Constructing knowledge - The role of graphs and tables in hard and soft psychology

被引：28

作者：

Smith, LD ^{[1
]}

Best, LA ^{[1
]}

Stubbs, DA ^{[1
]}

Archibald, AB ^{[1
]}

Roberson-Nay, R ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Maine, Dept Psychol, Orono, ME 04469 USA

来源：

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST | 2002年 / 57卷 / 10期

关键词：

D O I：

10.1037//0003-066X.57.10.749

中图分类号：

B84 [心理学];

学科分类号：

04 ; 0402 ;

摘要：

Because graphs provide a compact, rhetorically powerful way of representing research findings, recent theories of science have postulated their use as a distinguishing feature of science. Studies have shown that the use of graphs in journal article's correlates highly with the hardness of scientific fields, both across disciplines and across subfields of psychology. In contrast, the use of tables and inferential statistics in psychology is inversely related to subfield hardness, suggesting that the, relationship. between hardness and graph use is not attributable to differences in the use of quantitative data in subfields or their commitment to empiricism. Enhanced "graphicacy" among psychologists could contribute to the progress of psychological science by providing alternatives to significance testing and by facilitating communication across subfields.

引用

页码：749 / 761

页数：13