To demonstrate the utility of content analysis for generating cultural indicators spanning long periods of time, we re-analyzed Sorokin's (1937) data on theories of truth. Based on content-analytic techniques consistent with contemporary methods, Sorokin concluded that there were no trends or cycles in concern with theories of truth, but only trendless fluctuations. Contrary to Sorokin's conclusions, our re-analysis indicates that since the Renaissance, changes in concern with theories of truth reflect: (1) increasing secularization of Western civilization, and (2) cultural problem-solving cycles. The cultural cycles are the same length as political problem-solving cycles previously observed in America and Great Britain. These results suggest that Sorokin's data have both construct and face validity.This paper provides a method for calculating the minimum and maximum possible variances from summary data for which n-tile group means are reported, but for which standard deviations are not given. The method makes no assumptions about the nature of the distribution of the data. Decision rules are derived for using the minimum and maximum possible variances, Examples and a flow-chart for calculating the minimum and maximum variances are given in Appendices.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.