PSYC 2030 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Empiricism, Nomothetic, The Paradigm Shift
15 Apr 2013
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Document Summary
Method: methodological pluralism: researchers use different tools and designs because each is limited in some way, each method represents and reflects a particular perspective on the phenomenon of interest and the multifaceted complexity of human nature. Assumptions: determinism: assumption that all events have causes, objectivity: without bias, can be verified by more than one observer. The problem of operational definitions in psychology: operational definitions identify variables on the basis of empirical conditions used to measure or to manipulate the variables. The natural science approach vs. the human science approach. In quantitative research, the empirical approach emphasizes numerical data: qualitative research: spoken words, prose descriptions of behaviour, and pictorial records. It is often instructive to use quantitative and qualitative methods in the same study. It can also be informative to systematically observe, and describe in prose, the demeanor of the participants. Human participation in psychological research: the term participant refers to the investigator as opposed to the research participants.
