The Scientific Method
Directions: Read the paragraph below. Break down the 6 steps of the scientific method using examples of each
step from the paragraph.
A researcher was interested in studying cultural differences in perceptions of mental illnesses. She went
to the library and looked up articles on culture and articles on perceptions of schizophrenia. She believed that
people from a Hispanic/Latino culture would have more flexible attitudes towards those with a mental illness
when compared to people from a Western culture.
She then had students from a university in Guatemala and students from a university in England read a
vignette about a person who hears voices and rate their beliefs about the person’s diagnosis and prognosis. The
researcher found that the students from Guatemala were less likely to believe that the person in the story should
be sent to a mental hospital or should be forced to take medication compared to the students from England. She
writes up a report of her study and submits it to the Journal of Cross Cultural Research for publication.
Step 1:
Ex:
Step 2:
Ex:
Step 3:
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Step 4:
Ex:
Step 5:
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Step 6:
Ex:
Finally, what would she do if her results did NOT support her hypothesis: