I THINK I CAN - I THINK I CAN - RECONSIDERING THE PLACE FOR PRACTICE METHODOLOGIES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL-RESEARCH

Psychologists have an array of research methodologies at their disposa l as they seek to answer theoretical or applied questions. Methodologi sts often describe reasons why one methodology is superior to another. Such discriminations are only true in general, and with respect to a certain perspective on scientific acceptability (e.g., in controlling threats to internal validity, cf. Campbell & Stanley, 1963). But one r esearch method's superiority to another may vanish in certain circumst ances, with particular populations, for use with practical problems an d so forth. Recent research using alternative (softer'') research meth odologies(i.e., self-report measures of behavior, retrospective pretes ts, autobiographies) yield results demonstrably superior to those of s tudies using more traditional meth.ds. Given these somewhat surprising findings, arguments are offered as to why 2 other underused research methods (i.e., clinical case studies, self-experimentation) might also be seriously considered in psychology's empirical efforts. Greater us e of such methods could lead to what Hoshmand and Polkinghorne (1992) refer to as practicing knowledge.