COMMENT: IMPLICATION ANALYSIS: NEW APPROACH OR GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED SOCIOLOGY?

This article discusses the questions about experimental design raised by Stanley Lieberson and Joel Horwich elsewhere in this issue. Lieberson and Horwich advanced the theory of implication analysis as an alternative to experimental designs in sociology that prioritize falsifiability. The potential contribution of implication analysis to the design of statistical regression models in sociological research is described. Questions are raised about how the fairness of the Lieberson and Horwich's analysis of scientific thought as it relates to sociological analysis. Implication analysis is considered in terms how its application would change the emphasis given to control variables and alternative theories in the development of sociological research.