RESEARCH (2
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2855 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
Second - order research is research on the researchprocess itself. Its importance for the improvement of research methodology has been stressed by G. de ZEEUW,
R. GLANVILLE and various members of the Systeem Groep Nederland .
In any type of research, observation implies unavoidedly some kind of intervention. This is the case in micro-physics, as stated by HEISENBERG with his Indeterminacy Principle . But it is also true in psychotherapy for instance.
R. GLANVILLE writes: “We intervene in the (observable social) object . We change how it behaves by acting on it” and “We intervene in observing. We intervene both in how we observe and how we think of our observations (for instance, seeing observations as observables”(2002, p. 110)
GLANVILLE adds: “We probably intervene in order to cope with unwanted side effects , errors , etc…, so we become more likely to get higher-quality observations” …(Ibid)… and “The improvement lies in the conditions that lead to observations. Making observations of improvement gives new observables and new observers . We complete the chain: circulate; re-enter”(Ibid, p. 111)
D.P. DASH describes this process as follows: “In de ZEEUW's scholarly writings, research has been viewed as a developing narrative ”(2002, p. 115). Research leads to “contact with greater and greater variety of disturbances and this creates a strain on the basic script on which the narrative of research in that field is based”(2002, p. 115)
In short, 2nd order research implies upgrading observation and research through observation of research itself. It is thus a cybernetic process based on recurrent feedbacks .
See also
Organizational closure, Problem solving, Underconceptualization