Question

Provide answers/responses to the following.

1. What is the scientific method and process of scientific research.
2. What is the difference between a theory and hypothesis?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of descriptive, experimental, and correlational research?

Paper Requirements. Provide an introduction, conclusion, citations and title/reference page. Double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins in APA Format (Sample Paper Attached). Page length: 2-3

Answer 1

Answer 1.

Research in Psychology involves a great deal of precision as the findings tend to propose about the existence of a phenomena in the whole gamut of the population. Therefore, It becomes essential that researchers select their method with utmost care. The process of the scientific method provides one of the strong means for obtaining data for research. It involves making statements(hypotheses) about the causal relationship between events, deriving predictions from them, and then carrying out experiments or empirical observations based on those predictions.

The rational behind the scientific method is that a study should be objective in that two different researchers studying the same. Usually, we may show the scientific method as a series of steps:

Ask a Research Question: The scientific method starts when we ask a question about something that we had observed: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, etc. ( Gauch, 2003). For simplicity and clarity it is pertinent that the research question is kept as a simple inquisitive statement about two or more variables in a population.

Constructing a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work such as ‘ an increase in the rate of smoking reduces the level of stress’.Hypothesis testing helps to answer the question with an explanation that can be tested. A good hypothesis allows us to then make a prediction by exploring the validity of our claims about the relationship between smoking cigarette and temporary release from stress.

Then during the phase of carrying out the study, it is significant that one uses a fair test or measurement which is objective. This means that the tools and the method of procuring data should be neutral and impartial towards each participant and additional intervening factors due to population demographics such as age, gender, class, socioeconomic status, religious identity, etc are kept constant by including the sample using randomisation so that these differences get equally spread out across the participants and we can establish the existence of significant relationship between the variables with confidence.

Analysis of Data and Drawing Conclusion: After collecting the measurements, we perform required statistical tests to analyse the data and see if they support our hypothesis or not.

The research can then be published in the form of a final report in a or they can be presented in a scientific meeting to build an objective exchange of ideas and further brainstorming over the validity and significance of the research.

Thus we see that in this way, researchers utilise the rigour of scientific principles in determining their research practice and yield a continuous pool of causal explanations about varied phenomena in their world.

References:
Gauch, Hugh G. (2003). Scientific Method in Practice (Reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0521017084.