Proposition: A Building Block of Theory

The purpose and  categories of propositions are explained well in the article The Proposition: An insight into research  by   B. I. Avan  ( The Human Development Programme, The Aga Khan University, Karachi. )  and F. White  ( Department of Community Health Sciences, The Aga Khan University, Karachi. )
http://www.jpma.org.pk/full_article_text.php?article_id=2499
http://www.jpma.org.pk/PdfDownload/2499.pdf

Each category is given examples. See the above paper for examples. Only the explanations of  types of  propositions are included in this blog post.




Propositions form the basis for scientific research.

Propositions form the premise for the deduction of hypothesis.






A proposition is a statement.

Propositions can be broadly categorised into non-relational and relational propositions.


A concept is a title given to an abstract idea, event or object. These are based on real world experiences and represent a generalised mental picture of characteristics of that phenomenon.

The non-relational proposition is a declarative statement, which serves the purpose of identification of concepts and defining the distinct characteristics of the concept to the required level. The concept can have various facets and a declarative statement can be about any aspect of the concept.


The Existential non-Relational Proposition recognises the presence of a concept

Or it can go one step further by recognising the level or intensity of presence of a concept.


The Definitional proposition is a statement, which describes the characteristics of the concept. A concept can have a multitude of aspects. It is not necessary in research that a concept should be considered in a holistic manner.

Defining a concept aims to state it in a precise nature and give it distinct characteristics. The focus of this effort is to limit the idea of the concept so that it becomes identifiable and calculable. Sometimes it even describes the degree of distinctness so that it can be better differentiated from other concepts.

Any concept when we grade it for measurement purposes is conventionally known as a variable in research terminology.

Definition propositions are not limited to the concepts that are evaluated in the research. They are even extended to the methodology aspect of the research. Well known general methodology concepts, unless some innovation is considered, explicit definitions are usually not given e.g. study designs. But concepts which are specific to the study; are defined explicitly and precisely e.g. study population.

Initially for the theory, definitions of concepts are delineated by a parameter of convention not of verification. It is later in the process of theory development, that steps are taken to measure and study the concepts empirically. The process takes place at two levels.


Nominal definitions are constitutive statements, which are an aspect or aspects of the concept that we are considering for research.


Operational definitions are real statements of measurement-orientated interpretation of concepts. These definitions deal with the practical aspects of research in relation to concepts. They can be further categorised into measured and experimental.

Experimental Operational Definitions’ describe how a nominal concept is manipulated, to make it measurable in the research process, in a manner devised by the researcher.



Measured operational Definitions state how a nominal proposition can be measured in a standardised conventional manner.


Sometimes it becomes more meaningful to combine various measurements, as relying on only one type of measurement could not effectively capture the required scope of the concept. Therefore an index is formed. The indices are usually a combination of the measurement,

Example: - Human Development index (HDI) of a country.

Empirical Indicators are the next logical step of operational definitions. To increase the utility of the indices, indicators are constructed upon them. A cut off value is decided conventionally among the range of values of an index. The ones that have achieved above that cut off value constitute one category and those below are also labelled as another category.







The Relational Proposition is a declarative statement that serves the purpose for identification of association between concepts and defining distinctive characteristics to a required level.

The Existential Relational Proposition is a declaration that the association between the two concepts is a repetitious association and is not a solitary, onetime phenomenon.



Nature of Relational Proposition

The Correlation Proposition states the covariation between related concepts. The direction and degree of change are specific for each association.
The Positively correlated Proposition states that if one-concept changes, the other concept would also change in the same direction.

The Negatively correlated Proposition states that if one-concept changes, the other concept also changes inversely or indirectly.

The Symmetrical Relational Proposition
(ambivalent) states that two concepts have a reversible relationship. i. c. if a change occurs in one concept, then the other concept will also change, and vice versa. (Two way causality)

The Non-Symmetrical Relational Proposition states that two concepts have a non-reversible relationship i.e., if change occur in one concept then other concept will change also but not vice versa. (One way causality)



Order of Relational Proposition states that either the concepts exist simultaneously or they are following one another. Propositions are usually assessed over a period of time.

The Concurrent Relational Proposition recognises the existence of  two concepts together but is not sure of their time order and both concepts are observable simultaneously. Usually such propositions are found in case series, cross sectional studies etc.


The Sequential Relational Proposition goes one step further in identifying. the following concept. In other words in a relation, the preceding and proceeding concepts are identified. Usually such propositions are found in longitudinal studies.



The Magnitude of effect proposition states what proportion people, exposed to a preceding concept, develop a sequential or proceeding concept or vice versa. There are specific measures for the magnitude of effect according to the study methodology applied for data collection.



The Stochastic Relational Proposition states that there is an element of probability or chance in the occurrence of a specified relationship between the concepts.




The Causality of Relational Proposition introduces the idea of a relationship between input and outcome concepts. Causality can be viewed in a number of ways in the relational propositions, i.e. necessary, sufficient, substitutive and contingency.


The Necessary Relational Proposition states that if and only if an input concept is present then the outcome concept will occur, or it is not possible for outcome concept to occur without the first occurrence of specific input concept.



The Sufficient Relational Proposition of causality states that an input concept alone is enough to cause outcome concept to occur.


The Substitutive Relational Proposition of causality states that from a certain group of specified input concepts, if any one is present the outcome concept will occur.



The Regulatory Relational Proposition of causality states that the relationship between the input and outcome concept is contingent upon or influenced by the presence of a third concept.


In causal propositions, the intervening concept could be an intermediary step of input concept producing an outcome.


In such cases, the state of contingency is being decided by what we have decided as our limit or outcome in a process. Furthermore, different contingency concepts are identified as research methods become more advanced, or instruments become more sophisticated. Another variant of regulatory proposition is when the intervening concept is not an actual part of the relationship between concepts but acts as an extraneous factor which could influence the magnitude of effect of association between the relational concepts. This extraneous factor is also known as confounding.



The proposition justifies a concept in terms of its existence, explanation and relationship with other concepts.

Many scientific papers do not spell out propositions clearly - It needs to be emphasized. 

One of the main objectives of scientific literature review is to identify the propositions presented in the reports. Unfortunately, they are not obvious mostly. Instead of formally stating, the writer of a scientific report assumes that the readers background knowledge and intellect is enough to allow him comprehend the implicit notions of propositions. Sometimes it requires several readings by the reviewer before all potential propositions are identified. A clear and simple categorical statement of non-relational and relational propositions in a scientific report not only enhances the quality of a paper by providing better comprehension, but also minimises the ambiguities and misinterpretations.
Another advantage of a better understanding of the dynamics of propositions is that. right from the beginning, a researcher becomes more focussed and develops a niche for the theoretical precision that he wants, and how to measure that. This helps in specifying the methods of measurement, but also formulating the study goals, objectives, hypotheses and research questions.

Testing the Proposition - An Essential Step of Research Method

Testing the proposition is part of research. Testing of hypothesis is a statistical technique used in testing propositions in research. Proposition is a statement of theory that posits a relationship between a dependent concept  and independent concept. A series of propositions may show relations between number of  concepts.

From the proposition, hypothesis is deduced and tested. Hypothesis is developed for a particular situation that is being used for testing a proposition.

