PSYB32H3 Chapter 5: Chapter 5
Document Summary
Chapter 5: research methods in the study of abnormal behaviour. science is the pursuit of systemization knowledge thru observation; refers to both method (the systematic acquisition and evaluation of info) and to a goal (the development of general theories that explain the info) Important for scientific explanations to be testable (open to systematic probes) and reliable (replicable) statements, theories and assertions, must be testable in the public arena and subject to disproof. hypothesis must be amenable to systematic testing that could show it to be false. each observation that contributes to the scientific body of knowledge be replicable or reliable. I t must be replicable meaning that it should occur under prescribed circumstances not once but repeatedly. Theory is a set of propositions meant to explain a class of phenomena- advance theories account for data by proposing cause-effect relationships. Theories can play important role in guiding research by suggesting certain additional data be collected.
