Autorentext

Csilla Rákosi is Research Professor at the MTA-SZTE-DE Research Group for Theoretical Linguistics and Informatics, and at the Institute of German Studies, University of Debrecen, Hungary. Her main fields of research are the philosophy and methodology of linguistics and argumentation theory. Her notable publications include Data and Evidence in Linguistics (with Kertész, 2012/2019) and Inconsistency in Linguistic Theorising (with Kertész, 2022).

Klappentext

Drawing on a number of key case studies, this innovative book develops a novel model that highlights how experiments are one of the most important empirical data sources in cognitive linguistics. It covers three problem areas: the uncertainty of experimental data, contradictory experimental results and the relationship between experimental data and theories. It provides metascientific tools which make it possible to (re-)evaluate the reliability and the usability of experiments as data sources, to reveal the relationships between closely related experiments and to summarise their outcomes. By increasing meta-scientific awareness, this book allows researchers to conduct systematic and comprehensive re-evaluations of experiments, which will contribute to more conscious and transparent experimental practices of experimenting in cognitive linguistics, as well as in other fields of research. It is essential reading for researchers and advanced students in cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics and other areas that involve the study of experimental linguistic data.

Inhalt

Preface; 1. Introduction: the main problem of the book; Part I. The Treatment of the Uncertainty of Experimental Data in Cognitive Linguistics: 2. Introduction: The Rhetorical Paradox of Experiments (RPE); 3. Metascientific modelling of experiments as data sources in cognitive linguistics; 4. Argumentative aspects of experiments; 5. The reliability of single experiments as data sources in cognitive linguistics; 6. Metascientific modelling of chains of closely related experiments in cognitive linguistics; Part II. The Treatment of Inconsistencies Related to Experiments in Cognitive Linguistics: 8. Introduction: The Paradox of Problem-Solving Efficacy (PPSE); 9. Inconsistency in the philosophy of science and in theoretical linguistics; 10. Inconsistency resolution and cyclic re-evaluation in relation to experiments in cognitive linguistics; 11. Inconsistency resolution and statistical meta-analysis in relation to experiments in cognitive linguistics; 12. Conclusions: Inconsistency resolution with the help of cyclic re-evaluation and statistical meta-analysis and possible resolutions of (PPSE); Part III. The Evaluation of Theories with Respect to Experimental Results in Cognitive Linguistics: 13. Introduction: The Paradox of Error Tolerance (PET); 14. The relationship between single experiments and hypotheses/theories: types of evidence; 15. Summary effect sizes as evidence; 16. The combined method; 17. Conclusions: Experimental data as evidence for/against theories and a possible resolution of (PET); Part IV. Results: 18. The solution to (MP); References; Index.