Evaluating a Theory Flashcards
What are the 10 criteria for evaluating a theory?
Testability Falsifiability Parsimony Explanatory power Predicitive power Scope Cumulative range of knowledge Degree of formal development Heuristic value Aesthetics
What is testability?
Can theory generate hypothesis or predictions?
What is falsifiability?
Can the theory be tested and falsified?
What is parsimony?
Most simple theory is best theory.
What is explanatory power?
The better the explanation, the better the theory.
Related to parsimony.
Sometimes tradeoff between the two.
What is predictive power?
More precise the prediction, the better the theory.
High in predictive power versus low in explanatory power can be possible.
What is scope?
How general and applicable is the theory?
What is cumulative nature of science?
How does the theory build on other theories and provides a step forward towards an approximation of the truth.
What is the degree of formal development?
Lower end has concepts being developed.
Higher end has concepts, definitions, hypotheses, etc.
What is heuristic value?
How much research does the theory generate?
What is aesthetics?
How beautiful the theory is.
