Assess The Validity Of Psychological Research In Psychology

There has been an ongoing debate on whether psychology is indeed scientific, although recent, psychology is now considered a science. This is because it uses scientific methodology in researching, devising treatments and measuring the outcomes. These methods include collecting and analysing data and concluding their findings in order to identify whether the research or treatment adequality solves the problem. Scientific studies must be replicable, this means the if repeated exactly the same, the results should produce an identical outcome. Replicability can be increased by ruling out any alternatives that may not have originally been thought of. Objectivity in science is the idea that scientist, in an attempt to get the best results, must first

This essay examines the advantages and disadvantages of using a method primarily for gathering research on human subjects that can be examined for later use. It will give a basic outline of the methods of investigation, their uses and their suitability. I will also look at the scientific method as a whole and examine the criticisms of this method using the writings of Hume and Popper.

Example; you have a cat and the cat just playing around with a ball and when you

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christina McElroy, Department of Psychology, Introduction to Research, Liberty University, 1971 Liberty University Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24515. E-mail: cmcelroy1@liberty.edu

The sample for this study consisted of 222 participants who were second year psychology students from the University of Newcastle. All students were participating as part of a course requirement and all had given their consent to participating in the study.

The materials used for this study included PsychMate Student Version 2.0 (St. James, Walter Schneider and Amy Eschman.) Psychology Software Tools, Inc. Along with the PsychMate software, a computer provided by Queens College was used in order to successfully complete the study.

Brace, N. and Byford, J. (2012) Investigating Psychology, Oxford, Oxford University Press/Milton Keynes, The Open University

The subject of this report is Sarah Hix, a junior in 2nd period AP Psychology. Based on these naturalistic observations, some conclusions were met.

When it comes to the scientific method, especially in the science of psychology, there are many different ways a question can be asked in order to get the conclusion to a hypothesis. Psychology is by its nature something that not only produces many questions but also helps to find the answer to those questions. Through asking the right questions a person can see a whole new world of understanding unfold before them. This understanding of why a person or animal acts the way it does has been groundbreaking in the growth of understanding a individual on a much deeper level than the sociological standpoint. Before this understanding can be obtained however one must learn first how to ask a proper question and then in turn how to test that

Research, systematic inquiry aimed at the discovery of new knowledge, is a central ingredient of the scientific method in psychology. It provides the key to understanding the degree to which hypotheses (and the theories behind them) are accurate. Just as we can apply different theories and hypotheses to explain the same phenomena, we can use a number of alternative methods to conduct research.

Michelle Russel, in the department of psychology at Florida State University, conducted an observational experiment along with her colleagues Levi Baker and James McNulty, on the ongoing question of

Studies such as the afore mentioned Milgram study showed that what may appear to be the most expected outcome may, in truth, be very different. I would also go on to argue that in actuality all sciences are some adaptation of common sense (Oppenheimer, 1956), leaving Psychology in this way, no different to any of the others. Ben Goldacre even argues that particular forms of science, such as neuroscience, regularly offer empirically incorrect research in reputable journals, claiming statistically significant results without the appropriate statistical tests (Guardian).

1. Empiricism states that knowledge can only be derived from the senses. Every science utilizes the empirical approach, which has developed into the utilization of the scientific method to gain knowledge. (McLeod, 2008) Since psychology depends on the scientific method to attain knowledge, psychology can conclusively be considered a science. Besides empirical evidence, some other key traits of a science are the following: objectivity, control, predictability, hypothesis testing, and replication. (McLeod, 2008) Psychology ensures objectivity via single-, double-, and triple-blind experiments. Causation can only be confirmed in psychology through an experiment where all variables (besides the independent

Psychological research may be undertaken on a subset of society; however the importance of the results may have an effect way beyond the group tested. The value of psychological research varies and the same results can be used in different ways by different groups of society.

At the beginning of this subterm, I had a limited understanding of the proper research methods used within psychology. Despite having previously completed several psychology courses, two being upper level courses, there was still much I needed to learn pertaining to psychology research methods. While this research class has been on only an introductory