Table of Contents
Definition of Nomothetic
(adjective) Relating to the generalizability of cases, events, or people.
Example of Nomothetic
- Researching how students performed on tests throughout a semester or country.
Nomothetic Pronunciation
Syllabification: nom·o·thet·ic
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /nahm-uh-thEt-ik/
- British English – /nom-uh-thE-tik/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English: /ˌnɑməˈθɛtɪk/
- British English: /ˌnɒməˈθetɪk/
Usage Notes
- Nomothetic is the opposite of idiographic.
- The distinction between the nomothetic and idiographic perspectives was developed by Wilhelm Windelband (1848–1915).
- Nomothetic research is typically quantitative such as surveys.
- Typically used in psychology, the (noun) nomothetic approach refers to studying groups as the basis to understand behavior.
Additional Information
- Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “nomothetic” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- case
- generalizability
- interview
- observation
- qualitative research
- quantitative research
- reliability
- research
- statistics
- study
Works Consulted
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Nomothetic
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “nomothetic.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 20, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/nomothetic/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
nomothetic. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/nomothetic/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “nomothetic.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/nomothetic/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“nomothetic.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/nomothetic/>.