What is Research: Briefly define “scientific research.” Include in your explanation what scientific research includes and what it avoids.

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In a Microsoft Word document, write the following three sections:
1-What is Research: Briefly define “scientific research.” Include in your explanation what scientific research includes and what it avoids.
2-Paradigms and Methodologies of Scientific Research: Create your own graphic–do not find one that already exists–that illustrates the main paradigms and methodologies of scientific research. Your graphic can be simple (it must fit on a single page), but should still illustrate the parts and relationships of the main paradigms and methodologies of scientific research. You may use some words, but only as necessary. In addition, compare and contrast the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) with the behavioral and social sciences (psychology, anthropology, economics, political science).
3-Qualitative and Quantitative Research: Briefly describe what is involved with both qualitative and quantitative research along with the strengths and limitations of each.

Environmental Decision Making and an Ecosystems Approach: Some Challenges From the Perspective of Social

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Unit I Article Critique

Review “Environmental Decision Making and an Ecosystems Approach: Some Challenges From the Perspective of Social

Science” by Rob D. Fish

from

the Unit I Reading Assignment.

After reading the article and briefly summarizing the purpose for

his

writing, answer the following questions

.

What is the author

’s

main point?

Who is the author

’s

intended audience?

Do the author

’s

arguments support the main point?

What evidence supports the main point?

What is your opinion of the article? Do you agree wi

th the author

’s

findings?

What evidence, either from the textbook or additional sources, supports your opinion?

Your response must be at least 400 words in length. All sources used, including the article, must be referenced.

Paraphrased and/or quoted mat

erials must have accompanying in

–

text citations and references in APA format.

Identify the main purpose(s)of this study as exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, or applied.

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Identifying Study Designs

Find an article in a social science journal that reports the results of actual research.(Be sure it is not an article that only reviews and summarizes other research.)Answer the following questions about the article and the research.

1.List the author(s), title of article, journal, month and year of publication, and pages.

2.Did the researcher(s) begin with at least one hypothesis?If so, specify one hypothesis, identifying the independent and dependent variables.  If there was no hypothesis, but there was a research question, include it.

3.Identify the main purpose(s)of this study as exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, or applied.

4.Describe the population and the sample in this study. Is the population a cohort?

5.If this study used only one or a few cases or analyzed the cases as a whole rather than by focusing on variables, then it might be a case study.If you believe it is a case study, give support for this conclusion and skip Questions 6–9.  If it’s not a case study, skip this question and answer the rest.

  1. How many times were data collected in this study

? 7.If data were collected more than once, how many samples were selected?

  1. Did the researchers try to control or manipulate the independent variable in someway?

9.Did the researchers use acase,cross-sectional, panel, trend, or cohort study design? If so,which one?Give support for your answer.

10.Was the design useful for there searcher’s purposes and goals or would another design have been better?Give support for your answer..

What kind of experimental design was used—pretest and post test experiment, a post test only experiment, a Solomon four-group, a comparison group quasi-experiment, or some other kind?

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Reading about Experiments

Find a research article in a psychology or social science journal that reports the results of an experiment.  Answer the following questions about the study.

1.List the author(s), title of article, journal, month and year of publication, and pages.

2.What is one hypothesis that the research was designed to test?Identify the independent and dependent variables.

3.Describe the sample.

4.How many groups were used and how were they selected? Is there a control group?

5.Was there a pretest? If so, describe it.

6.How was the independent variable (or the stimulus) manipulated, controlled, or introduced?

7.Was there a post test?If so, describe it.

8.What kind of experimental design was used—pretest and post test experiment, a post test only experiment, a Solomon four-group, a comparison group quasi-experiment, or some other kind? Give support for your answer.

9.Comment on the issues of internal validity and generalizability as they apply to this study.