PSYCH 1F03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Pie Chart, Direct Manipulation Interface, Paradigm Shift
Document Summary
The scientific method: ensures reliable and meaningful research, provides a standardized process for scientific research, minimizes biases, conflicts and other problems in order to promote accurate results and scientific disclosure. Anecdotal evidence: evidence gathered from others or self experience. Insufficient to draw scientific conclusions: single experience might not be representative, personal experience might not represent others, cannot be sure that result is due to energy drinks alone. Experiment: tool to measure the effect of 1 variable on another. Independent variable: manipulated by scientists: dependent variable: observed by scientists. Problems: time consuming, costly, practice effect: improved performance other the course of the experiment due to becoming more experienced, between-subjects design, must consider confounding variables, one group acts as the control group. Confounding/extraneous variable: a variable other than the independent variable that has an effect on the results. Strict criteria: can hinder generalizability, difficult to find enough participants, limit the scope of conclusions.
