Theory, Method and Research Design

What is the basis of the Scientific Method? a) To test hypotheses in conditions that are condusive to its success. b) To formulate a research problem and disprove the hypothesis. c) To formulate a research problem, test the hypothesis in carefully controlled conditions that challenge the hypothesis. d) To test hypotheses and if they are disproved, they should be abandoned completely.

2

Which of the statements listed below most accurately refers to the "process" and "functional" types of explanation for human behaviour? a) "Process" explanation describes the precursors to or causes of types of behaviours, "functional" explains the reasons or intentionality behind certain patterns of behaviour. b) "Process" focuses on the reasons for certain behaviours. "Functional" explanations describe the causes of behaviour. c) Psychologists are limited to the use of "Process" explanations when describing behaviour as they are solely interested in predicting behaviour. "Functional" explanations are too subjective and therefore unreliable. d) The "Functional" explanation of human behaviour is preferred by psychologists as they are primarily interested in " how" certain behaviours occur. The "process" explanation is of little use as it only describes the events leading up to the behaviour, not the behaviour itself.

3	What is the main quality of a good theory? a) A theory that is proven to be right. b) A theory that has been disproved. c) A theory that has been falsified. d) A theory that has survived attempts at falsification.

4

Statistical methods were devised for use in psychology for the following reason... a) By examining probabilities, such methods enable the scientist to derive more exact conclusions concerning the research question. b) By assuming that theory-neutral observations are possible, using statistical methods of analysis provides the experimenter with a level of certainty about their theory. c) By assuming that theory-neutral observations are NOT possible, using statistical methods of analysis provides the experimenter with a level of certainty about their theory. d) Qualitative methods are too unreliable.

5

The positivist-realist tradition advocates the following approach to research... a) It is important to sate one's hypothesis clearly before conducting research. b) Hypothesis formation prior to conducting research is not important as more insight and understanding can be derived from the research process. c) Predicting behaviour is not a strong objective of research, interpretation is. d) The reliability and validity of data is not crucial to the research process.

6	Research may differ along a series of dimensions. Which of the following may be applied to this statement? a) The type of data collected. b) The data-collection technique. c) The level of manipulation used to elicit data collection. d) All of the above

7

Concerning the use of multiple methodologies, which of the following statements is false? a) There are no drawbacks to using multiple methodologies. They can only enhance our insight into the research question. b) When conducting psychological research, it is important to develop one method of testing hypotheses. The use of too many methodologies indicates a weakness in the research and should be avoided. c) Multiple methodologies are useful as they may indicate weaknesses in the theory. d) Using multiple methodologies is time-consuming and costly. There is no guarantee that the results will support the research question.