For detailed note on propositions visit:
http://phd-research-methodology.blogspot.in/2014/11/proposition-building-block-of-theory.html




1.Testing the proposition of long-run monetary neutrality
https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1387277&fileOId=2061570


2. Testing the proposition
Good faith efforts to establish goals and then to collectively and regularly monitor and adjust actions toward them produce results. (Schmoker, 1996)
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/102003/chapters/Testing-the-Proposition@-Cases-in-Point.aspx

3. A key proposition of the NJL model is that in evaluating a branded product, consumers do associate the brand with a certain OC and are aware of the brand’s MC. The purpose of the present paper is to suggest a methodology for the testing this proposition and present initial findings of its application.
http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=11415

4. PPP is a long established proposition, which dates from well beyond its first technical exposition
by Cassel (1922). The theory of PPP is essentially the law of one price applied to a basket of
equivalent goods traded internationally.
This article considers whether exchange rates satisfy Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in the
long-run by testing whether the real exchange rate is stationary. PPP is a critical factor in the
long-run determination of exchange rates. Much of the recent evidence testing the proposition
that the real exchange rate is stationary using univariate time series would suggest that PPP
does not hold as the hypothesis that real exchange rates are stationary is commonly rejected
(see Abuaf and Jorion, 1990).
http://www.qass.org.uk/2007/vol1_2/paper4.pdf


5. Proposition:  Millenials  learn differently

Most students entering our classrooms were born between 1978 and
1995. Commonly referred to as Millennials, Boomlets, or the Net Generation,
they have been characterized as born consumers, digital natives,
tech-savvy, highly social, always connected, collaborative, multitasking,
impatient, lifestyle-focused, craving of diverse media, desiring
open access to everything, and leading 24/7 lives. No matter their economic
status, they know the World Wide Web, social media, and entertainment
technologies such as film, music, and games as consistent and
constant components of their everyday experience. They share their
thoughts, feelings, and ideas with family and friends electronically, and
they are accustomed to instantaneous information retrieval and communication.
These students interact with the world in radically different
ways than did the generations before them. At Seton Hill University,
we are testing the proposition that they learn differently as well.
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM1123.pdf

Meta Analysis

A Note on meta analysis
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s10045.pdf

Theory Building in Qualitative Research

Theory Building in Qualitative Research: Reconsidering the Problem of Induction

Pedro F. Bendassolli

2013

The paper dwells on the difficulties involved in the process of justifying experience-based scientific conclusions. More specifically, inductive reasoning assumes a leap from singular observational statements to general theoretical statements. It calls into question the role of empirical evidence in the theory-building process. In the philosophy of science, the validity of inductive reasoning has been severely questioned since at least the writings of David HUME. Induction has been lauded as one of the main pillars of qualitative research methods. This article proposes reviving discussion on the problem of induction in qualitative research. There is a tension between empirical observation and scientific explanation and in that context, the paper discusses the role of theory in qualitative research.



Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Problem of Induction

3. Relationship Between Theory and Empirical Data

4. Induction and Theory in Qualitative Research

4.1 The generic analytic cycle

4.2 Situating the problem of induction in the current debate: Some unsolved questions

5. Suggestions for Reconsidering the Problem of Induction in Qualitative Research

6. Final Considerations

6.1 General overview and limitations

6.2 Contributions to scholarship: Revisiting theory building in qualitative research


http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1851/3497

Shortcomings of 14 Doctoral Theses - 2014 Papers

Dr. Indrajit Goswami

He shared the paper on Linkedin in Management Professor Group.

http://spaceandculture.in/index.php/spaceandculture/article/view/35/pdf_20

Theory Building in Applied Disciplines - 2013 Book - Richard A. Swanson, Thomas J. Chermack - Book Information

Theory Building in Applied Disciplines


Richard A. Swanson, Thomas J. Chermack
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 05-Aug-2013 -  240 pages


A Comprehensive Method, Tools, and Techniques for Building Sound Theory Richard Swanson and Thomas Chermack present a complete five-step approach for developing sound theory in applied disciplines, from conceptualizing a theory to creating relevant assessment criteria, establishing a research agenda to test the theory’s validity, applying the theoretical concepts in the real world, and using that experience to further refine and improve the theory. The method is not restricted to any single discipline, nor is it limited by any research ideology. The authors provide a set of tools for each phase of the process, making this book accessible to a wide audience. And in addition to examples in each chapter, they offer two extended case examples of full theory building.

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=mPP2UVTRse4C



Theory Building - Robert Dubin -1969-1978 Book Information

Case Study Methodology in Business Research - Jan Dul, Tony Hak - 2008 - Book Information

Case Study Methodology in Business Research


Jan Dul, Tony Hak
Routledge, 2008 -  302 pages

The complete guide for how to design and conduct theory-testing and other case studies…

Case Study Methodology in Business Research sets out structures and guidelines that assist students and researchers from a wide range of disciplines to develop their case study research in a consistent and rigorous manner. It clarifies the differences between practice-oriented and theory-oriented research and, within the latter category, between theory-testing and theory-building. It describes in detail how to design and conduct different types of case study research, providing students and researchers with everything they need for their project. The main aims are to:

* present a broad spectrum of types of case study research (including practice-oriented case studies, theory-building case studies and theory-testing case studies) in one consistent methodological framework.

* emphasize and clearly illustrate that the case study is the preferred research strategy for testing deterministic propositions such as those expressing a necessary condition case by case and that the survey is the preferred research strategy for testing probabilistic propositions.

* stress the role of replication in all theory-testing research, irrespective of which research strategy is chosen for a specific test.

* give more weight to the importance of theory-testing relative to theory-building.

Case Study Methodology in Business Research is a clear, concise and comprehensive text for case study methodology. Templates are supplied for case study protocol and how to report a case study.

A modular textbook primarily aimed at serving research methodology courses for final year undergraduate students and graduate students in Business Administration and Management, which is also useful as a handbook for researchers.

Written by Jan Dul, Professor of Technology and Human Factors, RSM Erasmus University, Rotterdam and Tony Hak, Associate professor of Research Methodology, RSM Erasmus University, Rotterdam, in collaboration with other authors from RSM Erasmus University.

* Provides students with everything needed to design and conduct a case study project
* Templates are supplied clearly demonstrating case study protocol and how to report a case study
* A highly accessible, concise and comprehensive text for Case Study methodology

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=2UqvbjtpO8sC

Case Theory in Business and Management: Reinventing Case Study Research

Evert Gummesson

SAGE, 25-Jan-2017 - Business & Economics - 368 pages

'This meticulous book submits research and the research process to deep scrutiny. It debunks the unhelpful dichotomy between quantitative and qualitative research and highlights the great value of multi-method and interactive research, approaches that have greatly deepened our thinking.'

– Professor Adrian Payne, University of New South Wales, Australia / Professor Pennie Frow, University of Sydney

Setting out to dispel the argument that case study research lacks the science, theory and therefore validity of other forms of research, Evert Gummesson combines many decades of experience as both a renowned scholar and a reflective practitioner to effectively bridge the divide between case theory and how it is applied in practice.

Bringing the fundamental strengths of cases to the fore, Gummesson introduces the 'Case Theory' concept as an expanded version of case study research which includes both methodology and the types of results that emerge by:

Guiding the reader in the theoretical and philosophical underpinning Demonstrating how to translate theory to pertinent research practice that address the real and consequential issues in business and management today.

