Summary
Contents
Subject index
Undeniably, the amount of “human information” in our culture has increased by leaps and bounds. How that information is used has profound implications on the way we live as a society. At the same time, the discussion of values, norms, and purpose is often missing from the discourse of social research especially by those who work within the positivist framework. Authors James Bradley and Kurt Schaefer develop principles to guide the use of data and models in the human sciences. Writing as scholars who are at home with empirical and mathematical social science, yet taking seriously the critiques of this heritage, the authors propose ways of developing norms without becoming radically subjective. The Uses and Misuses of Data and Models argues eloquently that norms, values, and purpose need to become part of the common discourse of researchers, with more ethical and socially responsible research the result. The Uses and Misuses of Data and Models is an intriguing and thought-provoking book that will be of great interest to anyone involved in the enterprise of social research.
Causality
Causality
We are now approaching the end of the information cycle. One important issue in the interpretation of information still needs to be discussed, causality. Starting from data, claims are frequently made that one factor caused another. Arguments about the legitimacy of such claims are perhaps as frequent.
Consider two controversial issues: the claim that smoking causes lung cancer and ...
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