Year 2004 graphic
Methods and statistics

Personal space: Bring on the physics revolution

John B. Davies argues that it is time for a paradigm shift in psychology.

18 December 2004

Some years ago a student submitted a practical assignment in which he wrote something along these lines: I collected the data on Sauchiehall Street on Friday afternoon. I asked any young-looking males (who didn't look scary!) to fill in the questionnaire. It started to rain about four o'clock so I went in Costa Coffee, and when I came out there weren't many people about, so I finished it off on Saturday morning. Colleagues felt this was inappropriate in a practical essay on a scientific subject. They objected to the use of the word 'I', which by definition made it a subjective account; and they suggested that a phrase such as 'Data were collected from a random sample of young males' would have been more suitable. But I disagreed strongly, arguing that the student account was more informative, more scientific, more honest, and there was no attempt to hide behind scientific rhetoric. And obviously, the sample could not be called random.

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