This book will appeal to students, academics and researchers who are interested in the science and philosophy behind case study research as well as the methodology and a thought-provoking read for anyone who wants to be challenged about their belief of case study theory.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=dFW5DgAAQBAJ

Books on Logic and Propositions - Possible Worlds - Bradley and Swartz - Important for Research Students

Possible Worlds: An Introduction to Logic and Its Philosophy
Raymond Bradley and Norman Swartz

http://www.sfu.ca/~swartz/pw/text/pw_all.pdf

Copy made available for public use by authors

Table of Contents

PREFAC E xv
T O TH E TEACHE R xvii
T O TH E STUDEN T xxi
POSSIBLE WORLDS 1
1. THIS AN D OTHE R POSSIBLE WORLD S 1
The realm of possibilities 1
What are the limits to the possible? 2
Possibility is not the same as conceivability 3
Possible worlds: actual and non-actual 4
Logical possibility distinguished from other kinds 6
The constituents of possible worlds 7
2. PROPOSITIONS, TRUTH , AN D FALSIT Y 9
Truth and falsity defined 9
Truth in a possible world 11
Truth in the actual world 12
The myth of degrees of truth 12
3. PROPERTIES O F PROPOSITIONS 13
Possibly true propositions 13
Possibly false propositions 13
Contingent propositions 14
Contradictories of propositions 14
Noncontingent propositions 15
Necessarily true propositions 16
Necessarily false propositions 17
More about contradictory propositions 18
Some main kinds of noncontingent propositions 19
Summary 24
Symbolization 25
4. RELATION S BETWEE N PROPOSITIONS 28
Inconsistency 28
Consistency 30
Implication 31
Equivalence 35
Symbolization 41
vii CONTENTS
5. SETS O F PROPOSITIONS 42
Truth-values of proposition-sets 42
Modal properties of proposition-sets 42
Modal relations between proposition-sets 44
Minding our "P's and "Q"s 47
6. MODA L PROPERTIES AN D RELATION S PICTURE D O N
WORLDS-DIAGRAMS 48
Worlds-diagrams for modal properties 49
Worlds-diagrams for modal relations 50
Interpretation of worlds-diagrams 50
A note on history and nomenclature 53
Capsule descriptions of modal relations 54
Appendix to section 6 57
7. IS A SINGLE THEOR Y O F TRUT H ADEQUAT E FO R BOT H
CONTINGEN T AN D NONCONTINGEN T PROPOSITIONS? 58
8. TH E "POSSIBLE WORLDS " IDIOM 62


2
PROPOSITIONS 65
1. INTRODUCTIO N 65
2. TH E BEARER S O F TRUTH-VALUE S 65
Thesis 1: Such things as beliefs, statements, assertions,
remarks, hypotheses, and theories are the bearers of truth
and falsity. 68
Thesis 2: Acts of believing (stating, asserting, etc.) are the
bearers of truth-values. 68
Thesis 3: That which is believed, stated, etc., is what is true
or false. 71
Thesis 4: Sentences are the bearers of truth-values. 71
Thesis 5: Sentence-tokens are the bearers of truth-values. 73
Thesis 6: Sentence-types are the bearers of truth-values. 74
Thesis 7: Context-free sentences are the bearers of truth-values. 75
Thesis 8: Context-free sentence-tokens are those things to
which truth and falsity may be attributed. 76
Thesis 9: Context-free sentence-types are those things to
which truth and falsity may be attributed. 76
Thesis 10: Propositions are those things to which truth and
falsity may be attributed. 79
Thesis 11: Propositions are to be identified with the meanings
of sentences. 80
Thesis 12: Propositions are to be identified with sets of
possible worlds. 82

PROPOSITIONS 65
1. INTRODUCTIO N 65
2. TH E BEARER S O F TRUTH-VALUE S 65
Thesis 1: Such things as beliefs, statements, assertions,
remarks, hypotheses, and theories are the bearers of truth
and falsity. 68
Thesis 2: Acts of believing (stating, asserting, etc.) are the
bearers of truth-values. 68
Thesis 3: That which is believed, stated, etc., is what is true
or false. 71
Thesis 4: Sentences are the bearers of truth-values. 71
Thesis 5: Sentence-tokens are the bearers of truth-values. 73
Thesis 6: Sentence-types are the bearers of truth-values. 74
Thesis 7: Context-free sentences are the bearers of truth-values. 75
Thesis 8: Context-free sentence-tokens are those things to
which truth and falsity may be attributed. 76
Thesis 9: Context-free sentence-types are those things to
which truth and falsity may be attributed. 76
Thesis 10: Propositions are those things to which truth and
falsity may be attributed. 79
Thesis 11: Propositions are to be identified with the meanings
of sentences. 80
Thesis 12: Propositions are to be identified with sets of
possible worlds. 82

3.

KNOWLEDGE 129
1. TH E SUBJECT MATTER AND TH E SCIENCE OF LOGIC 129
2. TH E NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE 130
7. Is it a necessary condition of the truth of as knowing
that P, that P should be true? 131
2. Is it a necessary condition of a's knowing that P, that a
believe that P? 133
3. Is it a necessary condition of a's knowing that P, that a
be justified in believing that P? 136
4. What might the missing fourth necessary condition for
a's knowing that P be? 137
3. TH E LIMITS OF HUMA N KNOWLEDGE 139
The known and the unknown 139
The knowable and the unknowable 140
4. EXPERIENTIAL AND RATIOCINATIVE KNOWLEDGE 142
Experiential knowledge 142
Ratiocinative knowledge 144
Appendix to section 4 149
5. EMPIRICAL AND A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE 149
Definitions of "empirical" and "a priori" 150
The non-exhaustiveness and non-exclusiveness of the
experiential/ratiocinative distinction 151
The exhaustiveness and exclusiveness of the empirical/
a priori distinction 152
Is a priori knowledge certain? 155
7. Is it a necessary condition of the truth of as knowing
that P, that P should be true? 131
2. Is it a necessary condition of a's knowing that P, that a
believe that P? 133
3. Is it a necessary condition of a's knowing that P, that a
be justified in believing that P? 136
4. What might the missing fourth necessary condition for
a's knowing that P be? 137
3. TH E LIMITS OF HUMA N KNOWLEDGE 139
The known and the unknown 139
The knowable and the unknowable 140
4. EXPERIENTIAL AND RATIOCINATIVE KNOWLEDGE 142
Experiential knowledge 142
Ratiocinative knowledge 144
Appendix to section 4 149
5. EMPIRICAL AND A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE 149
Definitions of "empirical" and "a priori" 150
The non-exhaustiveness and non-exclusiveness of the
experiential/ratiocinative distinction 151
The exhaustiveness and exclusiveness of the empirical/
a priori distinction 152
Is a priori knowledge certain? 155
9. Are there any noncontingent propositions which are
knowable a priori but by means other than ratiocination? 171
10. Are there any noncontingent propositions which are
unknowable? 172
Appendix to section 6: a complete classificatory scheme for
the epistemic and modal distinctions 174
7. TH E EPISTEMOLOGY OF LOGIC 175


