a potential alternative cause of an observed relationship between variable
Applied Research
conducted to address issues in which there are practical problems and potential solutions
Authority
accept something because someone in AUTHORITY believes it
Basic Research
Tries to answer fundamental questions about the nature of behavior
Covariation of Cause and Effect
part of causal inference
observing that a change in one variable is accompanied by a change in a second variable
Empiricism
use of objective observations to answer a question about the nature of behavior
Goals of Science
to describe behavior
to predict behavior
to determine the causes of behavior
to understand or explain behavior
intuition
accept unquestioningly what your own personal judgment
a single story about one's experience tells you about the world
Peer Review
The process of judging the scientific merit of research through review by peers of the reacher - other scientist with the expertise to evaluate the research
Program Evaluation
Researched designed to evaluate programs - social reforms - that are designed to produce certain changes or outcomes in a target population
Pseudoscience
claims that are made on the basis of evidence that is designed to appear scientific
such evidence is not bases on the principles of the scientific method
Skepticism
ideas must be evaluated on the basis of careful logic and results from scientific investigations