If previous grand theories suggest anything about future grand theories, perhaps we need to encourage students to develop skills in naturalistic observation. Piaget rarely used statistics but provided rich descriptions based on his observations. I am a hard nosed quantitative type myself, but I think that psychologists habitually use analyses that assume a linear additive model without considering if such models represent reality best. Perhaps allowing for more descriptive studies rather than the standard ANOVA based approach would promote connections between apparently isolated studies.
Joe Joseph J. Horton Ph. D. Faculty Box 2694 Grove City College Grove City, PA 16127 (724) 458-2004 In God we trust, all others must bring data. -----Original Message----- From: Rick Froman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 4:45 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: RE: Would anyone here write a letter of recommendation Carl Jung ? I was just coming to the same conclusion based on the discussion on another thread. I was just thinking that the strength of most research methods courses is in designing an internally and externally valid study but there is really little training (other than about not drawing causal conclusions from a correlational study) about how to logically design studies to test theory or how to build theory on the basis of study design. I wonder if anyone has had any success in Research Methods in developing theory-building skills. Maybe this is a topic I should devote more time to in the Advanced Research Seminar. Could we get help here from the study of logic and philosophy? Any ideas? Rick Dr. Rick Froman Associate Professor of Psychology John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 (479) 524-7295 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.jbu.edu/academics/sbs/rfroman.asp -----Original Message----- From: David B. Daniel, Ph.D. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 8:44 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: Re: Would anyone here write a letter of recommendation Carl Jung ? And another thing: Some of the great theorists of our time would not have a voice in our current system. In my field, developmental, we have come from too much unsubstantiated theory to too much disconnected data. We now have a wealth of studies that are not being tied together in any meaningful theoretical fashion. While integrating research findings into theoretical explanations is a big part of science, attempts to provide such theories are now actively discouraged. There is a place for people like Jung, Judith Rich Harris, and others who push us to test our assumptions and develop points of view other than our current ones. We can test the assertions, adapt the assertions, or discount them all together. But, a science replete with description but without theory, and grand theory in particular, becomes disconnected from its source and, ultimately, of limited explanatory utility. Happy Monday! David \\|// (o o) --------oOOo-(_)-oOOo---------------- David B. Daniel, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Associate Research Scientist University of Maine at Farmington New England Research Institutes 234 Main Street Farmington, ME 04938 207-778-7411 [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