4
THE SCIENCE OF LOGIC: AN OVERVIEW 179
1. INTRODUCTION 179
2. TH E METHO D OF ANALYSIS 180
The objects of philosophical analysis 180
Three levels of analysis 181
The idea of a complete analysis 183
The need for a further kind of analysis 184
Possible-worlds analysis 185
Degrees of analytical knowledge 187
3. TH E PARADOX OF ANALYSIS 189
Moore's problem 189
A Moorean solution 190
4. TH E METHO D OF INFERENCE 192
The nature of inference 193
Valid and invalid propositional inferences 195
Determining the validity of inferences: the problem of
justification 196
Rules of inference 198
What kind of rule is a rule of inference? 200
Inference and the expansion of knowledge 201
5. INFERENCE WITHIN TH E SCIENCE OF LOGIC 205
Inference within axiomatic systems: the example of S5 205
Inference within natural deduction systems 210
The theoretical warrant of the method of direct proof 215
6. A PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON LOGIC AS
A WHOLE 218
The indispensability of modal concepts within propositional logics 218
Problems about the reduction principles 220
Problems about the paradoxes 224
Relevance logics 228
The move to predicate logic 230
Traditional syllogistic 232
Modern predicate logic 233
Modal notions in predicate logic 236
Modalities de dicto and de re 237
Heterogeneous and homogeneous possible worlds 239
Is there really a logic of concepts? 240


5
TRUTH-FUNCTIONAL PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC 247
1. INTRODUCTION 247
2. TRUTH-FUNCTIONAL OPERATORS 247
The uses of "not" and "it is not the case that" 249
The uses of "and" 252
The uses of "or" 257
Interlude: compound sentences containing two or more
sentential operators 261
The uses of "if... then ..." 263
The uses of "if and only if 269
Appendix: truth-tables for wffs containing three or more
letters 272
3. EVALUATING COMPOUND SENTENCES 273
A note on two senses of "determined" 277
4. ELEMENTARY TRUTH-TABLE TECHNIQUES FOR
REVEALING MODAL STATUS AND MODAL RELATIONS 279
Modal status 279
Modal relations 284
Deductive validity 290
5. ADVANCED TRUTH-TABLE TECHNIQUES 294
Corrected truth-tables 294
Reduced truth-tables 297
6. TH E CONCEPT OF FORM 301
Sentences and sentential forms in a logic 301
The relationship between sentences and
sentence-forms 302
7. EVALUATING SENTENCE-FORMS 306
The validity of sentence-forms 306
Modal relations 308
Implication 308
Equivalence 309
Inconsistency 309
Argument-forms and deductive validity 310
8. FORM IN A NATURAL LANGUAGE 311
9. WORLDS-DIAGRAMS AS A DECISION PROCEDURE FOR
TRUTH-FUNCTIONAL PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC 313
10. A SHORTCUT FORMAL METHOD: REDUCTIO AD
ABSURDUM TESTS 315
Summary 320

6

1 to 10 have to be included

11. LOOKING BEYOND MODAL LOGIC TO INDUCTIVE
LOGIC 370
The cardinality of a class and other concepts of class size 371
The concept of contingent content 372
Monadic modal functors 375
What are the prospects for a fully-developed inductive logic? 379
The concept of probabilification 381
A dyadic modal functor for the concept of probabilification 382 

Futures Research Tactic in Business and Management Research

Futures Studies and Future-oriented Technology Analysis
Principles, Methodology and Research Questions
2011 Paper
Prof. Dr. Rolf Kreibich
Britta Oertel
Michaela Wölk
IZT – Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment
http://www.hiig.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Foresight-Paper.pdf



Qualitative futures research for innovation
Patrick van der Duin
2006
PhD Thesis:  Technische Universiteit Delft
Eburon Academic Publishers; P.O. Box 2867; 2601 CW Delft; The Netherlands


Researching the future: method or madness?
Eddie Blass
Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 OAL, UK
2003 Paper
http://www.ashridge.com/Website/IC.nsf/wFARATT/Researching%20the%20Future:%20Method%20or%20Madness/$file/ResearchingThe%20Future.pdf

What is a Framework in Science or Theory?

Conceptual frameworks are high-level conceptual categories and relationships that may not explain a particular phenomenon but identify the types of concepts that are likely needed to provide an explanation.  In that way, conceptual frameworks can provide guidance in developing theory.

If you are developing a framework, the deliverables are

A diagram of the conceptual framework you are proposing using as a starting point or basis for further  theory building.

A description explaining the diagram.

The way a framework is defined, it can also be explained as input variables and output variables of the phenomenon of interest. The framework may provide additional information apart from the simple listing of variables.

Framework building - Is it exploratory research or descriptive research?

https://loft.io/process/grounded-theory/conceive/conceptual-framework/


Reference given:
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2007). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Management Research Methodology - K.N. Krishnaswamy et al. 2012- Book Information

Google Book Link with Preview Facility

The book has focus on applied research for using the research to directly solve problems facing the manager.

Theory of Propositions

General Theory of Propositions by Dewey
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=3YyWpCpfAjkC&pg=PA283#v=onepage&q&f=false

Dewey books on logic is available on archive.org




Construction of Complex Propositions
http://www.cs.odu.edu/~toida/nerzic/level-a/logic/prop_logic/construction/construction.htm

Link for logic course

http://www.cs.odu.edu/~toida/nerzic/level-a/web_course.html


On scribd there is a good presentatin on propositions. - Types of Propositions

Bricolage Research - A Research Methodology

Bricolage research, as conceptualized by Denzin and Lincoln (1999) and further theorized by Kincheloe (2001; 2004a; 2004b; 2004c; 2004d; 2005a) and Berry (2004a; 2004b; 2006; 2011), can be considered a critical, multi-perspectival, multi-theoretical and multi-methodological approach to inquiry.

The etymological foundation of bricolage comes from a traditional French expression which denotes crafts-people who creatively use materials left over from other projects to construct new artifacts. To
fashion their bricolage projects, bricoleurs use only the tools and materials “at-hand” (Levi-Strauss, 1966). This mode of construction is in direct contrast to the work of engineers, who follow set procedures and have a list of specific tools to carry out their work.

Generally speaking, when the metaphor is used within the domaine of qualitative research it denotes methodological practices explicitly based on notions of eclecticism, emergent design, flexibility and plurality. Further, it signifies approaches that examine phenomena from multiple, and sometimes competing, theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Contextualizing Theories and Practices of Bricolage Research
Matt Rogers
University of New Brunswick, Canada
The Qualitative Report 2012 Volume 17, T&L Art. 7, 1-17
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR17/rogers.pdf


http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jenglish/Courses/mileaf.html



https://staff.aist.go.jp/h.arai/bricolage.html

A Mixed Method Study: Apparel Customer's Fashion Design Leadership Linda Catherine Psalmonds - Thesis Information

A Mixed Method Study: Exploring U.S. Female Apparel Customer's Fashion Design Leadership Expectations

Front Cover
Linda Catherine Psalmonds
ProQuest, 2008 - 305 pages

Phd Thesis

Mixed Method Study of Cresswell - 2002

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=8H5-rjMsdIMC

See methodology section

Grounded Theory - Julianne S. Oktay - 2012 - Book Information

Google Book Link with Preview facility

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=GVNpAgAAQBAJ

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Introduction to Grounded Theory and its Potential for Social Work
2. Getting Started
3. Early Data Analysis
4. Late Stage Analysis
5. Evaluating Quality
6. Grounded Theory in Social Work Research: Problems and Promise
Glossary
References
Index

Constructivist Research Paradigm

Three paradigms of  research are: (a) the positivist and post-positivist paradigm, (b) the constructivist paradigm, and (c) the critical paradigm.

