Table Of ContentThe Art of
EMPIRICAL
INVESTIGATION
The Art of
EMPIRICAL
INVESTIGATION
Julian L. Simon
With a new introduction by
James E. Katz
O Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Originally published in 1969 by Random House
Published 2003 by Transaction Publishers
Published 2017 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2003040991
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simon, Julian Lincoln, 1932-
[Basic research methods in social science]
The art of empirical investigation / Julian L. Simon ; with a new introduction
by James E. Katz.
p. cm.
Originally published: Basic research methods in social science. 2nd ed. New
York : Random House, 1978. With a new introd.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7658-0530-8 (paper : alk. paper)
1. Social sciences—Research. 2. Social sciences—Methodology.
I. Title.
H62.S475 2003
300'.7'2—dc21 2003040991
ISBN 13: 978-0-7658-0530-0 (pbk)
I am grateful for the privilege of quoting from "voices to voices" in Complete
Poems 1913-1962 by E. E. Cummings. Reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.; from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Branislaw Malinowski.
Published in the United States by E. P. Dutton, and reprinted with their permission
and with permission of Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.; from "Freud in Research
Is a Rising Problem in Science" by Boyce Rensberger. © 1977 by The New York
Times Company. Reprinted by permission; from a by-lined article by Ward Cannei,
copyrighted January 26, 1964 by Newspaper Enterprise Association. Reprinted by
permission; from The Nature of Statistics by Allen Wallis and Harry Roberts. Re
printed by permission of The Macmiilan Company. © The Free Press of Glencoe, a
Corporation 1956; from The Essential Works of Pavlov by Ivan Pavlov (edited by
Michael Kaplan). Copyright © 1927 by Oxford University Press. Copyright © 1966
by Bantam Books. Reprinted by permission of the Oxford University Press; from
Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology by Hermann Ebbinghaus.
Copyright © 1913 by Dover Publications, Inc.; from "Obesity's Problem Child
Demands Rewards" by Arthur J. Snider. Copyright © 1964 by The Chicago Daily
News. Reprinted by permission; from "Phobias in Britons Fall into 130 types."
Copyright © 1969 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission;
from Readings in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences by May Brodbeck. Copy
right © 1968 by The Macmiilan Publishing Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission;
excerpt from the Champaign-Urbana Courier February 21, 1965. Reprinted with
permission; from The Ambassador by Morris West. Copyright © 1965 by William
Morrow & Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission; from The Human Meaning of the
Social Sciences by Daniel Lerner. Copyright © 1959 by Peter Smith. Reprinted by
permission; from The Conduct of Inquiry by Abraham Kaplan. Copyright © 1974
by Thomas Y. Crowell, Inc. Reprinted by permission; from Paul F. Lazarsfeld, The
People's Choice: How the Voter Makes up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign,
third edition, New York: Columbia University Press, 1968. Reprinted by permission;
from Printer's Ink, August 27, 1965; from Anthropology by A. L. Kroeber. Copyright
1923, 1948 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.; renewed 1951 by A. L. Kroeber.
Reprinted by permission of the publishers; from The Economics of Seller's Competi
tion by Fritz Machlup. Copyright © 1952 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Reprinted by permission; from "Evaluation of Alternate Rating Devices for Consumer
Research," from Journal of Marketing Research, published by the American Market
ing Association; from An Introduction to Scientific Research by E. Bright Wilson.
Copyright © 1952 by McGraw-Hill, Inc. Used with permission of McGraw-Hill Book
Company; from Lawrence R. Klein (ed): Contributions of Survey Methods to
Economics, New York: Columbia University Press, 1954. Reprinted by permission;
from "Land Price Set by Jury." Copyright © 1965 by the Champaign-Urbana
Courier. Excerpt from Illinois Business Review, April 1966, p. 9. Copyright © 1966.
Reprinted by permission; from "Hired Hand Research," by Julius A. Roth. Copyright
© 1966 by the American Sociological Association. Reprinted by permission of
publisher and author; from Experimenter Effects in Behavioral Research by Robert
Rosenthal. Copyright © 1966. Reprinted by permission; Selections from Stanley
L. Payne, The Art of Asking Questions (copyright 1951 by Princeton University
Press), pp. 7, 11 and 16. Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press;
from "A Middle Way Out of Vietnam" by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. in The New York
Times Magazine. © 1966 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permis
sion; from "A Psuedo Experiment in Parapsychology" by L. W. Alvarez. Copyright
1965 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Reprinted by
permission of the author; from "Privacy and Behavioral Research" by K. E. Clark
et al. Copyright 1967 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Reprinted by permission of the authors.
