PSYC 1030H Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: General Idea, Descriptive Statistics, Random Assignment
20 Mar 2019
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Reliability: extent to which observations can be replicated, are measures dependable or stable, common factors affecting reliability: Validity: extent to which observations actually reflect the topic of interest in a given study. Seven stages of the scientific method in psychology: description of the research problem. This stage sets the stage for all later stages. We begin to transform it from a general idea into a testable study. We create or choose our operational definitions for the study: prediction. We formulate testable predictions or hypotheses (about our operational definitions) Hypotheses are usually based on theories (statements which summarize and explain prior research findings: select our research methodology. At the stage we choose the most appropriate research strategy for answering your hypotheses: taking control of your variables. We try to eliminate all unwanted factors that may affect what we are trying to study: collect data. Data collection is simply the implementation of the research design.
