21. What do we mean by "scientific study" and why is this important?
A study is regarded as scientific if the following three standards have been met:
• Structured observations are made from which valid conclusions may be drawn
• The research and its conclusions are subjected to peer review
• The findings are refutable
22. Why is scientific study important?
It enables us to acquire knowledge based on verifiable evidence.
23. What does double-blind mean?
When a "double-blind" procedure is used in a study, it means that neither the participants nor the researchers know which condition the participants have been assigned to. For example, a researcher may want to find out whether it is the sugar in the chocolate or just the idea that eating chocolate makes people happy, that improves a person’s mood. One way to do this, would be to use a double-blind study in which participants were given either normal chocolate or sugar free chocolate and neither the researchers nor the participants will be able to tell which chocolate they had been given.
24. Why is this important?
The "double-blind" procedure is one of a number of general control procedures that is designed to minimise the effect of two things:
• Experimenter effects, which occur as a result of what the researcher knows about the participant. The researcher may unwittingly treat participants slightly differently based on this knowledge. For example, if a researcher wants to study whether science students differ in numerical skills compared to art students using a specific numerical task, he/she might explain the instructions slightly differently to the different groups based on this knowledge, which may have an impact on how respondents perform on the task. Thus, we cannot know if their performance is based on their numerical skills or whether they were given more/less detailed instruction.
• Demand characteristics, which are details about the study that indicate to the participants how to behave. For example, a researcher wants to establish whether people can detect slight differences in air temperature. If people are told when they will be exposed to cold air and when to warm air, it would be very difficult to discern if their responses are the result of the ability to feel the change in air temperature (which is what the study is about) or whether it is because they were told the air temperature has changed.
A study is regarded as scientific if the following three standards have been met:
• Structured observations are made from which valid conclusions may be drawn
• The research and its conclusions are subjected to peer review
• The findings are refutable
22. Why is scientific study important?
It enables us to acquire knowledge based on verifiable evidence.
23. What does double-blind mean?
When a "double-blind" procedure is used in a study, it means that neither the participants nor the researchers know which condition the participants have been assigned to. For example, a researcher may want to find out whether it is the sugar in the chocolate or just the idea that eating chocolate makes people happy, that improves a person’s mood. One way to do this, would be to use a double-blind study in which participants were given either normal chocolate or sugar free chocolate and neither the researchers nor the participants will be able to tell which chocolate they had been given.
24. Why is this important?
The "double-blind" procedure is one of a number of general control procedures that is designed to minimise the effect of two things:
• Experimenter effects, which occur as a result of what the researcher knows about the participant. The researcher may unwittingly treat participants slightly differently based on this knowledge. For example, if a researcher wants to study whether science students differ in numerical skills compared to art students using a specific numerical task, he/she might explain the instructions slightly differently to the different groups based on this knowledge, which may have an impact on how respondents perform on the task. Thus, we cannot know if their performance is based on their numerical skills or whether they were given more/less detailed instruction.
• Demand characteristics, which are details about the study that indicate to the participants how to behave. For example, a researcher wants to establish whether people can detect slight differences in air temperature. If people are told when they will be exposed to cold air and when to warm air, it would be very difficult to discern if their responses are the result of the ability to feel the change in air temperature (which is what the study is about) or whether it is because they were told the air temperature has changed.
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