There are two kinds of reasoning in scientific circles. Deductive reasoning involves the formation of a hypothesis and the testing of the hypothesis in order to form a conclusion. Inductive reasoning involves making a specific observation and coming up with a generalized conclusion based on what you have observed. In inductive reasoning, the observation comes first and then the hypothesis or general premise. Case studies involve inductive reasoning, while most experimental research relies on deductive reasoning. Theories are an interesting aspect of the scientific method. A theory can be created or modified by the observations made during experimentation. Alternatively, a theory can be the starting point in the formation of a new hypothesis. In such cases, the theory is not the endpoint of the experiment but is the starting point of a new hypothesis.
TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH Psychology research is often eclectic, which means it relies on knowledge acquired from other scientific fields of study. It is also research that is used as part of other areas of scientific study, such as the social sciences, medical science, and behavioral science. There are many different types of research methods used to study psychological processes. Because of the nature of psychology, not all research studies are of the same type. We will talk more about experimental psychology later in this chapter. This is a field of psychological research that uses inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning in order to arrive at specific hypotheses and conclusions. There are independent variables that are changed in the experiment, which have an effect on the dependent variable. There will be other variables, called extraneous variables, some of which can be tightly controlled, while others are confounding and interfere with the interpretation of the data. Controlled variables are known and are kept constant so that only the independent variable is changed as part of the experiment. Observational studies or observational research involves the observation of behaviors. There are several types of these studies. These include participant observations, non-
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