System 1 and System 2
Wednesday, November 27th, 2013
System 1 and System 2 refer to the psychological dual-process theories developed in cognitive psychology which contrast analytical reasoning and non-analytical reasoning as two modes of knowing and thinking processes.(1;2) The system 1 or the non-analytical system (see also in this glossary) can be seen as a process leading rapidly to the selection of the preferred management options for the target condition.(3) The system 1 is implicit, based on automatic and effortless thought processes and is associative, intuitive and fast. Non-analytical, intuitive thinking is explained in terms of the high accessibility of the immediate thoughts(4). Non-analytical reasoning can be recognized both in medical decision-making and in medical problem-solving, for instance in automatic chance assessment processes and in pattern recognition(5). It acts unconsciously and is used most of the time by the health care experts for common conditions.(6) read more
Tacit knowlegde
Wednesday, November 27th, 2013
Tacit knowledge (as opposed to formal or explicit knowledge) is the implicit (personal) knowledge that is not directly accessible and difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalizing (“that which we know but cannot tell”). The term and its definition were first developed by Michael Polanyi (1891-1976). Tacit knowledge has been described as “know-how” as opposed to “know-what” (facts), “know-why” (science) or “know who” (networking).(1-6) read more
Triangulation
Wednesday, November 27th, 2013
Triangulation is a term in qualitative research methods derived from navigation, in which sailors try to discover their exact position on a map by taking bearings on two landmarks. The methodological triangulation is the most frequently applied approach, using different methods when studying a subject (1) such as the combination of ethnographic observations with interviews or the mixed methods approach which is mixing qualitative and quantitative methods in one study.(2) Denzin discerned three other types of triangulation next to the methodological triangulation: data, investigator and theory triangulation.(3) read more
Uncertainty
Wednesday, November 27th, 2013
Uncertainty refers to the subjective experience of having insufficient information about a problem of interest.(1;2) A person may be able to reduce uncertainty by collecting informative data. However, often information does not exist in the human domain (question has not been researched) or is not available (not published or not retrievable) – epistemic uncertainty (ignorance).(3) Uncertainty is due to a lack of information – we „don‘t know“! In addition, uncertainty may result from the structure of the environment itself (large number of relevant factors [complexity] or probabilistic nature of the phenomenon of interest) – aleatoric uncertainty (ambiguity).(3) In the latter case, uncertainty is confirmed by the data, i.e. “we are certain to be uncertain”, and uncertainty cannot be reduced by learning. All these sources are relevant for medical diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention. read more
