Does "X" affect "Y"? Answering this question is particularly difficult if reverse causality is looming. Many social scientists turn to panel data to address such questions of causal ordering. Yet even in longitudinal analyses, reverse causality threatens causal inference based on conventional panel models. Whereas the…

Although the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) has been challenged on methodological, theoretical, and ethical grounds, these criticisms have been largely ignored by teachers and textbook authors. Recent revelations arising from an analysis of the SPE archival materials, however, not only strongly support these past criticisms but also question the…

Argues the historical reference group orientation and personal identity study material done on blacks in the United States are flawed because they made inappropriate assumptions about the link between these two measures. Further, conclusions drawn from these materials constitute a major obstacle to the accurate understanding of the processes of…

Criticizes methodological tendencies of economics and sociological researchers who do not ask "how large is large?" Reliance on statistical significance and existence theorems shows the limits of formalistic rather than humanistic research approaches. Argues that serious scholars develop whole arguments and understand the rhetoric of…

Describes the problem of absence of evidence in historiography. Discusses the limits this lack of evidence poses for comparative studies by sociologists. Identifies steps in which events or evidence may be missed or passed over. Includes nonoccurrence, no surviving evidence, unlocated evidence, failure to note evidence, inaccurate criticism of…

Responds to criticism concerning the communication research conducted by the author about urban schools and immigrant families. The author describes the research approach, defends the lack of parental and community data as appropriate for the stage the study was in, and explains the research is too early to subscribe to the political and…

Offers a critical analysis of research conducted by Thomas D. Gougeon concerning Alberta (Canada) urban schools and immigrant families. The research was designed to help develop a theory of communication between staff and teachers of high school students and the students' parents. The article argues that the research is biased without adequate…

Commentaries from 10 researchers concerning "Alcohol Abuse in Urban Indian Adolescents and Women: A Longitudinal Study for Assessment and Risk Evaluation" (R. Dale Walker and others). Reviewers commend the project for adding to the sparse longitudinal research on Indian peoples, while also pointing out problems and issues specific to…