The Scientific Method in Psychology - Essay Example

METHOD PSYCHOLOGY AND DATA Science of psychology The science of psychology is based on principles of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytical theory of the 20th century, primarily that of Sigmund Freud. The applicability of his psychoanalytical theories in the present is seen to be inherently viable in terms of defining individual motivations within a concept of society and integrating them into knowledge as a part of the scientific method of case observation and case study analysis. From the psychological perspective which was pioneered in the 20th century, the individual’s motivations are not seen from a biological impetus, but rather were reshaped through the use of mind theory. Freud’s theories are quite complicated relating to the unconscious. From a psychological perspective, the mind and emotions are in the forefront. For example, in a psychological perspective of morality, the individual, in his or her past and present, has stated that she or he believes that he has a moral obligation to do the right thing, but that this obligation is often overshadowed by his or her suspicion that doing the right thing will not always get him/her the positive rewards that she or he wants. This state is crucial to understanding the implications of psychological works of theory, in terms of the study of personality and what one can learn about these theories. And the moral yearning of the individual, implied from the psychological perspective, could be seen through the viewpoint of wish fulfillment as a natural psychoanalytical process. One could see these types of analysis as being valid or suspect, but, whatever one’s answer, psychological theories are alive and well in the realm of personality development. “Today the psychoanalytic ideas of Freud and his successors are ubiquitous in everything from childcare, education, literary criticism, and psychiatry. The ideas of Freud and his followers remains central even to those like Ken Wilber who are on the cutting edge of western academic thought” (Psychology, 2009). The individual’s moral hesitancy is an issue of psychoanalytical concern in terms of wish fulfillment, and can be seen in a general way to represent a perspective that is scientific and concerns society. The unconscious is a mysterious thing. Scientific method The scientific method is based on a process of theory generation and theory testing, in which a theory gains prominence, but there remains still room enough for shifts in paradigm. Therefore, in this line of argument, the scientific method needs to be malleable enough to account for these new questions without approaching the subjects of scientific exploration from too rigid a set of expectations. This kind of qualitative method is a naturalistic, observational method that elicits rich descriptions of context and culture. It alternates between a narrow and a broad focus. From this perspective, scientific researchers can study a wide range of topical subjects, including individual behavior, material conditions, and shared and taken for granted patterns of thought. These variables that may be taken for granted, by the population under study by psychological researchers may be seen in a new light as a result of the inherent scientific method of proof formation. Within the parameters of the scientific method, the researcher’s task is to assist the manager in formulating a research question that fits the need to resolve the dilemma. “A research question is the hypothesis of choice that best states the objective of the research study. It is a more specific management question that must be answered. It may be more than one question” (Robson, 2003). The scientific process also shows that there can be a multiplicity of research questions within the same study, rather than one for each study. “A reporting study may be made only to provide an account or summation of some data… a descriptive study tries to discover answer to the questions who, what when where, and sometimes how… an explanatory study goes beyond description and attempts to explain the reasons for the phenomenon” (Robson, 2003). There exist many different types of methods which can be used, but overall, the scientific method is one of theory generation and testing. The result, if the theory holds challenges is considered to be empirical evidence. Qualitative and quantitative data Qualitative and quantitative designs have different implications as they are defined theoretically and result in data. The general theoretical framework of many authors’ study is one of quantitative inquiry in scientific pursuits, because this type of research is more likely to yield hard statistical data. Qualitative designs tend more towards theory generation, whereas quantitative designs are more about theory testing. This is a generalization that can be made about these different types of designs, which have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Survey based experiments on a standard measure presented statistically as data, are examples of fixed research designs, which are more quantitative than qualitative and have more aspects of this type of data generation. Quantitative studies such as the one outlined in many reports’ methodologies tend to rely on hard data and statistics that can provide generalizable results about a population, whereas qualitative studies could be more of a case example or subjective viewpoint. “A research question is the hypothesis of choice that best states the objective of the research study. It is a more specific management question that must be answered. It may be more than one question” (Robson, 2003). Data may be presented in chart or narrative form. Mixed methods are also possible. Theory construction and testing In an operational definition, the statement of theory can be backed up by the fact that a good theory can be applied in situations with which one is not familiar, and it still works. “At the abstract conceptual level, a theory may be developed with deductive reasoning by going from a general statement to a specific assertion. Deductive reasoning is the logical process of deriving a conclusion about a specific instance based on a known general premise or truth” (Zikmund 2003). A good theory is practical because it can help us understand the relationships between variables and cause and effect relationships. Theories may differ in flexible and fixed designs. “Flexible research designs are much more difficult to pin down than fixed designs. This is in part because it is only in recent years that researchers have given consideration to the design issues which they raise.” (Robson, 2003). Although procedure often focuses on integration with theory construction and testing, providing general experience is also important. “Generalizability refers to the extent to which one can extend the account of a particular situation or population to other persons, times, or settings than those directly studied” (Robson, 2003). It is important for the scientific study to also show results that can be given to the general population from theory to reality in a way that shows how development of theory may have practical value. Sample sizes vary with different types of research. REFERENCE Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research. New York: Blackwell. Zikmund, W (2003). Proccess Based Research. New York: Thompson. Psychology and psychoanalysis (2009). http://www.kheper.net/topics/psychology/Freud.html Read More