PSYB32H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: External Validity, Informed Consent, Psychopathology
Document Summary
Science is the pursuit of systemized knowledge through observation. The term comes from the latin word scire" meaning, to know, refers to both a method and a goal. It is important for scientific observations and explanations to be testable and reliable. A scientific approach requires that propositions and ideas be stated in a clear and precise way. Statements, theories, and assertions must be testable in the public arena and subject to disproof. Closely related to testability is the requirement that each observation that contributes to scientific body of knowledge be replicable or reliable. It must occur under prescribed circumstances not once, but repeatedly. A theory is a set of propositions meant to explain a class of phenomena. The primary goal of science is to advance theories to account for data, often by proposing cause effect relationships. Empirical research allows the adequacy of theories to be evaluated.