The distinction between the positivist and post-positivist paradigm (that emphasizes empirical-analytical knowledge) and the constructivist paradigm (that emphasizes meaning and experiential knowledge) has been made by several writers (e. g., Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The German critical theorist Jürgen Habermas (1971) took this debate one step further by introducing the critical paradigm (that emphasizes critical, emancipatory knowledge).

Over the past decade, several researchers, philosophers, and psychologists have elaborated on the distinctions between these three research paradigms (Bhaskar, 1975; Brydon-Miller, 2001; Lincoln & Guba, 2000; Richardson & Fowers, 1997; Smith, 1997; Teo, 1999).

http://education.miami.edu/isaac/public_web/chapeleven.htm


Social Constructivist Paradigm
http://education.miami.edu/isaac/public_web/chaptwelve.htm


GUIDELINES AND CHECKLIST FOR CONSTRUCTIVIST (a.k.a. FOURTH GENERATION) EVALUATION
Egon G. Guba & Yvonna S. Lincoln
November 2001
NOTE: The guidelines and checklists for constructivist evaluations and reports outlined herein are based  upon Egon G. Guba and Yvonna S. Lincoln, Fourth Generation Evaluation, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1989. Useful background information may be found in Yvonna S. Lincoln and Egon G. Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1985.
http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/archive_checklists/constructivisteval.pdf

Lincoln & Guba, 1985, Yvonna S. Lincoln and Egon G. Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1985.
http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/archive_checklists/constructivisteval.pdf

Phenomenology: The Non-Positivist Approach - Dan Remenyi - Chapter Summary

The wheel of learning consists of question, theory, test and reflection.

Insight, untested and unsupported, is an insufficient guarantee of truth, in spite of the fact that much of the most important truth is first suggested by its means.

Phenomenology and Non-Positivism

To cope with the problems of people and organisations it is necessary to go beyond positivism and use a phenomenological approach to research.  It is increasingly accepted among business and management scholars that phenomenology is better suited to this type of research where the central issues concern people and their behavior.

Different Meaning to Different Researchers

Cohen and Manion (1987) provide the following definition of phenomenology: ’Phenomenology is a theoretical point of view that advocates the study of direct experience taken at face value; and one which sees behaviour as determined by the phenomena of experience rather than by external, objective and physically described reality.’

On the other hand Rudestein and Newton(1992) suggest that phenomenology ‘attempts to describe and elucidate the meanings of human experience’.

According to Camus (O’ Brien,1965, ‘phenomenology declines to explain the world, it wants to be merely a description of actual experience’.

Perhaps the essence of the subject was captured by Boland(1985), when he said that phenomenology is ‘a term that carries a great deal of ambiguity along with its sometimes confused and faddish use’.

Phenomenology- What? Why? And How?

The non-positivist searches for the embedded face in the picture rather than remaining content

with a description of the patterns, figures and outlines which define and describe the larger scale objects in the picture.

Medawar attributes to Popper the observation that positivism suggests that the world is all surface. Thus the essence of phenomenology is an attempt to delve below the surface to understand the essence of what is happening.

The central premise of non-positivist research is that the researcher should be concerned to understand phenomenon in depth and that this understanding should result from attempting to find tentative answers to questions such as ‘what?’ ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’  Phenomenology contends that such an understanding can result from using methods other than measurements, unlike the assumption of positivism which is ultimately concerned with answering the questions of ‘How many?’ or ‘How much?’

The Context of the Research

In business and management studies it is essential to understand the context within which the research is being conducted by considering social or cultural factors that impinge on the research problem.

Some Philosophical Underpinnings

Philosophically the non-positivist position derives from phenomenology, which emphasises the primacy of unique experience without attempting to label or categorise these experiences.  It is important to distinguish between phenomenology itself and the range of different research methods that have developed out of this particular world view.

The term phenomenology essentially describes the philosophical approach that what is directly perceived and felt is considered more reliable than explanations or interpretations in communication.  It is a search for understanding based on what is apparent in the individual environment rather than on interpretations made by the observer.

The approach is often confused with the qualitative approach to research.

The primacy of Context
Phenomenology assumes that knowledge can be gained by concentating on phenomena as experienced by people.

At the heart of phenomenology is the relationship between self and society, as expressed in the work of Mead(1934), the originator of phenomenological psychology.  Mead accorded primacy to the process from which the ‘organism creates its environment’ ( Clegg and Dunkerley, 1980:267) which leads to the distinction between act and content, with the stress on the act and what that means to the actor(Yontef,1993).

The variables being manipulated could not be treated as independent of the meaning ‘which individuals assigned to them’.  Today this is one of the fundamental assumptions of phenomenological researchers (Collins and Young, 1988)

Phenomenology and Qualitative Methods

Researchers adopting phenomenology deliberately group their evidence-gathering technique in the theoretical tradition of phenomenology.  This results in a very specific method which the researcher must first attempt to remove all traces of personal involvement in the phenomena being researched.

Similarly the researcher has to limit any other influences from impinging on the evidence – collection exercise before finally gathering data around specific themes.  This process is clearly very different from the interviewing process that a feminist or a hermeneutic researcher would adopt.

Non-positivist research assumes that objects of enquiry in the social sciences are social issues – a key concern is that research should acknowledge and treat people as essentially human rather than as mere objects.

Central to this argument is the fact that people have the ability to think, argue, and experience the world or events in idiosyncratic ways and that positivistic research strategies are unable to deliver an understanding of these human dimensions.

Control and the Research Process

However, these assumptions about the use of controls are seldom relevant in non-positivist research, due to the difficulty of controlling variables in social settings.

Evidence Collection in a Natural Setting

Non- positivist research essentially relies on collecting evidence in as natural and non-controlled a setting as possible, rejecting the formalism imposed on research activity by a positivist approach.

Using Non-Positivist Methods

This serves to remind us that researchers are subject to prejudices, cultural beliefs and values that they bring into the research process with them.  These help to shape what Morgan(1980) calls the researcher’s ‘frame of reference or ‘mode of engagement’ which include socialisation, the nature of the object being investigated, the outcomes sought from research and who is funding the research.

Socialisation

The disciplines from which the researcher comes, as well as his or her work experiences, will have a strong influence upon the research strategy that is favoured.

Funding the Research

The agency or organisation that is funding the research often determines the nature of the object to be investigated and the methods that are to be used in undertaking that task.

Developing a Research Strategy

By research strategy is meant consideration by students as to which research community they feel they belong to, and that the researchers know the epistemological, ethical and ontological assumptions of their research.

 

Easter by-Smith et al.  (1994:27) used the above analysis of philosophical positions to generate a useful classification of the key features of positivist and phenomenological paradigms.  This is shown in Table 6.1, which, together with the continuum, can be used to explore the orientation of the researcher in order that strategies and tactics can be consciously selected.

Key features of positivist and phenomenological paradigms

Beginning the Research

Howard and Sharp(1983) outline a process model that is useful in identifying the phases that form part of the research process.  They distinguish between the ‘planning’ and effectuation’ stages and these in turn can be broken down into the activities set out below :

Planning :
Identify a broad area of study
Select the research topic
Decide the approach
Formulate a plan of action
Effectuation:
Collect the evidence
Analyse or interpret the evidence
Present the findings.

Ideographic methods to collect evidence is potentially more fraught with pitfalls.

As Marshall and Rossman (1995) argue, the planning stage is fundamental to the consideration of issues such as developing an argument that is convincing, showing how the particular case being investigated fits with the bigger picture, and that the design of the research is sound.  It is through this planning that the competence of the researcher is demonstrated.

