What Kind of Propositions Are Set Forth in Developmental Research? Five Case Studies

Five studies published in Child Development, and selected without advance knowledge of their contents, were examined with respect to the metatheoretical status of their hypotheses. Although the hypotheses are treated as empirical, many of them are necessarily true and, hence, insensitive to empirical observation. Studies undertaken to test such hypotheses are labeled pseudoempirical. The high incidence of predominantly pseudoempirical studies (four of five in this sample) may reflect the following false beliefs: (a) variables that are semantically or logically interrelated are the most promising candidates for empirical research; (b) all propositions that can be related to data are empirical, and (c) it is not necessary to define terms conceptually.