Popper was not a Positivist: Why Critical Rationalism Could be an Epistemology for Qualitative as well as Quantitative Social Scientific Research

Does Postmodernism Really Entail a Disregard for the Truth? Similarities and Differences in Postmodern and Critical Rationalist Conceptualizations of Truth, Progress, and Empirical Research Methods

“…Hence, a critical rationalist approach to psychology could also be imagined as a more inclusive enterprise bridging the existing gaps between qualitative and quantitative approaches above and beyond the mere "mixing" of methods (cf. Holtz and Odağ, 2018). Just like in the previous paragraphs on truth and progress, Popper's (or any other philosopher's) personal preferences do not count much in view of the question how their philosophical approaches can and should be interpreted.…”

“…We finally arrive at the question as to whether Popper's concept of truth as a regulative ideal can be reconciled with Lyotard's and Gergen's postmodernist approaches. I would argue that they are indeed compatible (see also Holtz, 2016;Holtz and Odağ, 2018). If we take, for example, statement of Gergen (1990) that instead of researchers who are just "objectifying the taken-for-granted assumptions of the culture" (p. 33), we need scholars who are "willing to be audacious, to break the barriers of common sense by offering new forms of theory, of interpretation, of intelligibility" (ibid.…”

“…In the following paragraph, I will attempt to summarize the central "mantra" of critical rationalism as concisely as possible. More elaborate accounts of critical rationalism, and the rather misleading way in which it is most often characterized in psychological texts, have been provided elsewhere (e.g., Holtz, 2016;Holtz and Monnerjahn, 2017;Holtz and Odağ, 2018).…”

Two Questions to Foster Critical Thinking in the Field of Psychology

“…I used data as a point of persuasion, and I never really worried about, 'Will this replicate or will this not?'". Whereas I believe that demanding 'impartiality' and 'objectivity' from researchers is illusory (see e.g., Holtz & Monnerjahn, 2017;Holtz & Odağ, 2018), I think nevertheless that the drawbacks of such a salesman-like approach to science are fairly obvious. Such an attitude is particularly detrimental when there are no serious alternative theories regarding the phenomena to be explained.…”

A mixed-methods measurement and evaluation methodology for mobile application usability studies

“…This group of methods emphasize objective measurements and the numerical analysis of data collected through polls, surveys and questionnaires. In contrast, the qualitative paradigm is based on interpretivism [54] and constructivism [55]. The three most common methods are: focus groups (group discussions), individual in-depth interviews, and participant observation [56].…”