PSYC 1000 Chapter 2: Chapter 2

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1000
• Professor: Paula Barata

Document Summary

The scientific approach to researching is often looked at as one of the most powerful techniques in research because of its objectivity. Objectivity: facts can be observed and tested independently from the individual who described them. Subjective: knowledge of an event is shaped by prior belief, expectation, experiences, or mood. Five characteristic of quality scientific research: based on measurements that are objective, valid, and reliable, can be generalized, uses techniques that reduce bias, made public, can be replicated, measurements are objective, valid, and reliable: Objective measurements: the measure of an entity or behaviour that, within an allowed margin of error, is consistent across instruments and observers. Variable: the object, concept, or event being measured. Operational definitions: statements that describe the procedures (or operations) and specific measures that are used to record observations. Validity: the degree to which an instrument or procedure actually measures what it claims to measure.