Area of study and Topic
In this respect, creativity and immersion in a topic area are therefore important ingredients

Induction

However, within a non-positivist paradigm, it is acceptable for the generation of a research topic or question to come from experience rather than reflection on theory and concepts.  In other words, an inductive process to generate the research question is entirely acceptable.  Intuitive notions about phenomena often from part of the practice of researchers.   The most creative theories are often imaginative visions imposed upon facts.

Deduction

Alternatively the student might well start from a deductive position and then seek to use the methods suggested by Howard and Sharp(1983) to generate research topics. These range from looking for ideas in text (theses, journal articles, books and reviews, the media) to communication with others (experts in the field, colleagues, potential users of the research outputs.)

By this is meant that the researcher has to be able to see how the specific instance fits into the wider whole.

Importance of the Literature

Non-positivist researchers will use real-life problems that emerge from experience as the inspiration for research (Marshall and Rossman,1995:17).  It is important that this is done in tandem with at least an emerging understanding of the literature.

Formulating the research problem is the next important step in which intuitive notions should be more fully investigated and narrowed down into a researchable, informal hypothesis or statement

Feasibility of the Research

Once the research problem has been formulated, it is important to think about the feasibility of the research and to be satisfied that there is sufficient material (published literature, secondary and primary evidence ) to work with

Plan the Research

The main challenge in planning the research is for the student to consider, and explicitly state, the overall design of the study.  A feminist researcher will specifically set out to exploit personal involvement, whereas phenomenological interviewing might stress the removal of ‘all traces of personal involvement in the phenomena being studied’, such that all preconceptions are removed and do not interface with the research process (Marshall and Rossman,1995:82).  On the other hand, a researcher wishing to undertake hermeneutical research will attempt to generate high –quality textual material for examination.

Questions and Strategies

Marshall and Rossman (1995:41) have developed a table matching research questions with strategies.  The table uses the purpose of the study and the research question as the starting point for determining specific research strategy and evidence-collection techniques.

Silverman (1994) would  support the theory-building potentiality of qualitative research and suggests that qualitative researchers need to be bolder in the horizons that they envisage for non-positivist research

Research Proposal

The final outcome of the above process will be a research proposal convering the following:

What :    outline of research problem, tracing historical roots and  linking specific to general; conceptual framework and   literature review; purpose of study and specific research              questions.

How :     description of research strategy and design which will yield specific evidence required to answer questions;  methods justified and linked back to research question and research site.

Where :  where the research will be conducted                                                                                                                                                        
When :   ideally a time line to spell out major phases of  research process

Gaining Access

Gummesson (1991:21) describes access( the ability to get close to the object of study, to really be able to find out what is happening) as the researcher’s biggest problem. The choice of site should be clearly justified and a good research site will have the following properties:

Entry should be possible;
The site will present the possibility of collecting pertinent evidence;
Trust can be established with respondents;
Evidence quality and credibility of the research can be assured.

The researcher can best ensure that conditions 1 and 3 are met by developing good relationships with gatekeepers and/or informants(Gummesson,1991).

Collecting Evidence

It is now well accepted that where a non- positivist approach is adopted, it is difficult to separate evidence collection from hypothesis construction and theory building.

Evidence collection can usefully be divided into three types: observation, interviews, textual analysis.

Observation

The main aim of observation in research is to gain an understanding of other cultures by sharing the space of the research site at least for some part of the duration of the research.   The argument for adopting observation as an evidence-collection strategy is that real understanding will come about through extended observation as this enables an understanding of both the context and process of behaviour.

Interviews

This is a method commonly used in non-positivist research. Open-ended interviews and semi-structured interviews.

The schedule could for example be sent to academic and practitioner referees who can provide feedback on how they understood and responded to questions.

Advice that the key to getting on with evidence collection is that the researcher should really (and appear to) ‘have a sincere curiosity about the lives and experiences of others.  In our experience the best way to break the ice is to discuss informally an issue (mutual friends or interests, important recent news which relate to the company, etc.) unrelated to the research per se, which will allow both the researcher and the respondent too relax.

A second potential problem can arise from covering everything on the interview schedule or guide.  If there is an interview schedule to cover the researcher should be able to use questions as prompts to steer conversation in the desired direction or, indeed, to use  these to probe particular issues.

Researchers may supply informants with a copy of the interview transcripts.  This is done to ensure that the transcription is an accurate portrayal of the proceeding, which is an essential check on the validity of the evidence, but also to sustain the relationship with respondents.

Analysis of Texts
This is the most demanding aspect of non-positivist research.  In practice this means that the evidence has to be read, re-read, and such themes or concepts have to be catalogued.  It is vital that this process is based on the evidence itself and that these themes emerge from the bottom up, rather than being the result of selecting a theory by convenience and then dipping into fragments that support such a theory.

Evidence Analysis Software
Most qualitative researchers do not make use of computers in analysis, except for producing and keeping a record of interview transcripts.  Today, however, the situation is different and for those researchers who feel comfortable with using a computer-based approach to analysis there is a wide choice of software available -  from simple text retrievers through to conceptual network builders.

For instance, Silverman(1994) advocates the use of such analysis software to assist with analysis of field notes such that the researcher can more easily file and index text into several different categories. Alternatively, NUD.IST might be used to facilitate searching by indexes and to generate new categories and relationships.

Validity
In non positivist research validity concerns whether the researcher has gained full access to knowledge and meanings of respondents.  Hence the importance of good-quality access to enable such contact to be made within the research site.  There is also the need to feed research field notes or interview transcripts back to respondents for verification to ensure that it reflects their understanding of the phenomenon (Collins and Young,1988).  Access therefore becomes one of the criteria against which the research will be evaluated.

Collins and Young(1988) further contribute ideas regarding validity in hermeneutical research.   The authors argue that a positive response to the questions, together with an internally consistent argument, would place a particular research account in line to have validity conferred by readers and users of that research.

Reliability
The distinguishing characteristic here is that similar observations should be made by researchers on different occasions (Easterby - smith et al.,1994) and the concern is therefore with how replicable the study is.   Marshall and Rossman (1995) advocate that, rather than pretend that research conditions can be replicable, it is much better to accept the particularist nature of the research and to follow good practice guidelines such as establishing an audit trail.

This can be achieved by keeping the evidence collected in an easily retrievable form to enable others to investigate it should doubts regarding the research ever be raised.  Second, the researcher should keep a log or journal cataloguing research design decisions and justifications for these.  In this way the methods used become transparent and the parameters regarding the research questions, setting, assumptions and theoretical frameworks are open to scrutiny.

Generalisability
Here the researcher is essentially concerned with the applicability of theories that were generated in one setting to other settings.   Gummesson(1991:79) argues that qualitative research is less concerned with making statements about the commonality of particular findings than with the fact that good qualitative research should enable one to attain an understanding of organisational processes.  He argues that generalisation can be understood in two ways:

Quantitative studies based on a large number of observations are required in order to determine how much, how often and how many.  The other… involves the use of in-depth studies based on exhaustive investigations and analyses to identify certain phenomena, for example the effects of change in corporate strategy, and lay bare mechanisms that one suspects will also exist in other companies.

There is no one best way to demonstrate or evaluate the quality of research.  The list was constructed by drawing on the work of LincoIn and Guba(1995),quoted in Marshall and Rossman(1995) and Gummesson (1991).

