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Based on the concept of theoretically motivated research, explain which researcher is following a theory-driven approach and why. What is the key difference in how they treat empirical data?
Case context: Dr. Smith is studying student anxiety. She begins by observing people in waiting rooms and noting their behaviors, creating a large collection of isolated observations. She plans to formulate a theory later after she has enough observations. Dr. Jones, studying the same topic, starts with a well-established cognitive appraisal theory, generates a specific hypothesis about how wait times affect anxiety, and conducts an experiment to test it.
Question: Based on the concept of theoretically motivated research, explain which researcher is following a theory-driven approach and why. What is the key difference in how they treat empirical data?
Sample answer: Dr. Jones is following a theory-driven approach because she integrates the hypothetico-deductive method by starting with an established theory to generate a testable hypothesis before conducting an empirical study. Dr. Smith is not, because she is collecting isolated observations without being guided by a larger explanatory framework. The key difference is that Dr. Jones uses theory to systematically guide data collection and interpretation, whereas Dr. Smith collects data first without initial theoretical guidance.
Key points:
- Identify Dr. Jones as the researcher following the theory-driven approach.
- Explain that Dr. Jones uses established theory to generate hypotheses before conducting the empirical study.
- Note that Dr. Smith's approach results in a collection of isolated observations without an explanatory framework.
- Highlight that theoretically motivated research uses theory to guide the research cycle and interpret data.
Rubric: Full credit is given for identifying Dr. Jones as the theory-driven researcher and explaining that she uses an established theory to generate a hypothesis, whereas Dr. Smith risks producing a collection of isolated observations by lacking an explanatory framework.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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