Chapter 1

Herbert Spencer v. Charles Darwin In the first volume of A System of Synthetic Philosophy, entitled First Principles (1862), Spencer argued that all phenomena could be explained in terms of a lengthy process of evolution in things. This 'principle of continuity' was that homogeneous organisms are unstable, that organisms develop from simple to more complex and heterogeneous forms, and that such evolution constituted a norm of progress. This account of evolution provided a complete and 'predetermined' structure for the kind of variation noted by Darwin--and Darwin's respect for Spencer was significant.

Are you a feminist? Liberal Feminism – focus on human rights, freedom, choice and privancy. Socialist Feminism – Marxist with concerns economic equality. Radical Feminism – views world as male dominated (man haters). Postmodern Feminism – emphasizes women’s experience in culture & history

Deduction and Induction How to remember the difference Deduction Induction

Arguments for Factual Accuracy Reasoning Research Methods Replication Combination of all of the above Weak Stronger, but problematic Strongest Best

The Standard View Quantitative Create categories prior to investigation. Use of a large number of subjects (e.g., over 30). Use statistical techniques to analyze the results Usually collects data with questionnaire, structured interviews, observations Qualitative Categories emerge as a result of investigation. Use of a small number of subjects (e.g., sometimes only 4 or 5 sometimes n=1). Use narrative techniques to analyze the results Usually collects data with unstructured interview, observations, logs/journals.

Reliability -- consistency, trustworthiness, getting the same answer each time. Test-Retest Example see Shaw and Wright The custodial mental illness ideology scale. pages Alternate Form Example see Shaw and Wright Attitudes toward feminism belief patterns scale page Split-half Reliability Example see Shaw and Wright Opinionaire on attitudes toward education pages Interitem or Internal Consistency Kuder-Richardson and Cronbach’s Alpha Example see Fischer and Corcoran Hypercompetitive attitude scale. Pages in volume II. Scorer Reliability Example see DSM I, II, III, III-R, IV, etc.

Validity -- What the test measures and how well it does so. Content Validity Type: Face validity, item analysis Criterion-Related Validity Types: Concurrent, Predictive, synthetic validity Construct Validity Types: correlations with other tests, factor analysis, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validation

Gathering Data Key concepts Sampling Element Population Sample Sampling Frame Representative Sample Rules for getting a good representative sample Every element has an equal chance of being selected. No element can be selected more than once.