从工具到范式：假设检验争议的知识社会学反思

统计工具的建构与运用不能脱离知识生产的情境脉络，其中渗透着建构者和运用者的个人主张与其所在学科的整体价值追求。原假设显著性检验是社会科学实证研究中最为常用的假设检验方法，其流行并非因为方法论本身的精确无误，而在于它虽存有争议并因此招致严厉批评，但仍简洁有效地满足了研究者追求知识的客观性与确定性、以期将自身所在的学科塑造为一门科学分支的主观期待。因此，这一方法就从一个普通的统计工具上升为一种学科范式，起到了收敛学科的精神指向、提供模式化的解题方法、从而实现学科内部知识较快发展的功能。

From Tool to Paradigm: Reflecting upon the Controversies Regarding Hypothesis Testing from a Sociology of Knowledge Perspective

Statistical tools are not constructed and employed in a social vacuum, but in a context penetrated with personal opinions and unique value pursuit of particular discipline. Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST) is the dominant hypothesis testing method used in current empirical studies. Originating from Fisher’s significance test theory, NHST was later transformed by Neyman and Pearson and other textbook editors. However, Fisher did not recognize Neyman Pearson’s “improvement” on his original test theory and NHST is not identical with Neyman Pearson’s hypothesis testing theory. But those disputes are basically ignored in the practice of social scientists’ studies. NHST, having been suffering from severe attacks from statisticians and its appliers since the 1960s, evolves to the most popular, if not the only, hypothesis testing procedure applied in the contemporary empirical studies. The answer to this paradoxical phenomenon lies not in the superiority of NHST, but in the simplicity of this method. It satisfies the grand vision of social scientists in which different social sciences have to become objective scientific branches that provide accurate knowledge to the public. Researcher would rather use a pragmatic, though not perfect, tool to make definite judgment on the validity of decisions, than to debate on the technical details that which procedure is the best hypothesis testing procedure. NHST thus transforms itself from an ordinary statistical tool to a paradigm which demonstrates the value tendency of the whole discipline, provides exemplary problem solving techniques and leads to a fast accumulation of knowledge within a particular field. This tool to paradigm shift is a typical example of knowledge ritualization for social sciences when they endeavor to project themselves as accurate sciences. Sociology of knowledge provides reflection on this statistical ritual of hypothesis testing that may prompt social scientists to rethink the over revered statistical methods in social science studies and foster a more open atmosphere towards the multiple research approaches existing within different disciplines.