The Scientific Method: Apply It

Lumen Learning

The Scientific Method: Apply It

Explain the steps of the scientific method
Define theory and hypothesis
Discuss research ethics

Thinking Like a Psychologist

Imagine that you want to conduct a study following the scientific method about the effects of meditation on stress levels in college students.

Two female students seated with their legs crossed in meditation. — **Figure 1**. How can you design a study to examine the effects of meditation on stress levels?

Let’s try it together.

What observations might have led you to conduct a study about stress levels in college students?

You might observe that college students seem particularly stressed and have a lot of deadlines and responsibilities that might cause stress. You wonder about possible solutions and know that things like meditation might improve stress levels.

What question could you ask to get this research started?

Will regular meditation reduce reported stress levels in college students?

What might your hypothesis look like?

College students who practice meditation will report lower stress levels than those who do not.

How could you test your hypothesis? How would you design this as a research study?

I would recruit a mixed sample of college students (from all grade levels) and randomly assign them to either a meditation group or a control group that does not do any meditation. The meditation group participants will attend a 30-minute meditation session daily, while the control group participants will not participate in any mediation. The students will be surveyed about their stress levels both before and after the six-week-long intervention.

How would you analyze your data?

I will analyze the results from the experiment by looking at responses to the questionnaire before and after the meditation intervention. I will also use statistical analysis to compare the changes in stress levels between the meditation group and the control group. I could also sort the data into various categories to see if there is a difference based on things like major or grade level. The goal of the analysis will be to determine if there is a relationship between meditation and stress levels.

What conclusion could you draw from your research?

If the results show that the meditation group had a significantly greater reduction in stress levels compared to the control group, then I could conclude that meditation is an effective way to reduce stress in college students.

The Scientific Method in Action

Let’s look at an example from an actual psychology lab. Psychologist David Strayer wanted to know the impact of texting on driver safety so he designed a study to find out. He had observed that people who were texting were easily distracted and less focused on the road.

Watch the video below to see how Strayer utilizes the scientific method to reach important conclusions regarding technology and driving safety.

You can view the transcript for “Understanding driver distraction” here (opens in new window).

Let’s see how Dr. Strayer utilized the scientific method.

What was his hypothesis?

He hypothesized that people who texted would have slower reaction times in dangerous driving situations.

How did he test his hypothesis?

He tested the hypothesis by having 40 participants get in a driving simulator. Each participant drove without texting and then again while texting with a friend.

How was the data analyzed?

The data was measured and analyzed using statistics, and the results revealed that those in the text-messaging condition had slower reaction times (though they also kept a larger distance between themselves and the other cars) and more accidents than the control condition.

What was Dr. Strayer’s conclusion?

Dr. Strayer concluded that his hypothesis was correct and that drivers who text have slower reaction times.

Strayer’s research was published in a journal called Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. You can read an overview of the study and results here.