are ways in which a person can know things or discover answers to questions

information is accepted as true because it has always been believed or because superstition supports it

information is accepted on the basis of a hunch or "gut feeling"

a person relies on information or answers from an expert in the subject area

is a variant of the method of authority in which people have unquestioning trust in the authority figure, and, therefore, accept information from the authority without doubt or challenge

seeks answers by the use of logical reasoning

describe facts or assumptions that are presumed to be true

is a set of premise statements that are logically combined to yield a conclusion

uses observation or direct sensory experience to obtain knowledge

The Steps of the Scientific Method

involves using a relatively small set of specific observations as the basis for forming a general statement about a larger set of possible observations

are characteristics or conditions that change or have different values for different individuals.

is a statement that describes or explains a relationship between or among variables. a proposal to be tested and evaluated

uses a general statement as the basis for reaching a conclusion about specific examples

is a method of acquiring knowledge that uses observations to develop a hypothesis, and then uses the hypothesis to make logical predictions that can be empirically tested by making additional, systematic observations.

is based on measuring variables for individual participants to obtain scores, usually numerical values, that are submitted to statistical analysis for summary and interpretation

is based on making observations that are summarized and interpreted in a narrative report

Steps in the Research Process

individuals who take part in research studies if they are human