Understanding and Applying Research Design

2

THEORIES AND HYPOTHESES

In our first chapter we illustrated ways in which our perceptions and processing of data are influenced and biased. We noted our need to have more structured ways of observing the world. The scientific method gives us a systematic way to understand what we observe. Is what we observe real or representative? What do our observations tell us about similar phenomena? The scientific method ensures as much objectivity as possible in how we think about and then observe the world. Within our discussion of the scientific method, we are going to focus on the “wheel of science.” Wheels represent a whole, in our case a whole process. The four basic spokes to the wheel are theory, hypotheses, observation, and empirical generalization, as noted in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. The Wheel of Science model.

The Wheel of Science has two starting points, the deductive and inductive. Deductive science begins with the theory, statements that explain the patterns we observe. When we begin with theory, we know what we are looking for and are able to deduce—derive conclusions from the assumptions of the theory, so that we know what we expect to see. Theory drives the research, allowing us to formulate hypotheses that we can then test. The testing involves collecting observations: what do we see happening in the real world? Once we’ve collected the observations, we are then able to ...