The Scientific Method

The Scientific MethodThe scientific method is used to:Make better decisionsUsually business decisionsBuild theoryUnderstand the world betterThe scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeChoose a method to fill in the gaps Carefully construct a means to gather data on the questionCarry out the data collection method and organize the dataEvaluate the data that have been collectedMake a provisional statement about the original questionEvaluate the process and the new knowledge to determine whether additional research is necessary The scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isSo what is the question, anyway?This seems pretty straightforward at first.You might need to make a business decisionYou might need to choose one or another medical treatmentYou might want to decide which movie to go seeHowever, many times we are fairly uncertain about the nature of the problem at hand.You are not understanding your math homeworkwhats the problem?What is the question?We may have only a vague notion what it is we want to study.Why do people choose one TV show over another?Why do some teens take to the Internet while others dont?What are the effects of exposure to hip-hop?What is the question?Some questions have many different dimensions.What is the impact of gender on video game use?Choice of gamesGameplayLikelihood of buyingConsole preferenceGratifications receivedWhat is the question?Just about any question can be approached many different waysCognitiveAttitudinalSocialEconomicPoliticalAestheticNote:The most common and most significant mistake in social science is to skimp on the development of the question. Once a researcher gets to the point where she is choosing measures and methods, there is no saving a poorly-developed question.The scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastFind out what has been learned in the pastEfficiencyDont reinvent the wheel. Gain insights from those who have studied the topic in the pastAppropriate theoryResearch method effectivenessFind out whats been learned in the pastHow?Complete a literature reviewWhat literature should I review?It depends partly upon the questionHowever, some literature is better than other literatureRefereed journalsEdited booksGovernment publicationsSecondary data analysisThere may be data already available that can answer your question but has not yet been used for that purposeSave time and moneyOmnibus surveysThe main problem is that these studies rarely have exactly the data you wantTheres a tradeoff between money savings and quality of the data for your purposeThe scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeAreas of insufficient knowledgeIf the information available in the literature is not adequate to meet your needs, you will need to generate new information that can be brought to bear on your questionMay need to localize the informationLocal ratingsMay need to apply knowledge about one medium to anotherMay need to choose between competing theoriesNature v. nurtureThe scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeChoose a method to fill in the gaps in our knowledge Choose a methodMethods are more or less appropriate depending on the question asked and the conditions the research is carried out underStudying childrens learning from Sesame StreetFinding out what kinds of content will be most effective in getting people to vote for Rand PaulFiguring out what types of online video content generates the most sales

Choose a methodExperimentLaboratory or naturalSurveyDistribution methodsObservationText analysisContent analysis or qualitative textual analysisThe scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeChoose a method to fill in the gaps Carefully construct a means to gather data on the questionCarefully construct a means to gather data on the questionThe development of an actual, real-world study takes careful planning and attention to detailMany decisions have to be made, some of which seem rather trivial but can have an important impact on the final outcome.Should I use a four-point or five-point scale?Should I show the film in the subjects homes or in a lab?How large a sample should I take? Does it need to be random?The scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeChoose a method to fill in the gaps Carefully construct a means to gather data on the questionCarry out the data collection method and organize the dataCarry out the data collection method and organize the dataA lot of things can go wrong with even a well-planned study when it enters the field. Your clips may have a screwed-up soundtrack. There may be someone in the house who is disruptive during a survey interview. Some spectacular event in the news may heavily color questions on a related topic. Weather could cause delay or cancellation of focus groups. You may plan poorly and introduce error into your own study You could fail to treat all subjects equallyCarry out the data collection method and organize the dataYou have to be careful in handling the data not to either lose or fail to record important informationIts easier to do than you thinkEspecially in field studiesAlways, always, always back your data and codebook upThe scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeChoose a method to fill in the gaps Carefully construct a means to gather data on the questionCarry out the data collection method and organize the dataEvaluate the data that have been collectedEvaluate the data that have been collectedThis is the analysis portion of your studyHypothesis testingStatistical analysisIn some cases you will engage in more inductive and/or subjective analysesNoteWhile many researchers spend a great amount of time applying advanced and complicated statistical analyses to their data, fairly simple and straightforward analysis procedures can be just as effectiveThe scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeChoose a method to fill in the gaps Carefully construct a means to gather data on the questionCarry out the data collection method and organize the dataEvaluate the data that have been collectedMake a provisional statement about the original questionMake a provisional statement about the original questionDid the data support your hypotheses?Its not always entirely clear. If the hypotheses are stated statistically, you can usually say yes or no (though people try to cheat). If they are not, then theres quite a bit of interpretation to do in evaluating the fit of the data to a particular theory or set of concerns.If youre partly right and partly wrong, what do you do?The scientific method follows a logical sequenceDetermine what the question isFind out what has been learned in the pastIdentify areas of insufficient knowledgeChoose a method to fill in the gaps Carefully construct a means to gather data on the questionCarry out the data collection method and organize the dataEvaluate the data that have been collectedMake a provisional statement about the original questionEvaluate the process and the new knowledge to determine whether additional research is necessary Evaluate the process and the new knowledge to determine whether additional research is necessary Heres where you go back and with the benefit of hindsight determine for yourself whether the study you did ended up providing you with new that is sufficient or whether you need to engage in further study (keeping in mind the additional cost of additional research) You also speculate as to how what you have learned fits into the larger pictureWhat does it all mean, anyway?Your write-up should include your conclusions and recommendations for further researchContinuing processHaving identified the further needs for research in the area of study you have set up a base for the next round of explicationThe process continues