Research, Statistics, and Psychology
Research, Statistics, and Psychology
PSY315
Jan 12, 2014
Without research methods and processes, an unimaginable amount of information would be lost to the world. Though research topics and researcher personalities vary greatly, universal truths or basics of research stand the test of time. In this paper, I examine the role of research and statistics in the field of psychology by explaining several important parts of research. I define research and the scientific method. I compare and contrast the characteristics of primary and secondary data. I also define statistics and describe their role in research. Diverse fields of study use research through the scientific method, primary data, secondary data, and statistics. Professionals use research to investigate topics, discover, and interpret facts. Research is also performed to revise theories. Psychological theories are consistently revisited. One psychologist will create the base of a school of thought, but later psychologists will expand and update the original work. The scientific method is used in research and is considered necessary for scientific investigation. The scientific method is a series of steps. Researchers identify a problem or area of interest, research to gather information, make hypothesis, empirically test hypothesis with experiments, make changes to hypothesis or tests if necessary, draw a conclusion, and write findings. According to "Merriam-Webster" (2014), “Many empirical sciences, especially the social sciences, use mathematical tools borrowed from probability theory and statistics, together with such outgrowths of these as decision theory, game theory, utility theory, and operations research” (scientific method). Psychologists and researchers from other fields can use different types of data. Primary and secondary data are used in research and experiments. Primary data is data collected from first hand experience.
PSY315
Jan 12, 2014
Without research methods and processes, an unimaginable amount of information would be lost to the world. Though research topics and researcher personalities vary greatly, universal truths or basics of research stand the test of time. In this paper, I examine the role of research and statistics in the field of psychology by explaining several important parts of research. I define research and the scientific method. I compare and contrast the characteristics of primary and secondary data. I also define statistics and describe their role in research. Diverse fields of study use research through the scientific method, primary data, secondary data, and statistics. Professionals use research to investigate topics, discover, and interpret facts. Research is also performed to revise theories. Psychological theories are consistently revisited. One psychologist will create the base of a school of thought, but later psychologists will expand and update the original work. The scientific method is used in research and is considered necessary for scientific investigation. The scientific method is a series of steps. Researchers identify a problem or area of interest, research to gather information, make hypothesis, empirically test hypothesis with experiments, make changes to hypothesis or tests if necessary, draw a conclusion, and write findings. According to "Merriam-Webster" (2014), “Many empirical sciences, especially the social sciences, use mathematical tools borrowed from probability theory and statistics, together with such outgrowths of these as decision theory, game theory, utility theory, and operations research” (scientific method). Psychologists and researchers from other fields can use different types of data. Primary and secondary data are used in research and experiments. Primary data is data collected from first hand experience.
References: bcps.org. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/statistics_role.html Merriam-webster. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scientific%20method Publish your articles. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.publishyourarticles.net/knowledge-hub/statistics/secondary-data-definition.html