Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Philosophical Foundations of Prescriptive Statements and Statistical Inference

  • Reflection on the Field
  • Published:
Educational Psychology Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

From the perspectives of the philosophy of science and statistical inference, we discuss the challenges of making prescriptive statements in quantitative research articles. We first consider the prescriptive nature of educational research and argue that prescriptive statements are a necessity in educational research. The logic of deduction, abduction, and induction in philosophy of science are briefly reviewed, and the logic of prescriptive statement is specifically considered. The inductive nature of statistical inference is examined for both classical frequentist statistics and Bayesian statistics. To conclude our discussion, we recommend conducting replications and building “research programs” in educational research. We also make recommendations on what to write in the discussion section and what evidence is required to make an appropriate prescriptive statement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bacon, F. (1620/1960). The new organon, and related writings. New York: Liberal Arts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berliner, D. C. (2002). Educational research: the hardest science of all. Educational Researcher, 31(8), 18–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camilleri, S. F. (1962). Theory, probability, and induction in social research. American Sociological Review, 27, 170–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantrell, S. C., Janice, F. A., Carter, J. C., Rintamaa, M., & Madden, A. (2010). The impact of a strategy-based intervention on the comprehension and strategy use of struggling adolescent readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 257–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1990). Things I have learned (so far). The American Psychologist, 45, 1304–1312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1994). The earth is around (p < .05). The American Psychologist, 49, 997–1003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, H. M. (1992). Changing order: Replication and induction in scientific practice with a new afterword. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, C. (1994). Human resource accounting: From prescription to description? Management Decision, 32(6), 35–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Regt, H. (1994). Representing the world by scientific theories: The case for scientific realism. Tilburg, Netherlands: Tilburg University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeFinetti, B. (1974). Theory of probability. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dettmers, S., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Kunter, M., & Baumert, J. (2010). Homework works if homework quality is high: Using multilevel modeling to predict the development of achievement in mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 467–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1938). Logic: The theory of inquiry. New York: H. Holt and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dienes, Z. (2008). Understanding psychology as a science: An introduction to scientific and statistical inference. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, W., Lindman, H., & Savage, L. J. (1963). Bayesian statistical inference for psychological research. Psychological Review, 70, 193–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahs, P. S., Morgan, L. L., & Kalman, M. (2003). A call for replication. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 35, 67–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feuer, M. J., Towne, L., & Shavelson, R. J. (2002). Scientific culture and educational research. Educational Researcher, 31(8), 4–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, R. A. (1955). Statistical methods and scientific induction. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B (Statistical Methodology), 17, 69–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, R. A. (1956). Statistical methods and scientific inference. New York: Hafner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, C. A. (1960). What is induction? The Journal of Philosophy, 57, 126–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Good, I. J. (1984). Review: A Bayesian approach in the philosophy of inference. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 35, 161–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenland, S. (1998). Induction versus Popper: Substance versus semantics. International Journal of Epidemiology, 27, 543–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hausman, C. R. (1993). Charles S. Peirce’s evolutionary philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hawthorne, J. (1993). Bayesian induction is eliminative induction. Philosophical Topics, 21, 99–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedges, L. V., & Olkin, I. (1985). Statistical methods for meta-analysis. Orlando: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henson, R. K. (2006). Effect size measures and meta-analytic thinking in counseling psychology research. The Counseling Psychologist, 34, 601–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hume, D. (1777/1912). An enquiry concerning human understanding, and selections from a treatise of human nature. Chicago: Open Court Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaynes, E. T. (1979). Review of the book Inference, method, and decision: Towards a Bayesian philosophy of science. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 74, 740–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeffreys, H. (1939). Theory of probability. Oxford, England: Clarendon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1994). A model theory of induction. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 8, 5–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Josephson, J. R., & Josephson, S. G. (Eds.). (1994). Abductive inference: Computation, philosophy, technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, R. E. (1996). Practical significance: A concept whose time has come. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 56, 746–759.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2004). Beyond significance testing: Reforming data analysis methods in behavioral research. Washington: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lakatos, I. (1968–1969). Criticism and the methodology of scientific research programs. Proceedings of the Aristotelina Society, New Series, 69, 149–186.

