A researcher summarizes the findings and then makes generalizations. Why does the researcher refer to the literature before making generalizations?

Question

a. If the current study is a replication of previous research, its generalizations will be identical to those of the study it replicates.
b. If there is no previous research in this area, no generalizations can be made.
c. If the current study is the second by this researcher, its generalizations will be to the population from which the second sample was drawn, and will specifically exclude the sample from the first study.
d. If there is a lone study in this area, generalizations are narrow; if there is previous research of a parallel nature, more widespread generalization is in order.

Answer 1

ANS: D
Generalization extends the implications of the findings from the sample studied to a larger population or from the situation studied to a larger situation. If there is previous identical or very similar research in this area, generalizations can be made to the populations from which this and other studies were drawn, thus increasing generalizability. Generalizations based on accumulated evidence from many studies are called empirical generalizations. These generalizations are important for verifying theoretical statements or developing new theories. Empirical generalizations are the base of a science and contribute to scientific conceptualization, which provide a basis for generating evidence-based guidelines to manage specific practice problems.