discipline)
• Peer review is an opportunity for the validity, credibility and appropriateness of a piece of research design, method and data collected to be assessed. This aims to avoid a replication crisis by quality checking research
• Peer review can also be used to assess the originality of research, seeking to avoid fraud and plagiarism