Overview
- Provides a discussion of modern philosophical naturalism and defends a correspondence theory of truth as directly relevant to psychological inquiry
- Discusses the conceptual foundations of both quantitative and qualitative research methods and their inferential nature
- Presents an original broad abductive theory of scientific method and uses it to reconstruct grounded theory method
- Applies the abductive perspective on method to clinical reasoning and case formulation, and also uses it to evaluate the claims of evolutionary psychology
- Evaluates the worth of the much-used methods of exploratory factor analysis and tests of statistical significance
Part of the book series: Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics (SAPERE, volume 45)
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Table of contents(9 chapters)
Keywords
- Philosophical Naturalism and Research Methods
- Correspondence Truth in Psychological Research
- Abductive Theory of Scientific Method
- Detection of Psychological Phenomena
- Exploratory Factor Analysis
- Grounded Theory Method
- Clinical Reasoning and Case Formulation
- Adaptationist Explanations in Psychology
- The philosophy of Quantitative Research Methods
- Tests of Statistical Significance
About this book
This book applies a range of ideas about scientific discovery found in contemporary philosophy of science to psychology and related behavioral sciences. In doing so, it aims to advance our understanding of a host of important methodological ideas as they apply to those sciences. A philosophy of local scientific realism is adopted in favor of traditional accounts that are thought to apply to all sciences. As part of this philosophy, the implications of a commitment to philosophical naturalism are spelt out, and a correspondence theory of truth is defended by showing how it helps explain various features of scientific practice. The central chapter of the book presents a broad theory of scientific method that comprises the detection of empirical phenomena and their subsequent understanding by constructing explanatory theories through the use of abductive methods. This theory of scientific method is then used as a framework to reconstruct the well-known qualitative method of grounded theory, and to present a systematic perspective on clinical reasoning and case formulation. Relatedly, an abductive or explanationist understanding of methods is employed to evaluate the knowledge credentials of evolutionary psychology. In addition, the conceptual and methodological foundations of a variety of quantitative methods are examined. Exploratory factor analysis and tests of statistical significance are given special attention.
Authors and Affiliations
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Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Brian D. Haig
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Method Matters in Psychology
Book Subtitle: Essays in Applied Philosophy of Science
Authors: Brian D. Haig
Series Title: Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01051-5
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and Psychology, Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-01050-8Published: 09 October 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-13162-3Published: 10 December 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-01051-5Published: 25 September 2018
Series ISSN: 2192-6255
Series E-ISSN: 2192-6263
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIX, 210
Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations
Topics: Psychological Methods/Evaluation, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Methodology of the Social Sciences
Industry Sectors: Engineering