features of science

• empiricism- the idea that knowledge is based on experience and observation, not on abstract reasoning. ideas that are from beliefs or theory are not empirical
• it is the process of collecting data from direct experiences from direct observation. such as from case studies, self report and content analysis
• objectivity- data should be collected and interpreted in ways that avoid bias, this means that data is not influenced by the researcher's opinion or expectations. since data that is produced by opinions produces subjective conclusions.
• improving objectivitiy

  systematic data collection- the gathering of data is planned and consistent for each pp. the researcher should use established questions or tests.

  double-blind= researchers who are not aware of the aims shoud be the ones carrying out the investigation

  peer review= identify biased research, such as researchers making conclusions that are not supported by investigation. prevented
• control= experiment should be controlled to limit other EV or CV affecting the results that are not the IV. without control the researcher would not be able to identify a case and effect relationship
• replicability= scientists are required to carefully record their methods and produce standardised procedures so that other scientists can repeat their experiments and observations

  since positive results could have been due to a unknown variable or by chance, so if the test is replicable and other researchers also get the same results then validity is achieved.
• falsifiability= the ability to be proven wrong by new evidence. Karl Popper argued that supporting evidence is not enough to prove a theory to be scientifically accurate.
• the black swan, popper gave an example theory of all swans are white as so far only white swans had been seen. however in Australia it was later reported to have seen a black swan, this falsified the theory. scientists must always be open to contradictory evidence, we can never prove a theory correct.
• paradigm shift= khun (1972) suggests scientific fields develop in a series of paradigm shifts.
• scientist all share a set of assumptions known as paradigms. scientists gather evidence to support these views. sometimes new evidence is found to contradict these views, however since most researchers are committed to the old paradigm they will not agree. however as more evidence is found it can result in paradigm shift as the paradigm has been changed.
• paradigm shift examples could be

  researchers at first rejected study of internal mental processes as they were not directly observable. however behaviourism used stimulus-response mechanisms and highly controlled studies to provide strong evidence to support their theories.

  wundt used controlled scientific experimentation to prove introspection, this was a paradigm shift to the previous concept of human behaviour as the result of sin.
• theory construction:

  1. observation- how is the behaviour shown in the real worlds
  2. hypothesis- to allow for an idea and controlled conditions
  3. conduct experiment and gain data- if data is significant then researcher can claim cause and effect relationship
  4. make a theory- results of experiment