METHODOLOGICAL PLURALISM
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 2122 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
Many discussions between authors proposing different methodologies for the study of complex systems led to some confusion about supposedly contradictory claims.
There is even some danger that these controversies could obscure the respective merits of different approaches . M. JACKSON, after a careful consideration of various proposals, proposes a definition of the kind of pluralism that is required: “Pluralism needs, as an approach to managing complex problems, to emply a meta-methodology to take maximum advantage of the benefits to be gained from using methodologies premised upon alternative paradigms together, and also encourages the combined use of diverse methods, models, tools and techniques, in a theoretically and methodologically informed way, to ensure maximum flexibility in an intervention”(2000, p. 387)
A useful collection of papers edited by J.C. MINGERS and A. GILL (1997) also focuses on multimethodology.
Still another pluralistic methodology has been proposed by A. TAKET and L. WHITE, under the name of PANDA (Participating appraisal of needs and the development of action) (1998, p. 153-158)
See also
Conceptual blocking, Experimental frame, Frame of references