There are many kinds of qualitative research designs, and I will not attempt to discuss them here. This short introduction to research methods is designed to simply orient you to the basic directions for research without going into any detail.
Some research designs are not hypothesis tests and do not attempt to answer a specific question. Sometimes hypothesis tests can be done later based on the findings of the exploratory research.
Exploratory research might investigate what astrological factors occur in the charts of scientists, musicians, painters, and other professions, and then based on these findings develop a hypothesis to be tested.
Exploratory research is prone to find many relationships that are not replicable findings because the findings are just random occurrences in the data that is sampled, but if done properly, exploratory research can also help discover relationships that can be replicated in future studies. Note that some astrological studies are exploratory but are then are incorrectly used as strong evidence in favor of astrlogy.
This is especially a problem when no strong theoretical justification for the findings is given. For example, periodically a study is reported where certain sun signs are found to be more likely to be in particular professions or to differ in some other way. However, these studies typially are exploratory. In an exploratory study one does not state a clear hypothesis before the data is collected. In order to draw a conclusion that there is a corelation of the astrological variable and the behavior measuerd, one must also consider the possibility of confounding variables that may exist given that the study is not an experimental design.
This problem is discussed below. Surveys are often conducted simply to be able to describe a situation. We may wish to know how many people in a given community or urban area hold a certain political position, preference, or interest.
This can be useful to people who may wish to open businesses or plan future development for a community. Descriptive research is generally not a kind of research that astrologers pursue. What may seem like descriptive research is usually actually exploratory research to determine relationships of astrological variables and behavior in order to study these relationships in more detail in the future.
Because descriptive research is a common kind of research study and is very important in other disciplines, it is worthy of mention in this introduction to research designs, and it is possible that some astrologers will engage in descriptive research to understand more about a particular population being studied or for some other reason.
In an experimental design treatment is controlled. In astrology the treatment is the astrological factors such as planets in zodiac signs, house, or in aspect. The researcher does not control these astrological influences; we cannot manipulate them. The astrological factors are naturally occurring effect and is referred to as a natural experiment Shadish, Cook and Campbell, , page Quasi-experimental designs are an area of very interest and research in recent years.
In a quasi-experimental design the treatment is done through self-selection rather than random assignment. A study of the relationship of smoking and lung cancer is typically done as a quasi-experiment. People self-select to smoke. We cannot randomly assign people to smoke and then see if they get cancer.
Although drawing causal inferences from quasi-experimental studies is difficult, it is not impossible. The essence of the potential outcomes framework is whether the occurrence of event B depends on whether event A occurs. The potential outcomes framework eliminates the complex philosophical issues of mechanisms that are regarded as causal and simply replaces the idea of causality with a question of whether a particular behavior occurs dependent on some other earlier behavior.
Rubin's potential outcomes framework views causal inference as a kind of missing data problem. We may observe, for example, that smokers more often have lung cancer than non-smokers.
Data from people who do smoke does not provide this missing data because the non-smokers may differ in many ways from smokers.
A confounding variable may be the cause for boh treatment and outcome and thus invalidate any causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer. Not that we are using the word "causal" as it is used in the counterfactual framework, as indicating whether one behavior lung cancer occurs if another behavior smoking occurs. This use of the word causal removes issues of how this causal relationship exists; it does not need to occur through some kind of Newtonian model of material causality such as in the laws of motion and inertia.
Researchers have devised many elegant mathematical models and research methods to assist in drawing causal inferences in quasi-experimental designs. One breakthrough, for example, is the use of propensity scores to balance the treated and untreated groups.
A propensity score is the measurement of treatment assignment given the covariates. Several matching mathematical algorithms have been developed to match the groups based on propensity scores and relatively new methods such as data mining methods such as boosted regression have been applied in simulation studies to determine if they provide more accurate estimates of propensity scores than with the moer traditional methods such as logistic regression.
These are very hot areas of reseach now because improving the ability to draw causal inferences as defined according to the potential outcomes framework is vitally important especially in the social sciences. I have gone into some detail in describing Rubin's potential outcomes framework because it is central to current research in quasi-experimental designs, and quasi-experimental designs, like the natural experiments that astrologers frequently use when conducting research, share a common problem of not having the advantages of a randomized experiment.
In a randomized experiment, covariates that are potential confounders are also randomly distributed among the experimental and control groups so causal inference is much easier in a randomized experiment. However, like medical researchers studing the relationship of smoking to cancer, we cannot randomly assign people to have different astrological variables and see what the resulting behavior would be if everything else remained the same.
