Robert W. Proctor & E. J. Capaldi 
Why Science Matters [PDF ebook] 
Understanding the Methods of Psychological Research

Preface for Instructors viii
Preface for Students x
Part 1: Major Methodological Changes in Science from
Antiquity to the Present 1
Chapter 1: Understanding Science: The Armchair versus
Practice 3
Introduction 3
Justification of methodological practices 4
Precursors to contemporary science: an historical overview 8
Research paradigms, programs, and traditions 14
Naturalism: a brief introduction 16
Remainder of book 18
Chapter summary 19
Chapter 2: Major Issues to Emerge in 20th Century Approaches
to Science 20
Introduction 20
Logical positivism 21
Operationism 26
Popper’s falsificationism 27
Kuhn’s psychologism and historicism 33
Chapter summary 38
Chapter 3: Methodology in the Postpositivist Era 39
Introduction 39
Naturalism in science 41
Lakatos’s sophisticated falsificationism 43
Laudan’s research traditions and normative naturalism
46
Giere’s cognitive approach 49
The rise of relativism 51
Chapter summary 54
Part 2: Naturalism and Modern Science 55
Chapter 4: Theory Testing 57
Introduction 57
Scientific theory 58
Types of theory 60
Hypothesis testing 63
Induction and deduction 70
Abduction and theory construction 72
Chapter summary 78
Chapter 5: Inference to the Best Explanation 79
Introduction 79
Evaluating theories: a critical evaluation of criteria 81
Resolution of ambiguity over time 83
Natural selection 85
Brain function and cognitive neuroscience 89
Consilience 92
Chapter summary 95
Chapter 6: The New Means of Understanding Science 96
Introduction 96
Empirical methods for better understanding science, scientific
practice, and scientists 97
Chapter summary 118
Part 3: Applying Naturalism to Contemporary Methodological
Issues in Psychology 119
Chapter 7: Postmodernism and the Rejection of the
Conventional Conception of Science 121
Introduction 121
Underdetermination and incommensurability 122
Postmodernism 126
Our critique 137
Chapter summary 141
Chapter 8: Qualitative Research Methods 142
Introduction 142
Rationale for qualitative methods 145
Varieties of qualitative methods 151
Chapter summary 163
Chapter 9: Critical Evaluation of Qualitative Inquiry’s
Approach to Qualitative Methods 164
Introduction 164
Justification of qualitative methods 167
Misunderstanding of positivism 170
Specific positions of qualitative researchers 172
Chapter summary 179
Chapter 10: Internal and External Validity 180
Introduction 180
Applications of scientific psychology 183
Scientific psychology opposes pseudoscience 187
Chapter and book summary 191
References 195
Glossary of Terms 210
Glossary of Names 217
Author Index 221
Subject Index 226

Robert W. Proctor is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychological Science at Purdue University at West Lafayette. He has been teaching and conducting research in the field of attention and human performance for nearly 30 years. His publications include Attention: Theory and Practice (with Addie Johnson, 2003) and Skill Acquisition and Human Performance (with Addie Johnson, 1995).
E. J. Capaldi is Distinguished Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychological Science at Purdue University. Dr. Capaldi is a leading researcher in the field of learning and memory. He is the co-author of numerous articles and contributor to books such as The Blackwell Handbook to Research Methods of Experimental Psychology.