20/03/24

What are the main difficulties that human scientists encounter when trying to provide
explanations of humans behaviour?
Operationalising variables: Operationalising variables involves defining abstract concepts or
constructs in terms of specific, measurable operations or procedures.
Operationalisation: A process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon that Is not
directly measurable. It makes a fuzzy concept clearly distinguishable, measurable, and
understandable by observation.

Are the methods used to gain knowledge in human sciences “scientific”

Methods and Human Science field Strengths Limitations
Tools they’re used in

Polls or • Psychology • Efficient • Language in the questions

questionnaires • Geography • Can reach lots of may influence answers
• Economics people • They may be difficult to
interpret without bias
Interviews - Psych - Real opinions in - Time consuming
- Geo the moment
- History - In depth
understanding
Observations - All - Easy data - Observer bias
collection

Multiple choice - - Efficient - Limits the answer options

surveys - No opinion
- Could work better for natural
sciences where there is a
direct answer

How might the perspective of the investigator affect the results of an investigation in the
human sciences?
What is Bias?
- Intrinsic
- Impact objectivity
Own bias
- Cultural bias
- Nationalism
What is the impact of bias in the human sciences?
- Inaccurate conclusions
- Affects validity and credibility
- Flawed interpretations
Is it possible to eliminate the effect of the observer in the pursuit of knowledge in the human
sciences?
Reflexivity: A strategy used by qualitative researchers to explain how a researches
subjectivity contributes to the findings. You cannot get rid of bias completely but you can
understand how is impacts outcomes.

12/04/24
Is the scientific method superior to other ways of trying to gain knowledge of the world?
Truth in the natural sciences:
- Correspondence theories: a statement (proposition) is true if it corresponds to some
fact in the world.
- Coherence theories: a proposition is true if it coheres with other propositions that we
take to be true – if the propositions mutually support one another.
- Pragmatic theories: true propositions are those that are settled on by a community of
intelligent inquirers because of their practical value.