Like medical researchers and social science researchers, however, we can do the best we can given these realities. Quasi-experiments and natural experiments are similar in many respects. In both cases we can ask the counterfactual question of whether the outcome variable occurs dependent on the predictor variable.
In the case of astrology, we ask the question of whether an outcome, such as talking a lot which can be measured as the number of words spoken in a day is related to the predictor of planets in Gemini.
Although some astrologers might argue that astrology works through synchronicity and Gemini does not cause talking, that is not relevant to the potential outcomes framework.
We simply ask the counterfactual question of whether the person would talk a lot of the planets were not in Gemini, and if we can answer this question, then a causal relationship exists even if that causal relationship is through some kind of synchronistic mechanism.
In the potential outcomes framework causality is not restricted to causality in the sense of Newtonian laws of inertia as material causes. Astra Maps — The software also comes with an Astra Maps function, which creates the most powerful predictions. The calculation engine is also reliable, and you can use it to make plant charts, and also make predictions. House Systems — You might also like this software for its versatility and the fact that it works for up to 30 different houses.
Thanks to these features, this software makes it easy for you to find some different places in the world. Whether you are looking for astrology software to help you set up your business, find the best places to settle down, the best place to invest at, the best vacationing spot, or where to meet the love of your life, this software will get you started. Developed by Halloran Software, this astrology software comes with a host of important astrological utilities and tools which allow you to create astrological charts for different predictions.
Its Astro Carto Graphy makes for easy interpretation of results. It also comes with a Report Creating Engine that gives specific and comprehensive insights into planetary movements and, together with the engines, provides comprehensive predictions on different aspects of your life. You can use it to create houses or reports focusing on your predictions, allowing you to create even more detailed predictions and outlines thanks to the use of charts and reports. Mapping of transits and charts is also possible with this software.
And the report writer completes all the important reporting tasks on your behalf. With a great design, an interface that is easy to use, a host of basic utilities and tools, Keplar is another excellent astrology software for use by beginners, as well as pros. Keplar gives its users access to over charts along with mappings for planetary bodies. Its time-change atlas offers several built-in reports such as the fine brief natal, degree meaning, compatibility, harmonic reports, and relocation reports.
This software also offers numerous astromapping techniques such as theme mapping based on locations, as well as the unique predictive graphs also theme-based to tell people about the ideal times for romance, business, etc. The other mapping methods include the Fixed Star catalog and the midpoint compatibility. Developed by the Astrological Bureau of Ideas, Intrepid offers a new approach to data interpretation based on the principles of self-evident astrology.
It is, therefore, one of the most powerful tools for chart creation, and it represents everything about the original science of astrology. Intrepid provides accurate predictions and interpretations of data, with their results showing a significantly high rate of accuracy. It comes with 5 progressions not seen in other astrology software systems.
It also comes with a full ACD atlas that allows you to easily and accurately pinpoint exact coordinates at all times. Its house structure and the use of the Swiss Ephemeris Calculation Systems enhance the accuracy of this software.
There are no limits to the number of charts you can save and you can use LUNA on multiple devices at the same time. LUNA offers real-time chart animation, mobile app installation, and has a very clean and easy to use interface. It functions much like desktop software but totally in the cloud and for much less than the desktop alternatives. Updates are ongoing and there is zero maintenance for you as a user. You can do this with Astro. The LUNA developer is working to improve the atlas over time, but for now this is an important workaround to be aware of.
AstroGold has everything most astrologers will need, including the ability to easily add transit and progression biwheels with just a click or two.
Extensive collection of the Art Wheels Uranian dials: 5 pre-defined angles Custom angles. Square charts: 2 types of traditional medieval charts Indian south and northern Indian charts Ability to use any image as your chart background. Wheel Designer. Returns Solar, Lunar, all major planets; multiple types of returns. Mann methods. Maps for groups of charts Recent Earthquakes with Astro Map.
Machine learning powered module that allows projecting world events and current world population mood on ACG and Geodetic astro maps.
May 8th, 1. Primary Directions: Ability to include Lunar Parallax correction. Primary Directions: Ability to switch between Apparent or True promissiors and significators positions added. Essential Dignities election graph. House cusps elections module 4. Progressions to angles as part of the objects listing. APIs: progressions to angles 6.
Fixed Stars Heliacal Events 7. Ability to create complex asteroid searches 7.
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