A Metamodel of Central Inferences in Empirical Research

The purpose of the present paper is to emphasise the importance of inferences in an empirical study and to demonstrate how the inferences depend on a wider context. For that purpose a metamodel of central inferences is proposed, where each inference is characterised according to three dimensions: relevance, legitimacy, and validity. The relevance of an inference is a function of the research problem and general aim of the study, as well as of the philosophy of science; its legitimacy is given by the philosophy of science, whereas its validity is determined by the empirical methods and data within the study as well as by knowledge outside the study. Moreover, the metamodel includes combinations of the relevant inferences, together with the validities of such combinations, as answers to the research problem. The metamodel is meant to be an appropriate frame for both quantitative and qualitative research.