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The integration of fuzzy sets and statistics: toward strict falsification in the social sciences

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  • Ben Heylen
  • Mike Nachtegael

Abstract

Whilst statistics take up a prominent place in the social science research toolkit, some old problems that have been associated there with have not been fully resolved. These problems include bias through the inclusion of irrelevant variation and the exclusion of relevant variation, which may lead to hidden and spurious correlations in more extreme—however not at all unthinkable—cases. These issues have been addressed by Ragin by building a case for the usage of fuzzy set theory in social science. In this paper, we take a complementary view, insofar as we incorporate fuzzy set theory in current statistical analyses. Apart from shedding new light on the main issues associated with (population based) statistics, this approach also offers interesting prospects for the falsification of theories—rather than single relations between variables—in the social sciences. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Heylen & Mike Nachtegael, 2013. "The integration of fuzzy sets and statistics: toward strict falsification in the social sciences," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 3185-3200, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:47:y:2013:i:6:p:3185-3200
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-012-9711-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Badredine Arfi, 2009. "Probing the Democratic Peace Argument Using Linguistic Fuzzy Logic," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 30-57, March.
    2. Ragin, Charles C., 2000. "Fuzzy-Set Social Science," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226702773, January.
    3. Joachim Harloff, 2011. "Extracting cover sets from free fuzzy sorting data," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 45(6), pages 1445-1457, October.
    4. repec:ucp:bkecon:9780226702766 is not listed on IDEAS
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