What Makes A Subject Scientific?

Question 1

Explain the use of paradigm and paradigm shifts

Answer 1

•The majority of researchers within a subject must agree with and work within this common paradigm. It’s like a set of universal laws and beliefs from which theories are constructed.

• Kuhn argues that a paradigm shift occurs when there is too much contradictory evidence to ignore. Many researchers would begin to question the accepted paradigm. There was a paradigm shift when we moved away from Newton’s law to Einstein’s in Physics.

Question 2

Explain the role of theory

Answer 2

• A theory explains observable behaviours and events, using a set of general principles. It can also be used to predict observations.
• Theories give purpose and direction to research by organising facts and patterns into a set of general principles
• Theories therefore generate testable
  hypotheses, which offer testable predictions of the facts organised by the theory

Question 3

Explain falsification

Answer 3

• Karl Popper suggested that psychologists should hold themselves up for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proven false. Even when a scientific principle has been successfully and repeatedly tested, it can still not necessarily be true.
• The theories that survive the most attempts to falsify them become the strongest - not because they are definitely true - but because they have not been proven false.

Question 4

Explain the role of hypothesis testing

Answer 4

• Hypothesis testing allows researchers to refute or support theory
• This is done in a controlled and organised way, altering one variable at a time
• The degree of support for a hypothesis determines the degree of confidence in a theory

Question 5

Explain the use of empirical methods

Answer 5

• Use careful observations and experiments to gather facts and evidence.
• Variables are highly controlled and objectively measured so
  that cause and effect relationships can be established.
• The empirical method that we are most familiar with is the laboratory experiment. In a lab experiment we can establish cause and effect through manipulation of an independent variable and careful control of extraneous variables.
• Empirical methods also use carefully standardised procedures so that replication (another key feature of science) is possible.

Question 6

Explain replication

Answer 6

• This means repeating the experiment by using the same method to see if the same results can be achieved.
• It is an essential feature of science because Replication increases confidence in results and a theory is strengthened through repeated attempts at falsification
• If a dramatic discovery is reported but it cannot be replicated by other scientists it will not be accepted
• If we get the same results over and over again under the same conditions, we can be sure of their accuracy beyond reasonable doubt.
• This gives us confidence that the results are reliable and can be used to build up a body of knowledge or a theory: vital in establishing a scientific theory and confirming its validity.

Question 7

Explain generalisation

Answer 7

• means applying results from a sample to a wider population/ other situations
• generalisation should be possible if a researcher has used a representative sampling technique, has a sample that is large enough in proportion to the population, findings are objective, an appropriate research method has been used to gather data

Question 8

Explain the role of peer review

Answer 8

• The scientific approach aims to be self-correcting. When errors in research happen systems are in place to check that the errors do not persist. One of these systems is replication. Another is peer review.
  •Peer review is essential for checking the quality and relevance of research
  •It also ensures that research is carried out honestly, rigorously and with integrity