  • Lakatos, I. (1970). Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programs. In I. Lakatos & A. Musgrove (Eds.), Criticism and the growth of knowledge (pp. 91–196). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E. A. (2007). The case for inductive theory building. Journal of Management, 33, 867–890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neyman, J. (1957). “Inductive behavior” as a basic concept of philosophy of science. Review of the International Statistical Institute, 25, 7–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niiniluoto, I. (1999). Defending abduction. Philosophy of Science, 66(Suppl), 436–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peirce, C. S. (1877). The fixation of belief. Popular Science Monthly, 12, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peirce, C. S. (1934/1960). Collected papers of Charles Sander Peirce. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper, K. R. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, D. R., Diamond, K. E., Burchinal, M. R., & Koehler, M. J. (2010). Effects of an early literacy professional development intervention on head start teachers and children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 209–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reese, H. W. (1999). Strategies for replication research exemplified by replications of the Istomina study. Developmental Review, 19, 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rindskopf, D. M. (1997). Testing “small”, not null, hypotheses: Classical and Bayesian approaches. In L. L. Harlow, S. A. Mulaik, & J. H. Steiger (Eds.), What if there were no significance tests? (pp. 319–332). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenkrantz, R. D. (1977). Inference, method, and decision: Towards a Bayesian philosophy of science. Boston: D. Reidel Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothman, K. J., & Greenland, S. (1997). Modern epidemiology (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schilpp, P. A. (Ed.). (1974). The philosophy of Karl Popper. LaSalle: Open Court Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, S. (2009). Shall we really do it again? The powerful concept of replication is neglected in the social sciences. Review of General Psychology, 13, 90–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Searle, J. R. (1964). How to derive “ought” from “is”. The Philosophical Review, 1, 43–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (1967). The nature and classes of prescriptive judgments. The Philosophical Quarterly, 17(46), 46–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serlin, R. C. (1987). Hypothesis testing, theory building, and the philosophy of science. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34, 365–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuell, T. J. (1982). Developing a viable link between scientific psychology and educational practices. Instruction Science, 11, 155–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A. (1996). The sciences of the artificial (3rd ed.). Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, S., Pan, W., & Wang, L. (2010). A comprehensive review of effect size reporting and interpreting practices in academic journals in education and psychology. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 989–1004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staat, W. (1993). On abduction, deduction, induction and the categories. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, 29, 225–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (1993). The use of statistical significance tests in research: Bootstrap and other alternatives. The Journal of Experimental Education, 61, 361–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (1996). AERA editorial policies regarding statistical significance testing: Three suggested reforms. Educational Researcher, 25(2), 26–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (1997). Editorial policies regarding statistical significance tests: Further comments. Educational Researcher, 26(5), 29–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (2002). What future quantitative social science research could look like: Confidence intervals for effect sizes. Educational Researcher, 31, 25–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (2007). Effect sizes, confidence intervals, and confidence intervals for effect sizes. Psychology in the Schools, 45(2), 423–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (2008). Computing and interpreting effect sizes, confidence intervals, and confidence intervals for effect sizes. In J. W. Osborne (Ed.), Best practices in quantitative methods (pp. 246–262). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trundle, R. (1994). Ancient Greek philosophy: Its development and relevance to our time. Brookfield: Avebury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsang, E. W. K. (1997). Organizational learning and the learning organization: A dichotomy between descriptive and prescriptive research. Human Relations, 50, 73–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Mises, R. (1957). Probability, statistics, and truth (2nd ed.). New York: Dover.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wainer, H. (2010). 14 conversations about three things. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 35, 5–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, C. H. (2006). Philosophical foundations of quantitative research methodology. Toronto: University Press of America.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210049, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    Shuyan Sun & Wei Pan

Authors
  1. Shuyan Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wei Pan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuyan Sun.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sun, S., Pan, W. The Philosophical Foundations of Prescriptive Statements and Statistical Inference. Educ Psychol Rev 23, 207–220 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9157-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9157-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation