Psychology Dersi 2. Ünite Sorularla Öğrenelim

What is “science” ?

Science is the sum of organized, progressive, cumulative, and systematic knowledge which includes the act of research to determine what cause leads towhat effect and what is related to what.

What are the significant differences between science and philosophy ?

First difference between science and philosophy is philosophy asks questions, and strives to unfold the answers by reasoning but not by way of senses. On the contrary, science pursues its quest to find answers by using senses and the scientific methods. Second, philosophy tries to discover what should be, but science focuses on analyzing the relations that exist in nature. Lastly, science has to either prove or refute the knowledge that it produces. However, philosophy does not prove any piece of knowledge that it produces.

What are the fundamental characteristics of science ?

Some of the fundamental characteristics of science can be listed as follows:

• It is objective

• It focuses on the reality in nature

• It is systematic and organized

• It is cumulative

• It is replicable

How can we classify the “science” ?

Though there are several classifications of scientific fields, two broad classifications are widely accepted currently: physical sciences and social sciences. Physical sciences, also called natural sciences, is the general name for the branches of science such as physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, botany, and physiology. Social sciences is the common name used for those that study social events and humans’ social and cultural activities.

What is “theory” ?

Theory is a body of related principles that functions to explain, predict, and control a phenomenon.

Which measurement techniques are used in physical and social sciences ?

In physical sciences, generally direct measurement is employed which refers to measuring the target features without any influence from other variables. In this measurement type, the features of the variable to be measured and the measurement tool are of the same kind. Social sciences mostly use indirect measurement techniques. Indirect measurement refers to measuring a variable that is not fit for direct measurement by using measurement tools that supposedly measure this particular variable.

What makes scientific knowledge to differentiate from other types of knowledge ?

Scientific knowledge differentiates from other types of knowledge because it is based on scientific method and scientific research. Scientific research is a systematic process of data collection and analysis. In other words, it is a methodological study conducted in relation to science. Method, on the other hand, refers to a path that is paved in accordance with a plan in order to access some specific results.

How can we categorize scientific research studies ?

Depending on the quality of the knowledge they generate, scientific research studies are categorized as fundamental and applied studies. Fundamental research studies are those that aim either to develop or test a theory. Applied research studies, on the other hand, produce suggestions for practice based on the findings of fundamental research.

What are the fundamental stages of scientific research conducted within psychology ?

The fundamental stages of scientific research conducted within psychology are:

• Finding the research subject

• Identifying the research problem

• Gathering data about the problem

• Determining hypotheses/research questions

• Identifying the research method

• Conducting the research

• Analyzing the data

• Reporting the findings and results

What are the characteristics of a research problem ?

The research problem should be researchable, observable, measurable, and assessable.

What are the important properties of Measurement instruments ?

Measurement instruments used to collect data must be reliable and valid. Reliability is a degree which indicates that the measurement instrument is free from mistakes. In order to secure reliability, the measurement instrument should be objective, it should provide similar results on repeated measurements, and the number of materials (questions) should be adequate and compatible. Validity is a degree which represents how well a measurement instrument is goal-oriented.

What are the major paradigms in social science studies ?

There are two major paradigms in social science studies: qualitative and quantitative paradigms. In recent years, mixed paradigm studies that contain both qualitative and quantitative factors havealso developed as the third paradigm.

Which research method can determine the cause-effect relationship ?

Cause and effect relationship can only be determined by experimental research.

What is the aim of qualitative approach ?

Qualitative approach is a research model aiming to determine perceptions and events as realistically and holistically as possible through use of qualitative data collection techniques such as observation, interview, and document analysis.

What are the primary research designs used within qualitative research ?

Primary research designs employed within qualitative research are ethnography (culture analysis), phenomenology, grounded theory, case study, and action research.

What is the observer effect ?

Observer effect is the tendency that the participants have not to behave naturally due to the influence of being observed.

What are the basic data collection techniques used in qualitative research ?

Some of the basic data collection techniques utilized in qualitative research are observation, interview, and document analysis.

What are the research designs used within mixed methods research ?

Three sub-methods employed in mixed methods research are sequential, concurrent, and transformative mixed methods.

What is plagiarism ?

Plagiarism means using others’ studies without citing, or manipulating them on purpose.

What are the main ethical principles in conducting research ?

There are four main ethical principles that researchers have to follow :

• Not harming the participants

• Granting written consent from the participants

• Preserving confidentiality

• Avoiding scientific deception