Methods of knowing

• Authority
• Tenacity
• A priori (intuition)
• Scientific method

Science

• vs. common sense
• vs. beliefs

Relation of data to theory

• Induction (data to theory)
• Deduction (theory to data)
• Strong inference (eliminating alternatives)

Characteristics of theory

• Empirical
• Rational
• Testable
• Parsimonious
• General
• Tentative
• Rigorously evaluated

What do theories do?

• Classify
• Predict
• Explain
• Understand causes
• Guide research

Tautologies

• Circular reasoning

Intervening variables

• Mediator
• Moderator

Basic vs. applied research

• similar methods
• differences in practical problems
• differences in audience
• difference in political problems

Evaluation research

• Outcome
• Process