On the role of variation in measures, the worth of underpowered studies, and the need for tolerance among researchers

Abstract

We point out potential drawbacks of some of Leising et al.’s (2022a) proposed ways how personality science can be improved. We argue that it is ill-advised to use only one measure for a concept. Also, we argue that researchers should not refrain from conducting a study when a high level of statistical power is precluded. Then, we go one step further and formulate additional ideas of how to improve research. Specifically, we argue that it is a good thing to use different methods rather than only one when attempting to generalize across these methods. Moreover, we argue for a more theory-driven strategy for specifying factor analytic models, and we emphasize that high-quality research is often interdisciplinary. Finally, we point to a particular risk associated with any formal reward system.