Conceptions of the psychological research process: Script variation as a function of training and experience

Individuals' mental representations of the psychological research process were investigated. One-hundred eight subjects, representing four different levels of prior training in psychology (undergraduate students to full professors), individually generated a list of events involved in the psychological research process. Content analyses of the lists revealed high levels of consensus for specific events that are central to the research process (e.g., design experiment, collect data). Descriptive analyses of group differences identified developmental trends in both the number and types of events that were generated. The data support the notion that individuals in all four groups possessed scripts of the psychological research process. An expert script of the research process is also presented. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications toward a psychology of science.