Take out straightforward points in the following statement and write them in point form
Many people begin to feel anxious when they encounter a term such as ‘the scientific method’.
However, as Kosso (2011) notes, we all practise such methods every day. You want to eat a snack
and open a packet of biscuits. But you notice they are soft and taste a bit stale, so you check the
‘best before’ date and see that they expired some months ago. What has happened here is that you
developed a hypothesis (‘the biscuits are stale’), gathered consistent evidence from two sources
(how they look and taste, and their expiry date) and interpreted that evidence in the light of your
knowledge about food. In scientific studies, these methods are slowed down and undertaken more
deliberately, but the process is basically the same (Kosso, 2011).
A researcher using the scientific method would follow these steps (considered in more detail in
Chapter 2):
• Ask a question (e.g. ‘Is there a difference in psychology marks between male and female
students?’).
• Do background research (what have other researchers found?).
• Formulate a hypothesis (e.g. ‘Female students get higher marks’. This may be because they are
more mature when they reach university or they are more serious about their studies).
• Collect data – this enables the hypothesis to be accepted or rejected (the researcher could look at
all of the undergraduate first-year psychology marks for the last 10 years).
• Analyse the data (e.g. by averaging all of the male students’ marks and all of the female students’
marks, the researcher will be able to say which group gets higher marks).
• Communicate the results (e.g. publish them in a journal).
- Many people feel anxious when hearing the term 'scientific method'
- Everyone uses scientific methods in daily life
- Developing a hypothesis, gathering evidence, and interpreting evidence are key components of the scientific method
- In scientific studies, these methods are undertaken more deliberately but the process is the same
- Steps for researchers using the scientific method include asking a question, doing background research, formulating a hypothesis, collecting data, analyzing data, and communicating results.