Assess The Validity Of Qualitative Research

There is much debate as to whether Psychology can be regarded as a ‘science’. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (Coleman, 2009) Psychology can be defined as the ‘scientific study of human behaviour and cognitive processes.’ Science is generally defined as the ‘systematic way or method of obtaining knowledge’ (Merriam-Webster, 2008). When we think of science, we think of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Psychology is often thought of as just ‘common sense’, however many of the perspectives in Psychology such as Biological, Behaviourist and Cognitive assert that they are scientific. There are other perspectives in Psychology such as Psychodynamic theory and Humanist which are considered to be non-scientific.

As a result to concluding the chapter “How to Think Straight about Psychology” by Keith E. Stanovich, the infinite doors into Psychology have opened. I was immediately engaged into the history and conflicts between the continuity of previous and modern day psychology. It was astounding to find the amount of distaste, backed by modern psychologists, on the workings of Sigmund Freud, who I had recently thought to be the foundation to all psychology. However, after reading on about the diversity of psychology, it became apparent that the extensive amounts of subjects within the realm of this study, make it difficult for scientist and the overall population to agree on one unified idea. Psychology has criteria that is ever changing, but limited to the time period of discovery.

Psychological studies are mainly based on the direct observation of human behavior, rather than reasoning or speculation. Psychology is like any other subject- the majority of people have a very shallow and basic understanding of what the study involves, and yet they lack a crucial knowledge of the major struggles and disagreements among those who study it. It does not surprise me that psychology is one of the more popular majors available. By nature, it sparks human curiosity, especially as to what contributes to the system of our thoughts and the pattern in our behaviors. For the first eighteen

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

Though there are many good and bad aspects of the scientific method, there is an underlying fault with all of them. The scientific method in psychology relies on empiricism. Empiricism is a view that all knowledge is derived from experience. The scientific method can ultimately be split into two attitudes. The first is the dogmatic attitude. Dogmatism is the wish to impose regularities on the basis that repetition of regularly occurring events mean that a belief in

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. The supporters embraces the traits of all the human experience from the functions of the brain to the emotions of nations, from the child development to care for the aged. In every possible setting form scientific research centers to all mental healthcare services.

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.

Let’s first define what psychology and applied psychology means and how it is applied. Psychology is the

In order to be considered a science, Psychology must consequently adhere to using a scientific method. If this were, as usual,

Psychologists use five steps of research to use scientific method: observations, hypotheses, test the hypotheses, making a conclusion, and analyzing conclusion. In order to understand scientific method better I will go through each step with examples from the American Journal of Public Health. First we start off with observation, which involves critical thinking. The curious researchers notice alcohol ads and wonder if the rise in the ads affects the public. Second the researchers form a hypothesis; in this case they believe that “alcohol advertising influences underage drinking.” (2010, p. 555). Third we begin to test whether or not there is a correlation between alcohol ads and underage drinking, which in this study they obtained television viewership data from Nielsen Media Research (NMR) for each alcohol ad appearing on a national cable net- work from 2001 to 2006 to get information on their topic (2010, p. 556). Fourth is drawing of a conclusion, researchers will look at the data they have collected. For this study almost all alcohol ads appeared in time slots with audiences made up of 30% or fewer underage viewers (2010, p. 558). Last we evaluate the conclusions, which according to King “never ends.” (2013, p. 16). This is the most important since it determines what all the data collected from the research actually means

The scientific method goes hand in hand with Psychology. Psychology is professionals trying to understand how their patients think, develop, understand, and their outcomes in certain situations. The scientific method is somewhat an organization to solving your problem and trying to understand what is happening.

Evaluating the quality of research is essential if findings are to be utilized in practice and incorporated into care delivery. In a previous article we explored ‘bias’ across research designs and outlined strategies to minimize bias.1 The aim of this article is to further outline rigor, or the integrity in which a study is conducted, and ensure the credibility of findings in relation to qualitative research. Concepts such as reliability, validity and generalizability typically associated with quantitative research and alternative terminology will be compared in relation to their application to qualitative research. In addition, some of the strategies adopted by qualitative researchers to enhance the credibility of their research are outlined.

The question that ‘psychology is a Science’ motivates a substantially critical debate amongst many professions, having very strong opinions. To come to a vigorous conclusion on this subject we must take into recognition both sides of the argument, what is science, and weather Psychology meets the principles of Science. In doing this the following essay will be debating the principles of science, the scientific unifying approach, poppers opinion on whether psychology is a science through his theory of falsification, and examples of past falsifiable psychology research. The further argument of weather psychology has been revolutionised by looking at Khun’s opinion, and Millers paper on the revolution of cognitive science.

Psychologists, just like any other scientist, use the scientific method for research and studies (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.28). Psychologists start of with a hypothesis that they then test through having a controlled test, gathering data, and finally analyzing the data to see if it goes with or against the hypothesis (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p. 29-31). All of the studies are conducted to eliminate any biases (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.36). Ethics are also always measured when doing research and help lay out basic guidelines for the experiments taking place (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.37). After organizing and analyzing all the data collected, researchers can then draw conclusions on the research. Researchers use descriptive characteristics to distinguish measurements of the people as well as inferential characteristics to measure the result of chance (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, pp. 41-43).