Implication studies: a methodological framework

Quality & Quantity - This article introduces a new label, “a methodological framework for studying implications of a philosophy, a framework, a theory, a model, or an idea for other...     

Retrospective studies with survey data: Problems in social science and epidemiology research

Large-scale population surveys are a valuable source of data for epidemiologists and social scientists interested in retrospective studies of health conditions. It may not be apparent that such data sources present many problems, one of which is data reliability. It can be shown statistically that where a relation exists between two variables measured with no or minimum error, this relation vanishes if either or both variables have sizable error components. Thus such data have little utility in assessing simple relations, let alone in making causal inferences. Another problem is that unreliability or measurement error affects the sensitivity and specificity of a measuring instrument in unpredictable ways. Solutions to the problems caused by data unreliability are suggested.     

Interdisciplinary social science: a methodological analysis

Since the 1930's, interdisciplinarity has been advocated in the social sciences for the purpose of achieving more comprehensive explanations of observable social phenomena. However, the realization of this promising perspective has been rather poor. This article argues that two main causes of the failure to create interdisciplinary social science can be distinguished, i.e., methodological and theoretical problems. Methodological problems stem either from taking a reductionist approach towards interdisciplinarity, or by mistaking measurement issues for theoretical topics. Theoretical problems result from the poor state and rate of theory formation within psychology. The implications of these problems are that the validity and reliability of explanations of macro social phenomena, which are provided by disciplines such as sociology and macro economics, are seriously at stake.     

A mixed-mode sensitive research on cannabis use and sexual addiction: improving self-reporting by means of indirect questioning techniques

In this article, we describe the methods employed and the results obtained from a mixed-mode “sensitive research” conducted in Spain to estimate certain aspects concerning patterns of cannabis consumption and sexual addiction among university students. Three different data-collection methods are considered and compared: direct questioning, randomized response technique and item sum technique. It is shown that posing direct questions to obtain sensitive data produces significantly lower estimates of the surveyed characteristics than do indirect questioning methods. From the analysis, it emerges that male students seem to be more affected by sex addiction than female students while for cannabis consumption there is no evidence of a predominant gender effect.     

Evaluating employee integrity: Moral and methodological problems

This paper reviews the research on proprietary paper and pencial tests of integrity or honesty, which have effectively supplanted polygraph examinations in evaluating the moral attributes of employees and applicants. Moral integrity is a complex issue that encompasses more than conventional notions of honesty and is difficult to operationalize as a psychological trait or construct. Integrity test questions are largely derived from polygraph interrogations and the tests validated through polygraph results. The field studies reviewed and an exploratory test cast doubt on the ability of these paper and pencil instruments to meet standards of construct validity. Other studies show promise of predictive validity in some situations. Unfortunately, the research designs used to substantiate the predictive powers of integrity tests failed to hold other workplace influences constant. In light of these findings, employers are urged to exercise caution in the use of these tests until further independent research is reported because of potential infringements on privacy and equal opportunity.     

软件水印研究述评

随着计算机技术和因特网技术的飞速发展,数字产品的传播、拷贝更容易,因而其版权保护已成为一个十分重要的问题。文章详细介绍了软件水印这种新兴的软件版权保护技术,深入分析了软件水印的现状、分类以及各类软件水印的基本思想,并分别讨论了这些方法的利弊,最后提出软件水印的下一步发展方向。     

A methodological proposal for a strategic design investigation

This article presents the decisions that are presented in the transition from theoretical to methodological, as a means to establish coherence and validity in an investigation that addresses strategic design’s contribution to organizational transformations. A coherent methodological proposal is presented between the ontological posture (intersubjectivity), epistemological posture (pragmatism), and research method (mixed) required to address the object of research in strategic design, and to consistently select the various techniques and procedures required. This proposal is pertinent to respond to the research question of what the role fo strategic design might be, as related to organizational transformation, to the extent that it provides competencies (human capital), processes (structural capital), and a relationship model (relational capital).

     

Some Recent Books on Game Theory

Books reviewed in this article:
Martin Shubik (1984) A Game Theoretic Approach to Political Economy
James W. Friedman (1986) Game Theory with Applications to Economics.
Alvin E. Roth (ed.) (1985) Game Theoretic Models of Bargaining.
Game Theoretic Models of Bargaining, edited by Alvin Roth     

Recent Books on Evolutionary Game Theory

Books reviewed in this article
Fudenberg and David Levine, The Theory of Learning in Games
Josef Hofbauer and Karl Sigmund, Evolutionary Games and Population Dynamics
Larry Samuelson, Evolutionary Games and Equilibrium Selection
Fernando Vega-Redondo Evolution, Games, and Economic Behavior
Peyton Young, Individual Strategy and Social Structure, an Evolutionary Theory of Institutions     

Confirmation bias: methodological causes and a palliative response

Quality & Quantity - The paper advocates for changes to normative aspects of belief management in applied research. The central push is to argue for methodologically-required choice to include...     

Social environmental impacts on survey cooperation

Quality & Quantity - Social environmental influences on survey cooperation are explored using data from six national household surveys in the United States matched to 1990 decennial census...     

Research in schools and the case for methodological integration

In spite of the fact that qualitative/ethnographic research into education has gained in popularity in recent years, its relationship with quantitative research is far from resolved. The authors argue that there are strong arguments for a research strategy which combines the two approaches. A case study of methodological integration is provided in which an ethnographic stance dovetailed with the use of a quantitative technique, viz. the triadic elicitation method. The implications of the research are explored in terms of the advantages that accrue to research into classrooms. In particular, it is argued that a superior over-all account emerges, than that which could be provided by a total reliance on one style of research.     

Chaos theory and social science: A methodological analysis

This article investigates the relevance of chaos theory for social science. The application of chaos models in the analysis of social phenomena is accompanied by some important scientific problems. First, whether observations of social phenomena are generated by nonlinear dynamics cannot be ascertained beyond considerable doubt, especially when these observations contain measurement errors; i.e., there is a problem of external validity. Secondly, and more important, as a theory of irregular cyclical social behaviour is lacking, inductive-statistical theoryformation about such behaviour, which is based on fitting a mathematical model of chaos to observations of social phenomena, is impossible unless additional information is used concerning the context and circumstances wherein the social phenomena occur; i.e., the internal validity of any theoretical explanation that is derived from only a fitted mathematical model (of chaos) cannot be assessed. So, research into the suggestion derived from mathematical chaos theory that irregular cycles may be present in the development of social phenomena over time requires theory-formation about irregular cyclical social behaviour on the basis of established theoretical insights and empirical evidence instead of fitting sophisticated mathematical models of chaos to observations of social phenomena.     

Inclusion and education in European countries: methodological considerations

In this paper, the author intends to explain the comparative challenges of a research project and the methodological grounding and justification of the research conclusions. The research project regarded an assignment of the European Commission to assess inclusion measures in primary and secondary education in 10 European countries, i.e. France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK (Contract 2007-2094/001 TRA-TRSPO). National as well as comparative reports were submitted to the Commission in August 2009 and accepted for further publication in October 2009. The present paper will concentrate on the methodological issues and considerations. It will demonstrate that the conclusions were grounded and justified from a methodological perspective, applying an appropriate mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, notwithstanding serious limitations and restrictions.