The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science
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 o...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.580111/full |
| _version_ | 1818934984079048704 |
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| author | David M. Sanbonmatsu Emily H. Cooley Jonathan E. Butner |
| author_facet | David M. Sanbonmatsu Emily H. Cooley Jonathan E. Butner |
| author_sort | David M. Sanbonmatsu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:12:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a65d3dc0910944a2adf78fa79494a5b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:12:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a65d3dc0910944a2adf78fa79494a5b02022-12-21T19:52:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-01-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.580111580111The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological ScienceDavid M. SanbonmatsuEmily H. CooleyJonathan E. ButnerThe 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.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.580111/fullcomplexityscientific rigormeasurementreproductionmethods |
| spellingShingle | David M. Sanbonmatsu Emily H. Cooley Jonathan E. Butner The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science Frontiers in Psychology complexity scientific rigor measurement reproduction methods |
| title | The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science |
| title_full | The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science |
| title_short | The Impact of Complexity on Methods and Findings in Psychological Science |
| title_sort | impact of complexity on methods and findings in psychological science |
| topic | complexity scientific rigor measurement reproduction methods |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.580111/full |
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