PSYC 203 Chapter 2: Where to Start
Document Summary
Hypotheses and predictions: hypothesis a tentative idea or question that is waiting for evidence to support or refute it, once the hypothesis is proposed, data must be gathered and evaluated in terms of whether the evidence is consistent or inconsistent with the hypothesis, prediction the researcher tries to determine the outcome of the experiment, note: when the results of a study confirm a prediction, the hypothesis is only supported, not proven. Sources of ideas: common sense, the things we all believe to be true, observations of the world around us, observations of personal and social events can provide many ideas for research, curiosity sparks questions, theories, theory consists of a systematic body of ideas about a particular topic or phenomenon.
