2.1: What to Expect

This chapter discusses the philosophy and methodology of how we find things out about the world we live in. In most studies about our world, the mechanism for learning about reality is based on the scientific method and the philosophy of empiricism. With this method, a hypothesis is tested by observing some behavior in the world. The belief in the truth of the hypothesis is then determined by what is observed under controlled conditions, if possible. The hypothesis may then be refined and updated, and further observation is used to determine the truth of the refined hypothesis. It is through this cycle that we gain knowledge. This chapter will discuss the history and development of the scientific method. Several real studies are then considered with discussions on how observation was used to gain knowledge, and what possible problematic issues could arise when making conclusions based on the observations.

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Define epistemology.
• Define and discuss empiricism as a philosophy for gaining knowledge and discuss how it is connected to the scientific method.
• Define and discuss inductive and deductive inference.
• Define and discuss the concept of reasoning to the best explanation.
• Identify and discuss the steps of the scientific method.
• Define and discuss alternate philosophical theories related to feminist empiricism.
• Critically analyze the application of the scientific method in a research article.

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