Passer notes
CHAPTER 1
Ways of knowing
- Tenacity = knowing sth. b/c we have believed it for a long time
- Authority = knowing things b/c others tell us that that is how it is
- Reason = uses logic & rational arguments to attain knowledge
- Empiricism = attaining knowledge through experience & observation
- Systematic empiricism = systematic gathering & evaluation of empirical evidence
Goals of science
- Description, explanation, prediction and control
o Scientists describe phenomena and try to explain why they occur w/ hypotheses & theories
o Hypotheses (can be derived from a theory) is converted into an if-then prediction & then tested
w/ empirical data
o When gathering data, scientists try to control all other influencing factors to rule out their
effect
o If two variables are associated, knowledge about one can lead to predictions about the other
o Control can also be applied to influence events/behaviour in ways that benefit people
- Science assumes that occurrences have underlying causes that are discoverable
- Science is empirical, systematic & focusses on testable questions
- Accuracy & objectivity: concepts must be clearly defined and operationalised when conducting
research
- Science is tentative → if new knowledge is uncovered previous knowledge is subject to review ➔
science is self-correcting
- Science has limitations: it cannot answer nonempirical questions
Types of research
- Basic research is conducted to examine the fundamental nature of phenomena
- Applied research is conducted to solve/evaluate a specific, real world problem
- Basic and applied research benefit each other
- Scepticism: questioning the validity of claims before accepting them
- Scepticism & critical thinking can help prevent being misled by false info & claims
CHAPTER 3
Conducting ethical research
Ethics – a system of moral principles and standards
Affects:
1)how scientists conducted research and 2) the public’s and scientific community’s faith in the value of the
scientific research
- Type of research and procedures
- Recruitments of participants
- Data storage, analysis and reporting
- Validity of conclusions
- Protection of participants
, Passer notes
- Public’s willingness to participate
- Public’s acceptance of research
- Trust in integrity
Nuremberg code – set of medical principles necessary un medical research
→ created after many experiments conducted by Nazi in concentration camp inmates
Principles:
- Consent must be voluntary and can withdraw at any time
- People should be informed about experiment
- Risks should be avoided
- Results should yield benefits to society that outweigh risks
- Qualified scientists should conduct the research
Belmont report – ethics code for human research
→ created after Syphilis study
Principles:
- Respect for persons - obtaining consent
- Beneficence – assessing advantages and risks
- Justice – selecting participants in a just way (do not take advantage of any group and allow treatment
to all)
Common rule – federal policies that specifies ethics regulations for human subjects research
Criteria:
- Intervention
- Interaction
- Private information
- Individual identification
APA code
Principles:
- Beneficence and nonmaleficence
- Fidelity and responsibility
- Integrity
- Justice
- Respect for people’s rights and dignity
Ambiguity – terms are broad and no specific guidelines on how to act
- Difficulty for researcher in deciding how a principle applies to a case
- Disagreement between researcher an ethics committee (maybe have different opinion on what is
moral or not)
- Different committees reach different conclusions
- Adhering to on standard might interfere with another one
- Different parties or participants involved might have competing interests – if moral with one cannot be
with the other..
Institutional review board (IRB) – independent institutional committee that evaluates whether proposed
research with human participants complies with federal ethics regulations
- Should have at least 5 members of which
1. Not affiliated with the institution
CHAPTER 1
Ways of knowing
- Tenacity = knowing sth. b/c we have believed it for a long time
- Authority = knowing things b/c others tell us that that is how it is
- Reason = uses logic & rational arguments to attain knowledge
- Empiricism = attaining knowledge through experience & observation
- Systematic empiricism = systematic gathering & evaluation of empirical evidence
Goals of science
- Description, explanation, prediction and control
o Scientists describe phenomena and try to explain why they occur w/ hypotheses & theories
o Hypotheses (can be derived from a theory) is converted into an if-then prediction & then tested
w/ empirical data
o When gathering data, scientists try to control all other influencing factors to rule out their
effect
o If two variables are associated, knowledge about one can lead to predictions about the other
o Control can also be applied to influence events/behaviour in ways that benefit people
- Science assumes that occurrences have underlying causes that are discoverable
- Science is empirical, systematic & focusses on testable questions
- Accuracy & objectivity: concepts must be clearly defined and operationalised when conducting
research
- Science is tentative → if new knowledge is uncovered previous knowledge is subject to review ➔
science is self-correcting
- Science has limitations: it cannot answer nonempirical questions
Types of research
- Basic research is conducted to examine the fundamental nature of phenomena
- Applied research is conducted to solve/evaluate a specific, real world problem
- Basic and applied research benefit each other
- Scepticism: questioning the validity of claims before accepting them
- Scepticism & critical thinking can help prevent being misled by false info & claims
CHAPTER 3
Conducting ethical research
Ethics – a system of moral principles and standards
Affects:
1)how scientists conducted research and 2) the public’s and scientific community’s faith in the value of the
scientific research
- Type of research and procedures
- Recruitments of participants
- Data storage, analysis and reporting
- Validity of conclusions
- Protection of participants
, Passer notes
- Public’s willingness to participate
- Public’s acceptance of research
- Trust in integrity
Nuremberg code – set of medical principles necessary un medical research
→ created after many experiments conducted by Nazi in concentration camp inmates
Principles:
- Consent must be voluntary and can withdraw at any time
- People should be informed about experiment
- Risks should be avoided
- Results should yield benefits to society that outweigh risks
- Qualified scientists should conduct the research
Belmont report – ethics code for human research
→ created after Syphilis study
Principles:
- Respect for persons - obtaining consent
- Beneficence – assessing advantages and risks
- Justice – selecting participants in a just way (do not take advantage of any group and allow treatment
to all)
Common rule – federal policies that specifies ethics regulations for human subjects research
Criteria:
- Intervention
- Interaction
- Private information
- Individual identification
APA code
Principles:
- Beneficence and nonmaleficence
- Fidelity and responsibility
- Integrity
- Justice
- Respect for people’s rights and dignity
Ambiguity – terms are broad and no specific guidelines on how to act
- Difficulty for researcher in deciding how a principle applies to a case
- Disagreement between researcher an ethics committee (maybe have different opinion on what is
moral or not)
- Different committees reach different conclusions
- Adhering to on standard might interfere with another one
- Different parties or participants involved might have competing interests – if moral with one cannot be
with the other..
Institutional review board (IRB) – independent institutional committee that evaluates whether proposed
research with human participants complies with federal ethics regulations
- Should have at least 5 members of which
1. Not affiliated with the institution