Credibility
The issue of credibility refers to being able to demonstrate that the research was designed in a manner that accurately identified and described the phenomenon to be investigated.  Here the credibility (rather than internal validity) will derive from an in-depth description of the complexities of the research setting, drawing on empirical evidence.  Such a representation of the phenomenon will therefore be valid for that particular study.  This does mean that the research should explicitly state the parameters of the study in terms of the population, setting and theoretical framework used.

Transferability
This refers to external validity and is dependent upon the researcher stating the theoretical parameters of the research explicitly.  Here it would be important to specify how the specific phenomenon or research setting being investigated ties into a broader case, making clear the specific organisational processes about which generalisations will be made.

Dependability
The positivist construct of reliability assumes unchanging conditions that enable replication of the study.  This assumption does not hold for non-positivist research and it is more appropriate for the researcher to account for changes in the conditions of the phenomenon being investigated, as well as research design changes which are made because of a better understanding of the research setting.

Confirmability
With phenomenological research the concept of confirmability is used instead of objectivity.  The question to pose is: does the research confirm general findings or not?  The test is whether the findings of the research can be confirmed by another similar study.



Additional Resources

An Introduction to Phenomenological Research
http://www.sld.demon.co.uk/resmethy.pdf
(A good reference to read - This article may be focusing on using phenomenology in educational research)

Nomothetic Approach to Science - Idiographic Approach to Science by KVSSNRao

Five Qualitative Approaches to Enquiry (Cresswell Book?)
Narrative Research, Phenomenological Research, Grounded Theory Research, Ethnographic Research, Case Study Research  (Interesting descriptions of each approach is given in this chapter)
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/13421_Chapter4.pdf

Theory Building - Robert Dubin -1969-1978 Book Information

1969 is the first edition and 1978 is the second edition of the book published by Free Press, New York and Collier-Macmillan Limited, London.

Dubin,s was summarized in a chapter in a Sage publication by Susan A. Lynham in a book of 2002. The chapter is available as a free download from Sage's website on 11 September 2014.
http://adh.sagepub.com/content/4/3/242.full.pdf


The theory development side of the Theory-Research Cycle

1. Units
2. Laws of interaction
3. Boundaries
4. System States
5. Propositions

The above  five steps result in an informed, conceptual framework of the theory. Propositions are the output of the first part.

Part Two:
The research operation side of the Theory-Research Cycle
5. Propositions
6. Empirical indicators of key terms
7. Hypotheses
8. Testing

The above four steps result in an empirically verified, and trustworthy theory. Propositions are the starting point of empirical testing of the theory. Rejecting or not rejecting the theory and accepting it as a useful one to use in practice is the outcome of the second part.



Theory Building in Applied Disciplines - 2013 Book - Richard A. Swanson, Thomas J. Chermack - Book Information


Note: The first edition is in Nitie library   Acq.No. 9424, 001.42/DUB

Nomothetic Approach to Science - Idiographic Approach to Science

The nomothetic (Greek term meaning  lawgiving ) approach to science seeks scientific truth (lawfulness) by testing hypotheses. It applies general formulations developed through research to particular cases and uses deductive reasoning to predict what will happen in the case based on the general rule or proposition formulated.

 The idiographic (Greek term for one or more specifically oneself , one's own ) approach seeks scientific truth (lawfulness) by inspecting individual cases and finding the general patter behind their occurrence and it uses inductive reasoning. General rules are inferred from individual cases.

http://srmo.sagepub.com/view/encyclopedia-of-measurement-and-statistics/n312.xml


The Idiographic / Nomothetic Dichotomy: Tracing Historical Origins of Contemporary Confusions
Oliver C. Robinson, University of Greenwich
History & Philosophy of Psychology (2011) Vol. 13(2), 32–39.

There has been a false tendency to see these two terms as antagonistic rather than complementary. The
confusions over the term ‘nomothetic’ stem from a long-held misconception that nomothetic research requires large samples and group-based statistics such as means and variances (i.e. the ‘Galtonian’ paradigm). But  nomothetic research has another paradigm at its disposal that can be termed the ‘Wundtian’ paradigm, which relies on smaller samples, and a case-by-case form of analysis (Lamiell, 2003).
The confusion over the term ‘idiographic’ stem from an enduring but incorrect sense that it is opposed to nomothetic inquiry.

Critique and Theory Building: Producing Knowledge “From the Kitchen” - Roy Jacques - Article Information

ACADEMY  MANAGEMENT REVIEW July 1, 1992 vol. 17 no. 3 582-606




Discussion of what constitutes “good” scholarly critique in organisational studies usually emphasises procedural issues. The values guiding critique are seldom discussed.  The purpose of this artilce is to draw attention to the Important role the values that structure critique play in the development of organisation theory.





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My DBA Experience and Transformation - Cranfield School of Management Scholars Presentation

Presentations by Dr Michael McGrath, DBA Alumnus (1999 cohort) & Co-Founder, Lainstone and Dr Nneka Abulokwe (1998 cohort), Exec Director, Operations & Governance at Steria Group.

Michael completed his DBA in 2004 and  was one of the very early persons  to undertake the programme at Cranfield, back in 1999, with a thesis entitled `Decision Making in Unfamiliar Problem Domains: Evidence from the Investment Banking Industry.`,  His supervisor was  Dr David Partington.

Nneka completed her DBA in 2013 with a thesis entitled `From imposed to the co-developed governance processes in IT captive offshoring engagements`, under the  supervision of  Dr Jonathan Lupson.

Michael and Nneka explain their research and DBA experience in the presentations.


________________________________

_________________________________

Research Methodology Course at NITIE - 2014 - Course Plan and Page

Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor,  Harvard Business Review, September 2003 

 "Why Hard Nosed Executives Should Care about Management Theory."

Converting Light (energy) into mass (matter) - Experiment
May 2014
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-creating-matter-from-light-collider-20140519-story.html
http://phys.org/news/2014-05-scientists-year-quest.html
http://www.universetoday.com/112044/physicists-pave-the-way-to-turn-light-into-matter/
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/18/matter-light-photons-electrons-positrons

Text Book - Doing Research in Business and Management - Dan Remenyi et al.

Contents


Foreword

About the Authors

1. Business and Management Research in Perspective

2. Philosophical Background to Research

3. Research Strategies and Tactics

4. The Research Programme and Process

5. The Positivist Approach to Empirical Research

6. Phenomenology: The Non-Positivist Approach

7. The Research Process

8. Collecting Empirical Data

9. The Questionnaire or Measuring Instrument

10. The Case Study

11. The Sample

12. Statistical Analysis

13. Ethical Considerations

14. Writing up the Research

15. Evaluation of Masters and Doctoral Degrees

Appendixes

A. Note on Academic Degrees

B. Measuring Instruments

C. Further Information on Statistical Analysis

D. Useful Web Site Addresses

E. Software for Qualitative Evidence Analysis

F. A Glossary of Terms

Theory Building - Course Page

Grounded Theory - A Methodology for Generating Theory

Glaser and Strauss - Grounded Theory - Chapter 2 - Generating Theory - Quotations and Summary

Theory Building Course Page

http://badm.au.dk/uddannelse/badm-phd-courses/badm-phd-courses-2013/theroleoftheoryinbusinessresearch/



Suggested Reading:

Andersen, P.H.; Kragh, H. (2010) Sense and Sensibility: Two approaches for using existing theory in theory-building qualitative research, Industrial Marketing Management, 39, 49-55.

