Role of Conceptual Analysis in Psychological Research

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Logical thinking plays a primary role at every stage of psychological research. It is the first step in conducting psychological research. If the results of logical test show that the initial logical tests are passed, then the next step is to move to the other form of scientific inquiry, observational (empirical) analysis. In this essay, the role of logical thinking at every stage of psychological research will be discussed. First, the importance of logical test in formulating and testing theories will be discussed. Second, the role of logical thinking in relation to hypothesis testing will be discussed. In these first two stages, we examine logical structures, including assumptions and implications, and apply tests of clarity, intelligibility, coherence, and so on to our concepts, questions, hypotheses, and theories. Lastly, the role of logical thinking in the evaluation of methodology, design and statistics will be discussed. Stage 1 In the first stage, the theory, which is a more general body of claims, is tested for logic. The first logical test is to find answer to the question: What exactly is the theory testing? Psychologists do not just randomly ask questions of the “What happens if..” kind. They always have some reason for wanting to do the research. In other words, there is always some theoretical issue behind research. For example, if you wanted to know if there are gender differences in attitudes towards violence, the theoretical background to this might come from existing knowledge about gender differences which might explain why someone might come with the question in the first place. The second logical test in this stage is carried out to ensure the theory and the assumptions of the theory are clear and coherent. Furthermore, researchers ensure the claims of the theory make sense and fit together. This stage, according to

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