Steadier Footing

So this guy sung,
"And this is the chance I never got to make a move.
But we just talk about the people we've met in the last 5 years.
And will we remember them in ten more?"

I'm just saying that sometimes these posts feel the same way.

Like when I tell you about the weather. Or about the latest story from nights spent on the town.

But then, do you really want to hear about the things that have interested me most lately? Do want a few paragraphs about the subtle yet important differences between situational moderator variables and intervening (a.k.a. mediating) variables, particularly as they affect measurements of effective leader behavior? And what of the methodological shortcomings of social science research? Relying on questionnaire and other types of survey research, we run the risk of encountering a number of errors, each of which could destroy the validity of the research design. What if my interviewees, in attempting to determine their leader's most effective behaviors, instead just attribute to him those behaviors they assume are most important? While that certainly gives me a measure of social perceptions of effective leadership behavior, it doesn't at all get to an empirical measure of effective behavior. And that's just the beginning, you see. Because if we try to rely on other forms of research, particularly the experimental variety, we run into a host of reliability issues, most of which stem from the completely articificial testing environment of experimental designs. In the real world, there are so many variables at play, and each of them interact with the others in varying yet important ways. But we cannot seem to find ways to accurately assess and describe those relationships. DRAT!

And so you see, my friends, if I were to be honest, I'd have lost your attention long ago. So instead, we talk about the weather.

Cold and windy today, after a few days of vacation in the mid-60s.