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Understanding Causation in Science and Psychology: Definitions, Methods, and Research Questions

This article explores the concept of causation in science and psychology, outlining essential operational definitions and the conditions necessary for inferring causation, as established by J.S. Mill. Key methods for establishing causal relationships, such as the method of agreement, method of difference, and the method of concomitant variation are discussed. Additionally, the article highlights the importance of operational definitions in measuring concepts and developing effective research questions by reviewing various sources of information, including textbooks, literature searches, and internet resources.

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Understanding Causation in Science and Psychology: Definitions, Methods, and Research Questions

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Science and Psychology: odds and ends • Causation • Operational definitions

  2. Causation • Understanding = finding causes • 3 conditions for inferring causation (JS Mill) • The cause must precede the effect • The cause must be related to the effect • Method of agreement • Method of difference • Method of concomitant variation • Other explanations must be ruled out

  3. Operational Definitions • Scientific concepts must be tied to observable operations • Operational definitions state the means of measuring a concept • Example: STM capacity is operationally defined as number of digits remembered • Converging operations: having multiple operational definitions for a concept

  4. Developing a Research Question • Where do research questions come from? • Narrowing down the question • Sources of information • Textbooks and Handbooks • Literature searches • Internet searches

  5. Where do research questions come from? • Logically derived from theory • Developed to resolve conflicting research results • From case studies, observation, and other non-experimental research • Failure of a theory to explain things from your personal experience • Serendipity – finding things you were not looking for

  6. Narrowing down the question • It’s easy to have a question that is too broad, but hard to have one that is too narrow • “Metaphor” is too broad, but “metaphor comprehension by bilingual speakers” might not be

  7. Sources of Information • Textbooks and Handbooks • Identify important studies • Narrow down the topic • Literature Search • Computerized databases via the web • PsycInfo – search journal articles by author, title, subject • SSCI – search for articles that cite an important study, or find out what sources an article cites (alternative: http://scholar.google.com) • Internet Searches • Search engines and meta-engines • Buyer beware!!! • Consider the source

  8. Examples of Literature and Internet Searches • PsycInfo • SSCI (Social Science Citation Index)(compare to http://scholar.google.com) • Internet search engines • Google • Metacrawler – meta-engine; searches output of several search engines

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