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"Scientific Methodology"
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Monolingual comparative normativity in bilingualism research is out of “control”: Arguments and alternatives
Herein, we contextualize, problematize, and offer some insights for moving beyond the problem of monolingual comparative normativity in (psycho) linguistic research on bilingualism. We argue that, in the vast majority of cases, juxtaposing (functional) monolinguals to bilinguals fails to offer what the comparison is supposedly intended to do: meet the standards of empirical control in line with the scientific method. Instead, the default nature of monolingual comparative normativity has historically contributed to inequalities in many facets of bilingualism research and continues to impede progress on multiple levels. Beyond framing our views on the matter, we offer some epistemological considerations and methodological alternatives to this standard practice that improve empirical rigor while fostering increased diversity, inclusivity, and equity in our field.
Journal Article
Observe it!
\"We all learn about the world around us by making observations. Scientists are no exception! This intriguing title explains how scientists observe using their senses and tools. Readers will apply what they learn by making observations, comparing, sorting, and classifying.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Crowd-sourced Text Analysis: Reproducible and Agile Production of Political Data
Empirical social science often relies on data that are not observed in the field, but are transformed into quantitative variables by expert researchers who analyze and interpret qualitative raw sources. While generally considered the most valid way to produce data, this expert-driven process is inherently difficult to replicate or to assess on grounds of reliability. Using crowd-sourcing to distribute text for reading and interpretation by massive numbers of nonexperts, we generate results comparable to those using experts to read and interpret the same texts, but do so far more quickly and flexibly. Crucially, the data we collect can be reproduced and extended transparently, making crowd-sourced datasets intrinsically reproducible. This focuses researchers’ attention on the fundamental scientific objective of specifying reliable and replicable methods for collecting the data needed, rather than on the content of any particular dataset. We also show that our approach works straightforwardly with different types of political text, written in different languages. While findings reported here concern text analysis, they have far-reaching implications for expert-generated data in the social sciences.
Journal Article
Key-Aspects of Scientific Modeling Exemplified by School Science Models: Some Units for Teaching Contextualized Scientific Methodology
Models and modeling are core elements of scientific methods and consequently also are of key importance for the conception and teaching of scientific methodology. The epistemology of models and its transfer and adaption to nature of science education are not, however, simple themes. We present some conceptual units in which school science models are used for exemplifying aspects and issues that we consider crucial for an understanding of models and modelling, such as: the perspectival and conceptual character of models, their mediating, interpretive and predictive function, and the nature and potentialities of theoretical–mathematical models. The models used to exemplify these aspects are some particle models of matter, Newton’s two-body planetary model, and models of mechanical oscillations. The units are designed as a NOS education series for teachers and upper high school students, but they could also be used independently. The underlying concept for designing the units is based on teaching scientific methodology explicitly and contextualized in curricular science content.
Journal Article
A survival guide to the misinformation age : scientific habits of mind
\"This book provides an inoculation against the misinformation epidemic by cultivating scientific habits of mind. From dissolving our fear of numbers and demystifying graphs, to elucidating the key concepts of probability and the use of precise language and logic, Helfand supplies an essential set of apps for the pre-frontal cortex while making science both accessible and entertaining.\"--Publisher marketing.
Book
Big data meets public health
Human well-being could benefit from large-scale data if large-scale noise is minimized In 1854, as cholera swept through London, John Snow, the father of modern epidemiology, painstakingly recorded the locations of affected homes. After long, laborious work, he implicated the Broad Street water pump as the source of the outbreak, even without knowing that a Vibrio organism caused cholera. “Today, Snow might have crunched Global Positioning System information and disease prevalence data, solving the problem within hours” ( 1 ). That is the potential impact of “Big Data” on the public's health. But the promise of Big Data is also accompanied by claims that “the scientific method itself is becoming obsolete” ( 2 ), as next-generation computers, such as IBM's Watson ( 3 ), sift through the digital world to provide predictive models based on massive information. Separating the true signal from the gigantic amount of noise is neither easy nor straightforward, but it is a challenge that must be tackled if information is ever to be translated into societal well-being.
Journal Article
Cultural Change
More than half a century of cross-cultural research has demonstrated group-level differences in psychological and behavioral phenomena, from values to attention to neural responses. However, cultures are not static, with several specific changes documented for cultural products, practices, and values. How and why do societies change? Here we juxtapose theory and insights from cultural evolution and social ecology. Evolutionary approaches enable an understanding of the how of cultural change, suggesting transmission mechanisms by which the contents of culture may change. Ecological approaches provide insights into the why of cultural change: They identify specific environmental pressures, which evoke shifts in psychology and thereby enable greater precision in predictions of specific cultural changes based on changes in ecological conditions. Complementary insights from the ecological and cultural evolutionary approaches can jointly clarify the process by which cultures change. We end by discussing the relevance of cultural change research for the contemporary societal shifts and by highlighting several critical challenges and future directions for the emerging field of cross-temporal research on culture and psychology.
Journal Article