The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science

Frontiers in Psychology

Jonathan E. Butner¹  Emily H. Cooley¹  David M. Sanbonmatsu² 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States;null;

关键词: complexity;    scientific rigor;    measurement;    reproduction;    methods;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.580111

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The study of human behavior is severely hampered by logistical problems, ethical and legal constraints, and funding shortfalls. However, the biggest difficulty of conducting social and behavioral research is the extraordinary complexity of the study phenomena. In this article, we review the impact of complexity on research design, hypothesis testing, measurement, data analyses, reproducibility, and the communication of findings in psychological science. The systematic investigation of the world often requires different approaches because of the variability in complexity. Confirmatory testing, multi-factorial designs, survey methods, large samples, and modeling are frequently needed to study complex social and behavioral topics. Complexity impedes the measurement of general constructs, the reproducibility of results and scientific reporting, and the general rigor of research. Many of the benchmarks established by classic work in physical science are not attainable in studies of more complex phenomena. Consequently, the standards used to evaluate scientific research should be tethered to the complexity of the study topic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY