Problematic Research Practices and Inertia in Scientific Psychology: History, Sources, and Recommended Solutions

Description

This volume explores the abiding intellectual inertia in scientific psychology in relation to the discipline’s engagement with problematic beliefs and assumptions underlying mainstream research practices, despite repeated critical analyses which reveal the weaknesses, and in some cases complete inappropriateness, of these methods. Such paradigmatic inertia is especially troublesome for a scholarly discipline claiming status as a science. The book offers penetrating analyses of many (albeit not all) of the most important areas where mainstream practices require either compelling justifications for their continuation or adjustments – possibly including abandonment – toward more apposite alternatives. Specific areas of concern addressed in this book include the systemic misinterpretation of statistical knowledge; the prevalence of a conception of measurement at odds with yet purporting to mimic the natural sciences; the continuing widespread reliance on null hypothesis testing; and the continuing resistance within psychology to the explicit incorporation of qualitative methods into its methodological toolbox. Broader level chapters examine mainstream psychology’s systemic disregard for critical analysis of its tenets, and the epistemic and ethical problems this has created. This is a vital and engaging resource for researchers across psychology, and those in the wider behavioural and social sciences who have an interest in, or who use, psychological research methods. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of contents Contributors Series Foreword 1 Introduction A condensed preview of the topical chapters On the systemic misuse of statistical methods within mainstream psychology Psychology’s inertia: Epistemological and ethical implications Intransigence in mainstream thinking about psychological measurement Persistent disregard for the inadequacies of null hypothesis significance testing and the viable alternative of ... On the interpretive nature of quantitative methods and psychology’s resistance to qualitative methods Is there a waning appetite for critical methodology in psychology? Psychology’s struggle with understanding persons A call for critical responsiveness 2 On the systemic misuse of statistical methods within mainstream psychology The influx and proliferation of aggregate statistical methods in psychology: A brief review of some key historical ... Banicki: “Is the conceptual gap really so unbridgeable?” On the ‘practical utility’ defense of traditional mainstream interpretive practices From psychological science to psycho-demography and … back again? Notes References 3 Psychology’s inertia: Epistemological and ethical implications Psychology’s defective concepts of method and evidence False scientific claims A failure at self-correction Unethical conduct Solutions to the problem? Conclusion Notes References 4 Intransigence in mainstream thinking about psychological measurement Misstep 1: The early psychophysicists Misstep 2: Practicalism and mental testing Misstep 3: Redefining measurement Misstep 4: “A revolution that never happened” Misstep 5: Disregard of recent measurement debates Michell: Psychometrics as a pathology of science Continuing the measurement debate: Responses to Michell Conclusion Notes References 5 Persistent disregard for the inadequacies of null hypothesis significance testing and the viable alternative of observation Effect size Causality Measurement Inference References 6 On the interpretative nature of quantitative methods and psychology’s resistance to qualitative methods Interpretation in qualitative research Interpretation in the activities of quantitative researchers Psychological measurement Descriptive statistics Statistical inference The “quality” in quantitative research Welcoming interpretation into quantitative research References 7 Is there a waning appetite for critical methodology in psychology? Crisis in psychology A history of critical methodology within psychology Some things are broke but just need a tune-up Many things are broke and an overhaul is needed It’s a write-off and should be scrapped Is the appetite really waning? Two important considerations Restitutive versus radical methodological critique A disconnect between methodologists and researchers Concluding remarks Notes References 8 Psychology’s struggle with understanding persons The general and the particular The social and the personal A personal reflection Biography and life writing A final personal note References 9 Summary and commentary on Scientific Psychology’s Troubling Inertia Summary of chapter contributions Similarities and differences across chapters Observations and comments References Index