My own opinion: I do not think you can teach theory-building. I consider myself part theorist, and I teach statistics (with a little research design thrown in) to graduate students, but I simply cannot imagine how you would teach theory-development. For one thing, what counts as a good theory depends partly on the subfield. And I think talking about what makes a good theory or how they were developed has to be grounded with specific examples. So I can discuss theory with a graduate student I am working with (in the context of something we are working on) but I can't talk about it generally. Maybe my knowledge of it is just too implicit, but I don't know too many people who have more explicit knowledge, either.
One thing I did get in my own graduate training was that we were required to attend a weekly 2-hour seminar during which graduate students would rotate presenting papers within a topic area presided over by a professor in that area. Faculty attended as well, and the presentation would be followed by commentary and debate from everyone but especially from the faculty. Hearing faculty critique experiments (and sometimes theories) was defintitely a good contribution to my graduate education. (Yes, faculty were required to attend as well. It was considered a "joyful obligation" for all.) That is one way at least to get at the issue of how to design experiments to test theory, if not how to develop theory. Developmental psychology actually does have some interesting new theorists (Annette Karmiloff-Smith and Jeffrey Elman come to mind in the area of cognitive development), but the link between theory and data is still sometimes tenuous. Charlotte >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 conlusions 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 -- =============================================== Charlotte F. Manly, Ph.D. Psychological & Brain Sciences Assistant Professor 317 Life Sciences Bldg ph: (502) 852-8162 University of Louisville fax: (502) 852-8904 Louisville, KY 40292 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.louisville.edu/a-s/psychology/ http://www.louisville.edu/~cfmanl01 USE 40208 ZIP CODE FOR FEDEX --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
