Book chapter 1

Question 1

What is the aim of scientific knowledge?

Answer 1

The aim of scientific knowledge is to gain knowledge of patterns, structures, regularities and laws that is generalizable.

Question 2

What is the goal of science?

Answer 2

The goal of science is to be able to understand and explain phenomenon.

Question 3

What does it mean that knowledge is generalizable?

Answer 3

It means that principles and patterns are generally true.

Question 4

What are the five characteristics of good sound scientific konwledge?

Answer 4

1. Generalisability
2. Controllability
3. Objectivity
4. Use of valid research methods
5. Parsimony

Question 5

What does the characteristic controllability mean?

Answer 5

This means that it should be possible for other scientists to review your research and come to the same conclusion. That is why research must be transparent and repeatable (to repeat the research and conclude the same findings)

Question 6

What does the characteristic objectivity mean?

Answer 6

This means that the research is conducted independent of external pressures or influences, increasing the trustworthiness of the research.

Question 7

What is meant by the use of valid research methods?

Answer 7

This means that knowledge is only justified when it refers to valid research methods among scholars in a given discipline.

Question 8

What does the characterstic parsimony mean?

Answer 8

This means that the simplest explanation that explains the greatest number of observations is preferred to more complex explanations, because the complex explanations are statistically less likely to be true.

Question 9

Name the two misconceptions with regard to research methods used in management sciences.

Answer 9

1. Only empirical research counts as scientific
2. Scientific research is only descriptive and never prescriptive(normative)

Question 10

What is emperical scientific research?

Answer 10

Emperical research is research based on surveys, field studies, interviews, observations etc.

Question 11

what is positivism?

Answer 11

This is a way of thought in research that beleives that empirical research is the only right way to conduct research.

Question 12

Desribe what prescriptive, descriptive and normative means

Answer 12

Describtive: How things are
Prescriptive: How things should be

Question 13

What does a good reason model of truth

Answer 13

Good reason model of truth means that a claim is true if it is supported by the balance of reasons. Reasons in favour of claim outweigh reasons against claim.

Question 14

Name three classical fallacies often used in arguments

Answer 14

1. Argumentum ad ignorentiam
2. Petitio principii
3. False dilemma

Question 15

What is an Argumentum ad ignorentiam?

Answer 15

Claim that something is true because there is nothing that says it false

Question 16

What is a petitio principii?

Answer 16

circular argument in which the claim that one has to prove is secretly taken for granted in premise.

Question 17

What is a false dilemma?

Answer 17

Argument offers two choices, whereas, in reality there are a lot more possible choices.

Question 18

What are the three ways to interpret and understand the question: “What is reasonable?”

Answer 18

1. Methodological
2. Epistemological
3. Ontological

Question 19

What is the methodological interpretation of the question what is reasonable

Answer 19

This is about what research methods are valid.

Question 20

What is the epistemological interpretation of the question what is reasonable?

Answer 20

What is the status of the knowledge we have acquired? This question is particularly involved questioning the reasonableness of one’s theoretical assumptions underlying your conclusions.

Question 21

What is the ontological interpretation of the question what is reasonable?

Answer 21

Ontology revolves around the question of in what ways phenomenon exists in reality. What is a reasonable assumption that this phenomenon actually exists.

Question 22

What does the representativity heuristic mean?

Answer 22

people think that the more a person/event represents the features of the particular type, the higher the change that the person/event is indeed such a type. This ignores the base rate and the statistical distribution of chances.

In complex tasks where base rate is difficult to determine our intuition provides best way to come to reliable answer.