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Trust in numbers : the pursuit of objectivity in science and public life /
What accounts for the prestige of quantitative methods? The usual answer is that quantification is desirable in social investigation as a result of its successes in science. Trust in Numbers questions whether such success in the study of stars, molecules, or cells should be an attractive model for r...
| Clasificación: | Libro Electrónico |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Princeton, New Jersey :
Princeton University Press,
2020.
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| Edición: | New edition. |
| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
| Sumario: | What accounts for the prestige of quantitative methods? The usual answer is that quantification is desirable in social investigation as a result of its successes in science. Trust in Numbers questions whether such success in the study of stars, molecules, or cells should be an attractive model for research on human societies, and examines why the natural sciences are highly quantitative in the first place. Theodore Porter argues that a better understanding of the attractions of quantification in business, government, and social research brings a fresh perspective to its role in psychology, physics, and medicine. Quantitative rigor is not inherent in science but arises from political and social pressures, and objectivity derives its impetus from cultural contexts. In a new preface, the author sheds light on the current infatuation with quantitative methods, particularly at the intersection of science and bureaucracy. |
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| Notas: | "With a new preface by the author". |
| Descripción Física: | 1 online resource (xxvi, 310 pages) |
| Bibliografía: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780691210544 0691210543 |