Observations and Measurements: Lecture quiz Flashcards
What is empiricism? Mark the correct option.
A)
The thesis that all observations are theory-dependent.
B)
The thesis that pure reasoning is more reliable than observations.
C)
The thesis that a statement is meaningless if it cannot be empirically verified.
D)
The thesis that sensory experience is the ultimate basis for knowledge.
D)
The thesis that sensory experience is the ultimate basis for knowledge.
For each observation below, decide whether it is (a) direct (unaided), (b) aided direct, or (c) indirect.
- Observing a person’s political views by letting them answer a survey
- Observing the the stellar constellation Ursa Minor by locating it in the night sky on the basis of its shape
- Observing a person in a pitch dark room by using thermal imaging binoculars
- Observing the (approximate) temperature of a liquid by dipping one’s finger into it
- Observing a traffic sign from a distance while wearing contact lenses
- Observing a person’s political views by letting them answer a survey - Indirect observation
- Observing the the stellar constellation Ursa Minor by locating it in the night sky on the basis of its shape - Direct observation
- Observing a person in a pitch dark room by using thermal imaging binoculars - Indirect observation
- Observing the (approximate) temperature of a liquid by dipping one’s finger into it -Direct observation
- Observing a traffic sign from a distance while wearing contact lenses - Aided direct observation
What does it mean to say that an observation is theory-dependent? Mark all correct options.
A)
It means that the justification and/or interpretation of the observation rests upon an assumption that one or more background theories are true.
B)
It means that there is only one theory that can account for the existence of the observational content (that which is observed).
C)
It means that, as of yet, the observation has not been made, although it’s predicted by one or several scientific theories that are accepted as truth.
A)
It means that the justification and/or interpretation of the observation rests upon an assumption that one or more background theories are true.
Why might one, arguably, find logical empiricism to be an unreasonable view about the relationship between observations and theory? Mark all correct options.
A)
Logical empiricism rests on the difference between observational sentences and theoretical sentences (theories), but this difference is a chimera. There is no such difference between sentences.
B)
Indirect observations always require theory. Hence, there cannot be any observational sentences about indirectly observable properties that could act as a foundation for some theory.
C)
Logical empiricism’s idea of deriving theory from observational sentences is ultimately an idea based on the foundationalist view on justification. Hence, it cannot be correct because foundationalism is simply an incorrect view on the nature of justification.
D)
Some aided-direct observations heavily rely on theory and are used to observe phenomena that cannot be observed by, and thus compared to, unaided-direct observations. Hence, some aided-direct observations are not acceptable according to logical empiricism, and this is counter-intuitive.
B)
Indirect observations always require theory. Hence, there cannot be any observational sentences about indirectly observable properties that could act as a foundation for some theory.
D)
Some aided-direct observations heavily rely on theory and are used to observe phenomena that cannot be observed by, and thus compared to, unaided-direct observations. Hence, some aided-direct observations are not acceptable according to logical empiricism, and this is counter-intuitive.
In some cases, scientists choose to rely on indirect observations - even though the target phenomenon is, in principle, directly observable. What might their reasons be for doing so? Mark all correct options.
A)
Direct observations are sometimes prone to errors that indirect observations are not prone to.
B)
Indirect observations are untouched by philosophical criticism - since they stem from methodological considerations that are widely used in science.
C)
Direct observations typically only give qualitative properties.
A)
Direct observations are sometimes prone to errors that indirect observations are not prone to.
C)
Direct observations typically only give qualitative properties.
What is the relationship between indirect observations and operationalizations? Mark all correct options.
A)
An indirect observation is the act of observing something indirectly. An operationalization is a theoretical construction of an indirect observation (which might be put to work).
B)
The terms “indirect observation” and “operationalization” are effectively synonymous.
C)
An operationalization is a technically advanced method of indirect observation that is applicable only for testing a very narrow range of scientific hypotheses.
D)
An operationalization is a causal or correlation hypothesis that must be true in order for a particular indirect observation to be accurate and precise.
E)
An operationalization is an indirect observation which is not theory-dependent.
A)
An indirect observation is the act of observing something indirectly. An operationalization is a theoretical construction of an indirect observation (which might be put to work).
D)
An operationalization is a causal or correlation hypothesis that must be true in order for a particular indirect observation to be accurate and precise.
True or false: It is possible that an operationalization might be sufficiently good (given one’s purposes) even though the phenomenon in question might be operationalized in several other ways.
A) True
B) False
A) True
Which of the following are quality criteria for operationalizations? Mark all correct options.
A)
The effect must be observable with sufficient precision.
B)
The hypothesized relationship between the phenomenon of interest and the effect must be valid according to our best knowledge.
C)
The hypothesized relationship between the phenomenon of interest and the effect is theory-dependent.
D)
The hypothesized relationship between the phenomenon of interest and the effect must be sufficiently stable for practical purposes.
E)
The phenomenon of interest must be sufficiently well-defined.
F)
The phenomenon of interest must in principle be impossible to observe directly.
A)
The effect must be observable with sufficient precision.
B)
The hypothesized relationship between the phenomenon of interest and the effect must be valid according to our best knowledge.
D)
The hypothesized relationship between the phenomenon of interest and the effect must be sufficiently stable for practical purposes.