c o n t e n ts
Introduction to the Transaction Edition xiii
Preface to Second Edition xix
Acknowledgments to Second Edition xxii
Acknowledgments to First Edition xxiii
Prologue xxiv
1. Introduction 3
1. Purpose of the book 3
2. What kinds of research are called "empirical"? 5
3. The place of statistics in the study of research methods
4. Some general remarks 10
PART ONE: The Process of Sociaf-Science Research
2. The Language of Research: Definitions and Validity 12
1. Operational definitions 12
2. Numbers and operational definitions 17
3. Validity and reliability 21
4. Writing scientific reports 23
5. Communicating with yourself 25
6. Honesty in scientific reporting 25
7. Summary 28
3. Basic Concepts of Research 30
1. Variables in general 30
2. The dependent variable 31
3. The independent variable 31
4. Parameters 31
5. The functional form 33
6. Assumption, theory, deduction, hypothesis, fact, and law
7. Universe and sample 36
8. The ideal causal-study design 36
9. Ceteris paribus 39
10. Summary 47
4. Types of Empirical Research 43
1. Introduction 43
2. Case-study descriptive research 44
3. Classification research 46
4. Measurement and estimation 49
5. Comparison problems 50
6. Research that tries to find relationships 52
viii Contents
7. Finding causes and effects 56
8. Mapping structures 57
9. Evaluation research 58
10. Summary 59
5. Theory, Model, Hypothesis, and Empirical Research 62
1. What is theory? 63
2. Models, theory, and hypotheses 64
3. Two views of theory and of science in general 65
4. The relationship between theory and empirical research 65
5. Summary 68
6. Choosing Appropriate Proxies for Theoretical Variables 71
1. Dependent variables whose referents are clearly defined 73
2. Dependent variables whose referents are not clearly defined 80
3. Choosing independent variables 84
4. Choosing a level of aggregation 85
5. Choosing a level of explanation 89
6. Summary 92
PART TWO: Research Decisions and Procedures
7. The Steps In an Empirical Research Study 96
1. Finding a good research problem 97
2. Ask "What do I want to find out?" 98
3. Establish the purpose of the project 100
4. Determine the value of the research 100
5. Saturate yourself in the problem 100
6. Choose empirical variables 101
7. Calculate the benefits of accuracy and the costs of error 104
8. Determine the most important research obstacles 105
9. Choose methods 105
10. Check the ethics of your proposed research and method 109
11. Prepare a detailed design of the method 109
12. Collect the data 111
13. Analyze the data 112
14. Write up the research work 112
15. Summary 112
8. How to Assess the Potential Value of Research Projects 115
1. Evaluating the inputs required for a research project 116
2. Estimating the value of research projects 118
3. Summary 125
9. Sampling 126
1. Universe and sample 126
2. Random sampling basics 127
3. Screening in sampling 132
4. Efficiency in random sampling 132
5. Nonrandom samples 138
6. Summary 143
10. Experiments: Pro, Con, and How to Do Them 145
1. The distinction between experiment and survey 145
2. The steps in experimenting 147
Contents ix
3. Advantages of experiments 153
4. Disadvantages of experiments 156
5. Summary 158
11. Designing Experiments 160
1. Simple uncontrolled exploratory experiments 160
2. Before-and-after experiments 162
3. Matched-groups design 163
4. Simple randomized-groups design 164
5. Some additional one-variable designs 166
6. Multivariate designs 167
7. Experimental designs to study delayed effects 171
8. Summary 171
12. Non-Experimental Designs for Studying Relationships 174
1. Time series—the long view 175
2. The cross section—the wide view 176
3. Causes of differences in results from time-series and cross-
sectional studies 182
4. Designs for studying changes over time 183
5. The panel 185
6. Summary 187
13. Surveys: Pro, Con, and How to Do Them 190
1. The nature of surveys 190
2. Advantages of the survey method for relationship research 191
3. Disadvantages of the survey method for relationship research 192
4. Descriptive surveys 193
5. The steps in executing a survey 200
6. Summary 201
14. Some Other Qualitative and Quantitative Techniques 203
1. Deductive reasoning 203
2. The case study 206
3. Participant observation 207
4. Expert opinion 208
5. Content analysis 211
6. Simulation 215
7. Summary 217
15. Classifying, Measuring, and Scaling 219
1. Classifying 220
2. Measuring and scaling 227
3. Strengths of scales 230
4. Summary 233
16. Scaling Human Responses 235
1. Types of mental activity to be measured 236
2. Stimulus and response scales 238
3. Simple composite scales 239
4. Choice of scales 240
5. Summary 243
