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WHAT ARE THE HUMAN SCIENCES?. Some of the H uman S ciences. METHODOLOGY . Questionnaires and surveys Interviews Observation Gathering and interpretation of statistics Study of written sources (official records, books…) Study of artefacts eperiments.
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METHODOLOGY • Questionnaires and surveys • Interviews • Observation • Gathering and interpretation of statistics • Study of written sources (official records, books…) • Study of artefacts • eperiments
The Asch Conformity Experiment (1953) • We all tend to laugh with the people even when we didn’t get the joke, or doubt when our opinion is unpopular among our group. But why? • Solomon Asch conducted research to show the power of conformity. People were asked very simple questions, which logically couldn’t be answered wrongly. The catch was, that everybody else, who was in the room were told to give wrong answers. Yet, 32 percent of subjects would answer incorrectly if they saw that three others in the classroom gave the same wrong answer. We really depend on each other.
What problems can you foresee might impact on the results of such an experiment?
Issues in observation SURVEYS • Scope and scale • Sample size and choice • Question(er) bias/ loaded questions • Quality of answers
Issues in Experimentation • People as the subject/ interaction between scientist and subject • Behaviour of people being observed … (the observed respond to the expectations of the observer) • Hawthorne Effect (presence of observers produces a bias and unduly affects the outcome of the experiment) • Controlled or repeat experiments (impossible in almost all cases)
Ethical problems • Consider the Milgram experiment • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W147ybOdgpE • Consider the marshmallow experiment • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3S0xS2hdi4&feature=fvwrel