E)
The phenomenon of interest must be sufficiently well-defined.
Some arguments for and against operationalism are discussed in the video. Compare each of the following arguments with the arguments in the video (A-D): is it an argument for operationalism, against operationalism, or is it irrelevant? Match each argument with the correct description.
A)
A researcher who embraces operationalism and observes Alzheimer’s disease via a memory test will have to say that Alzheimer’s disease is the inability to generate a certain score on this memory test, when Alzheimer’s disease in fact is something in the brain.
B)
By defining concepts through the operations by which they are observed/measured, you effectively split a concept into several subconcepts. Therefore, you create an abundance of unnecessary concepts which intuitively ought to be one and the same.
C)
By defining a concept, e.g. happiness, as the operation by which it is observed/measured, e.g. the score one gives on a scale ranging from 0-5, you have effectively identified happiness as the particular number given. Since this number is directly observable, you now don’t have to rely on any theory to observe happiness.
D)
Operationalism is by consequence of its thesis an effective way to generate an operationalization. The connection between this operationalization’s feature of interest and directly observable effect is automatically justified by means of the feature of interest’s definition.
A) Against operationalism
B) Against operationalism
C) For operationalism
D) Irrelevant
Which of the following are examples (A-C) that apply to one, two, or none of the two quality criteria for the specification of a unit of measurement? Match each example with the quality criteria it satisfies, if any (Stability, comparability or none)
A)
One measure of water sample’s magnitude would be to use, as a unit, a small ice block with a predetermined magnitude.
B)
One measure of a second would be to use the time it takes for a Cesium atom to oscillate, approximately, 9 billion times.
C)
One measure of length would be to use a predefined prototype of length as a unit, such as a seconds pendulum (a pendulum whose period is two seconds).
A) None
B) Stability and comparability
c) Comparability
Match each scale type with the description that uniquely applies to it. ( Ordinal scale, Absolute scale, Ratio scale, Interval scale, Nominal scale)
Description A: This scale allows for quantitative comparisons of different steps between points on the scale. The Celsius temperature scale is a scale of this type. Also, on this type of scale the null does not necessarily correspond to a lack of the measured property, and the unit itself is arbitrarily defined in terms of this property.
Description B: By merely naming the instances in a set, without any mutual comparison, we’ve successfully placed them on a scale of this kind.
Description C: This scale allows for quantitative comparisons of different steps between points on the scale. The null corresponds to a complete lack of the measured property. The Kelvin temperature scale (K) is a scale of this type. Not only is it possible to do quantified comparisons of the different intervals on the scale, but is also possible to say that 80K is in fact twice as hot as 40K. However, on scales of this type, the unit is arbitrarily defined in terms of the targeted property.
Description D: This scale allows for quantitative comparisons of different steps between points on the scale. The null corresponds to a complete lack of the measured property. In addition, the unit of measurement corresponds to some naturally occurring unit or constituent of the targeted property. Probability measures are placed on this kind of scale.
Description E: By placing objects on a scale of this kind, we have successfully arranged them hierarchically in accordance with the different extents to which they instantiate a certain property. However, this hierarchical arrangement is purely qualitative. For example, the scale TERRIBLE-BAD-NEUTRAL-GOOD-GREAT is a scale of this type. The scale does not allow us to say e.g. that the step from BAD to NEUTRAL is equal to (or twice as large as, or a third of) the step from NEUTRAL to GOOD.
A) Interval scale
B) Nominal scale
C) Ratio scale
D) Absolute scale
E) Ordinal scale
Assume that you want to measure the price difference between three different types of shoes. This requires a scale that orders your measurement and specifies an equivalent distance for each of the scale’s steps. Given these considerations, the scale that you use is an interval scale.
A) True
B) False
B) False
Measurement errors come in two types: random and systematic errors. What characterizes a random error? Mark all correct options.
A)
Given sufficiently many measurements of a quantity and the absence of systematic errors, the average result of those measurements is expected to be precise.
B)
Random errors do not affect the precision of the measurement.
C)
Some random errors can be avoided by trying a different operationalization.
D)
Random errors cannot be reduced by repeating measurements and averaging over outcomes.
A)
Given sufficiently many measurements of a quantity and the absence of systematic errors, the average result of those measurements is expected to be precise.
C)
Some random errors can be avoided by trying a different operationalization.
What is true regarding systematic error? Mark all correct options.
A)
Systematic errors affect the precision of a measurement.
B)
Systematic errors might occur due to poor calibration.
C)
A series of measurements might be very precise, even though they are affected by systematic error.
D)
Systematic errors and random errors cannot occur at the same time.
E)
Systematic errors affect the accuracy of a measurement
B)
Systematic errors might occur due to poor calibration.
C)
A series of measurements might be very precise, even though they are affected by systematic error.
E)
Systematic errors affect the accuracy of a measurement
How is it possible to get some indication of whether a method of measurement is suffering from a systematic error? Mark all correct options.
A)
We can test for precision.
B)
We can test for divergent validity
C)
We can test for convergent validity.
D)
We can check whether one can deductively prove that the theory underlying our operationalization is true.
B)
We can test for divergent validity
C)
We can test for convergent validity.
