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I'm confused about (47). Isn't "empirical data" based on observation or experiment. Is this a typo? And non-empirical data is defined as an observation that one
by 1970-01-01 4y ago
I'm confused about (47). Isn't "empirical data" based on observation or experiment. Is this a typo? And non-empirical data is defined as an observation that one cannot formally measure, e.g. "I love/hate it."
(47) Empirical data. “Empirical” means based on observation or experience. As a consequence, with the possible exception of information derived from archival sources, all psychological data are empirical (what would “non-empirical” psychological data look like?). Some of the confusion probably stems from the erroneous equation of “empirical” with “experimental” or “quantitative.” Data derived from informal observations, such as non-quantified impressions collected during a psychotherapy session, are also empirical. If writers wish to distinguish numerical data from other sources of data, they should simply call them “quantified data.”
- travisjungroth 4y agoIt's erroneous to equate "empirical" with "experimental" or "quantitative". Those terms don't have a relationship like 4 = 4.0. Your example in your second sentence is an example of equating empirical with quantitative. Empirical makes more sense when you contrast empiricism with rationalism. It's a split between things you observe and things you think. If you're doing chemistry calculations, that's not empirical but it is quantitative. If you're pouring stuff into beakers and writing down what you see, it is empirical and quantitative.
- xmddmx 4y agoIn context, it's top-down vs. bottom-up: Theory driven: "I think anxiety and depression are fundamentaly different, because of writings of Freud, Foo, and Bar" Empirical: factor analysis of test data suggests anxiety and depression may actually be a single factor, perhaps there is a single biological mechanism underlying both?"