Читать книгу Methods in Psychological Research - Annabel Ness Evans - Страница 23

The goals of science are to describe, explain, predict, and control some event(s). A young science first must describe its subject matter. This is the first step, and empiricism is the primary method of doing this. A mature science may be busier with prediction and control. Early astronomers, for example, spent their time describing what they observed in the skies. Only later, when a body of empirical evidence had been gathered, could they begin to explain how planets, stars, and other cosmic entities were formed, interacted, and died.