Philosophy, science, open science phase test Flashcards
What is Publication bias?
Publication bias refers to the selective publication of research studies based on their results. Here, studies with positive findings are more likely to be published than studies with negative findings.
Positive findings are also likely to be published quicker than negative ones. As a consequence, bias is introduced: results from published studies differ systematically from results of unpublished studies.
What is Science?
‘A systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe’.
What is involved in the scientific method?
Creating hypothesis based on existing data and theory.
Testing the hypothesis using observation
Accept or disprove the hypothesus
If possible intergrate findings into a theory, either showing it can or cannot account for findings.
How can we test a hypothesis?
We can use experiments to establish causality.
Observational methods will not allow for causality to be established. But the researcher may just want to study if there is a relationship between A and B.
How can we be certain that the scientific method works?
Need to think about study design and eliminating bias.
Need to be clear on what was done and why.
Peer review proccess.
Is psychology a science
The conversation artcile contains arguements on whether psychology can be seen as a science.
Psychology is made up of many different approaches such as cognitive neuroscience (more scientifical method) and psychoanalysis. Therefore hard to answer.
Is psychology a science- Quantitative methodologies
Typically concerned with collecting numeric data through experimentation.
Hypotheses are tested by using statistical analysis.
Is psychology a science- Qualitative methodologies
Related to a range of philosophical approaches.
Conversion analysis is used which is argued as scientific due to data analysis being about the sequential aspects of the speech which uses a bottom up approach (data driven).
Although there are top down approaches.
How does science develop?
Popper sees science of a process of deduction where you cannot prove a theory is true. You can only prove that a prediction of the theory is false. - Falsification
How is a theory scientific? What criteria
It must be logical (no contradictary parts)
Must be testable via experience
Must be parsimonious
The components of the theory must reflect real experience.
Falsification- Darwin and evolution
Any findings of human bones at the same time of dinasours would falsify the theory of evolution.
Why do we need theories?
We cannot explain something without a theory of the underlying process.
They allow us to make predictions and account for data.
If the theory created doesn’t capture the data then we can add on information to make a theory work but this is a problem because it makes falsification impossible. This is called PARISMONY (favouring simple theorys.
How robust is the scientific method?
Every study is wrong to some extent.
Specific sample (psychology is based on WEIRD samples (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democracies) which limits generalisations
Tests a theory in a very specific context
Validity
Reliability- The role of chance
Explain Thomas Kuhn- The structure of scientific revolutions
In a field of enquiry there may be a dominant paradigm which is a way of doing and thinking about what is being explored.
A paradigm shift is when the way of doing things change and the critera of the way in measuring also changes.
What happens when we’re in a dominant paradigm?
Over time we repeatedly try and refine our tools and measures to provide explanatory power. However we eventually have an understanding the phenomenon is wrong and a new idea is put forward. This paradigm may have a whole new set of tools and ideas and ways of measuring things.
