Wissenschaftstheorie und Forschungsmethoden - Key Scientific Terminology

Empirie

Knowledge that is gained through observation, personal experience, or scientific investigations.

Realismus

The philosophical position that the world truly exists independently of whether we perceive it.

Wissenschaftstheorie

The field of philosophy of science that deals with how science operates and how it ought to operate.

Deskriptiv

An approach that describes how science actually takes place in practice.

Normativ

An approach that describes how science ideally ought to take place.

Induktion

The logical process of inferring a general rule from a single individual case.

Deduktion

The logical process of inferring a concrete individual case from a general rule.

Verifikation

The attempt to confirm or prove a statement to be true.

Falsifikation

The attempt to refute or disprove a statement.

Falsifizierbarkeit (Wissenschaftstheorie)

The requirement that a theory must be formulated in such a way that it can fundamentally be refuted or disproven.

Evidenz

Observations or empirical findings that support or speak in favor of a theory.

Gegenevidenz

Observations or empirical findings that contradict or speak against a theory.

Paradigma

A specific dominant mindset, framework, or conceptual view prevailing within science.

Paradigmenwechsel

A fundamental shift or transformation in the prevailing scientific way of thinking.

Anything goes (Feyerabend)

The scientific position asserting that there are no fixed methodological rules to which science must always adhere.

Logischer Empirismus (Carnap)

The philosophical position holding that scientific statements must be verifiable through observations or empirical experience.

Kritischer Rationalismus (Popper)

The philosophical position stating that theories cannot be definitively proven; rather, one must critically test and attempt to refute them.

Erkenntnisprozess

The pathway or systematic process through which scientists acquire new knowledge.

Operationalisierung

Defining a theoretical concept in concrete, measurable terms so that it can be quantified or evaluated.

Qualitative Forschung

A research methodology that primarily explores opinions, experiences, and personal perspectives, such as through interviews.

Quantitative Forschung

A research methodology that investigates phenomena using numerical data and measurement values, such as through questionnaires.

Theoriegeleitet

Orienting an empirical investigation around an already established, existing theory.

Exploration

Initially investigating a topic openly in order to discover more about it.

IMRaD

The standard structural format of a scientific paper: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (Einleitung, Methode, Ergebnisse und Diskussion).

Evidenzbasierte Praxis

The practice of making practical decisions based on scientific findings and empirical evidence.

Konstrukt

A theoretical concept that can be conceptualized but cannot be observed or measured directly (e.g., motivation).

Indikator

A measurable characteristic or sign used to capture and quantify a latent construct.

Theorie

A scientifically grounded explanation that explains why a certain phenomenon occurs.

Empirische Evidenz

Findings from empirical investigations that support or challenge a scientific statement.

Hypothese

An educated assumption or conjecture that can be tested scientifically.

Widerspruchsfreiheit (Hypothese)

The formal criterion requiring that a hypothesis must not contradict itself.

Eindeutigkeit (Hypothese)

The criterion requiring that a hypothesis must be formulated clearly and comprehensibly.

Operationalisierbarkeit (Hypothese)

The requirement that one must be able to specify and define how the hypothesis can be empirically tested.

Falsifizierbarkeit (Hypothese)

The requirement that it must be possible under certain outcomes to refute or disprove the hypothesis.

Deduktiv / überprüfend

An approach that begins with an existing theory and tests it using a specific hypothesis.

Induktiv / explorierend

An approach that examines empirical observations and attempts to develop new insights or hypotheses from them.

Gerichtete Hypothese

A hypothesis that predicts beforehand the specific direction in which a relationship or effect goes.

Ungerichtete Hypothese

A hypothesis that presumes a relationship exists but does not specify the direction of the relationship.

Deterministische Hypothese

A hypothesis stating that a specific factor always and invariably leads to a specific outcome.

Probabilistische Hypothese

A hypothesis stating that a specific factor increases or decreases the likelihood of a certain outcome.

Variable

A characteristic or property that can take on different values (e.g., age or body height).

Ausprägung

The specific, concrete value that a variable adopts (e.g., 19 years old).

Kodierung

The process of converting qualitative characteristics, properties, or survey responses into numerical values.

Manifest

A characteristic that can be directly observed or measured (e.g., body height).

Latent

A characteristic that cannot be directly observed or measured (e.g., intelligence or motivation).

Diskret

A variable characterized by distinct, clearly separated, non-continuous values (e.g., number of siblings).

Kontinuierlich

A variable that can take on an infinite number of intermediate values along a scale (e.g., body height or body weight).

Unabhängige Variable (UV)

The presumed causal factor hypothesized to exert an effect on or influence another variable.

Abhängige Variable (AV)

The outcome variable being measured or investigated that is hypothesized to be influenced by the independent variable.

Messung

The process of systematically mapping properties from reality onto numerical values.

Empirisches Relativ

The entity or relationships observed directly in real-world empirical reality.

Numerisches Relativ

The mathematical system of numbers used to formally represent empirical observations.

Messbarkeit

The fundamental prerequisite that an attribute or characteristic must be capable of being measured.

Eindeutigkeit (Messung)

The measurement requirement stating that a measurement