1. SCIENTIFIC THINKING Presented by: Dr. Salem M. Al-Ghamdi Associate Professor of Management King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

2. Styles of Thinking Absolute truth Known universal laws & facts Problems understood through formal logic or math Uses deductive logical processes “strong relationship between reasons & conclusions” Use rational thinking Relative truth Unknown laws Problems understood through observation & data collection Uses induction to reach conclusion “weak relationship between reasons & conclusions” Uses scientific thinking POSITIVIST vs IMPERCIST Can we combine both induction & deduction in research learning? FactInduction Hypothesis (Deduction)

3. What is a Theory? A set of systematically interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that are advanced to explain and predict phenomena (facts) What is a Devil’s triangle? Accuracy Theory Generalizability Simplicity

4. What is a Research Hypothesis? It is a statement that is simply stated, empirically testable, and has two- variable propositions involving concrete instances. What is the role of Hypothesis? It guides the direction of the study It limits what shall be studied and what shall not. It identifies facts that are relevant and those that are not It suggests which form of research design is likely to be the most appropriate What is a good Hypothesis? Adequate for its purpose: Be it a descriptive, explanatory, or correlational It must be testable It is simple and require few assumptions

5. What are the Different Types of Variable Independent variable Dependent Variable Moderating Variable Intervening Variable Extraneous Variable Independent Intervening Dependent Moderating Extraneous

6. What is the difference between concepts and constructs?