Activity Type Title

Chapter 1. Chapter

Infographic

Scientific American: Psychology

Infographic Activity 1.3: The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method

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Psychologists use the scientific method to conduct research. The scientific method allows researchers to collect empirical (objective) evidence by following a sequence of carefully executed steps. In this infographic, you can trace the steps taken in an actual research project performed by two psychologists who were interested in the effect of “counting your blessings” (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). Notice that the process is cyclical in nature. Answering one research question often leads researchers to develop additional questions, and the process begins again.

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1.1 Quiz

1. Which of the following terms is the best synonym for the word “empirical?”

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B.
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D.

Correct.
Incorrect.

2. The scientific method consists of several steps that must progress in a logical sequence. The first step in that sequence is clearly:

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D.

Correct.
Incorrect.

3. Mark is conducting a research study in which he has hypothesized that people will have greater difficulty running a distance of one-quarter of a mile after they are exposed to second-hand smoke for 5 minutes. He has enlisted the participation of several people, and has divided them up into two groups. He has gathered data from how well people ran the quarter-mile distance whether they were or were not exposed to the second hand smoke. How will he now be able to determine if his hypothesis was correct?

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Correct.
Incorrect.

4. The reference for a complete journal article follows a specific format. Which of the following pieces of information is not found in such a reference?

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Correct.
Incorrect.

5. You are writing an article that will summarize the research you have done in your particular field of psychology. There is a lot of data to present, and you have decided to do so using a series of charts and graphs so that the reader will have all of that information in one place. In which section of a standard scientific article would these graphs and charts be most likely to appear?

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Correct.
Incorrect.