Anderson, Paul F. (1983) Marketing, Scientific Progress, and Scientific Method, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 18-31

Argyris, Chris (1991) Teaching Smart People How to Learn, Harvard Business Review, 99-109, May-June.

Astley, W.G. and Van de Ven, A.H. (1983) Central Perspectives and Debates in Organization Theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 28, June, pp. 245-273.

Bacharach, S. (1989) Organizational theories: Some criteria for evaluation, AMR 14: 496-515.

Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.C., Williams, J.M. (1995) 2nd edition, The Craft of Research. Chicago, Ill.: The University of Chicago Press

Colquitt, Jason A. & Zapata-Phelan, Cindy P. (2007) Trends in Theory Building and Theory Testing: A Five-Decade Study of the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1281-1303

Corley Kevin G. & Dennis A. G. (2011) Building Theory About Theory Building: What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution? Academy of Management Review, 36: 12-32

Davis, M. (1971) That’s interesting! Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 1: 309-344.

Eisenhardt, K. (1989) Building theories from case study research, Academy of Management Review, 14(4): 532-550.

Ghoshal, S. (2005) Bad management theories are destroying good management practices, AMLE, 4(1): 75-91.

Grunert, K.G., Shepherd, R., Traill, W.B. & Wold, B. (forthcoming) Food choice, energy balance and its determinants: Views of human behaviour in economics and Psychology, Trends in Food Science & Technology

Huber, G.P. (2010) “Organizations: Theory, Design, Future.” APA Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Hunt, Shelby D. & Morgan, R.M. (1996) The Resource-Advantage Theory of Competition: Dynamics, Path Dependencies, and Evolutionary Dimensions, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, No. 4, pp. 107-114.

Langley, A. (1999) Strategies for theorizing from process data, Academy of Management Review, 24(4): 691-710.

Lewis, M & Grimes, A. (1999) Metatriangulation: Building theory from multiple paradigms, Academy of Management Review, 24: 672-690.

Locke, K.; Golden-Biddle, K. (1997) Constructing opportunities for contribution: structuring intertextual coherence and 'problematizing' in organizational studies, AMJ, 40(5), 1023-1062.

March (1991) “Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning”, Organization Science, Vol. 1, No. 1; pp. 71-87.

McGrath, J.E.; Brinberg D. (1983) External Validity and the Research Process: A Comment on the Calder/Lynch Dialogue, The Journal of Consumer Research, 10(1), 115-124.

Oswick, C., Fleming, P. & Hanlon, G. (2011) From borrowing to blending: Rethinking the processes of organizational theory building, Academy of Management Review, 36: 318-337.

Oxley, J. E., Rivkin, J. W., and Ryall, M. D. (2010). The strategy research initiative: Recognizing and encouraging high-quality research in strategy, Strategic Organization, 8(4): 377-386.

Rindova, V. (2008). Publishing theory when you are new to the game, Academy of Management Review, 33: 300-303.

Smith, K. & Hitt, M. (2005) Epilogue: Learning to develop theory from the masters, Great Minds in Management: The Process of Theory Development, Oxford University Press, pp. 572-589.

Suddaby, R. (2006) What Grounded Theory Is Not, Academy of Management Journal, 49, 4, 633-642.

Sutton, Robert I. & Staw, B.M. (1995) What theory is not, Administrative Science Quarterly, 40: 371-385.

Weick, K.E. (1989) Theory construction as disciplined imagination, AMR, 14(4), 516–531.

Whetten, David A. (1989) What constitutes a theoretical contribution? Academy of Management Review, 14: 490-495.

Whetten, D., Felin, T. & King, B. (2009) The practice of theory borrowing in organizational studies: Current issues and future directions, Journal of Management, 35: 537-563.

Theory Development and Testing in Organization-Related Empirical Research

Spring 2007, Prof Mason A. Carpenter
http://cmsdev.aom.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/AMR/CarpenterUWisconsin.pdf

Theory Building - Resources

http://aom.org/Publications/AMR/Theory-Building-Resources.aspx




AMR Best Articles

Allan Afuah, and Christopher L. Tucci
Crowdsourcing As a Solution to Distant Search
AMR 2012 37:355-375; doi:10.5465/amr.2010.0146
Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Custom Reprints
Sim B. Sitkin, Kelly E. See, C. Chet Miller, Michael W. Lawless, and Andrew M. Carton
The Paradox of Stretch Goals: Organizations in Pursuit of the Seemingly Impossible
AMR 2011 36:544-566;
Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Custom Reprints
Charalampos Mainemelis
Stealing Fire: Creative Deviance in the Evolution of New Ideas
AMR 2010 35:558-578;
Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Custom Reprints
Richard Makadok, and Russell Coff
Both Market and Hierarchy: An Incentive-System Theory of Hybrid Governance Forms
AMR 2009 34:297-319; doi:10.5465/AMR.2009.36982628
Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Custom Reprints
Julian Birkinshaw, Gary Hamel, and Michael J. Mol
Management Innovation
AMR 2008 33:825-845; doi:10.5465/AMR.2008.34421969
Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Custom Reprints
Erik Dane, and Michael G. Pratt
Exploring Intuition and its Role in Managerial Decision Making
AMR 2007 32:33-54; doi:10.5465/AMR.2007.23463682
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Elizabeth George, Prithviraj Chattopadhyay, Sim B. Sitkin, and Jeff Barden
Cognitive Underpinnings of Institutional Persistence and Change: A Framing Perspective
AMR 2006 31:347-365; doi:10.5465/AMR.2006.20208685
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Fabrizio Ferraro, Jeffrey Pfeffer, and Robert I. Sutton
Economics Language and Assumptions: How Theories can Become Self-Fulfilling
AMR 2005 30:8-24; doi:10.5465/AMR.2005.15281412
Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Custom Reprints
Nicole Woolsey Biggart, and Rick Delbridge
Systems of Exchange
AMR 2004 29:28-49; doi:10.5465/AMR.2004.11851707
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Mary J. Benner, and Michael L. Tushman
Exploitation, Exploration, and Process Management: The Productivity Dilemma Revisited
AMR 2003 28:238-256; doi:10.5465/AMR.2003.9416096
Abstract Full Text Full Text (PDF) Custom Reprints

http://amr.aom.org/cgi/collection/amr_article_winners_collect

Inventing a New Theory of Nature - Constraints

Inventing a new theory of nature requires, as Feynman [1] said, ‘imagination in a terrible strait–jacket’. Unlike the artist who need not obey constraints, as scientists we are not free to imagine whatever we want—the new theory must obey a ‘correspondence principle’. It must, obviously, give different predictions from those of the old theory for some phenomena, but at the same time it must agree with the old theory in all the places in which the old theory was already experimentally verified. For all those experiments the new theory must give numerical results that are very similar to those of the old theory; the only acceptable difference must be smaller than the precision of the measurements that seemed to confirm the old theory.

Insofar as the numerical predictions of a theory are concerned, the correspondence principle is fairly obvious and straightforward. However, theories are not only mathematical devices for making numerical predictions—they contain concepts that tell us a story of what the nature of physical reality is and, as Feynman also noted, even in situations when the numerical predictions of two theories are almost identical, the concepts they involve may be completely different. Indeed, it is a fundamental conceptual difference between, say, mass being an absolute constant or mass changing with the speed even when the speed is so low that the change of mass is negligible.

The Classical Limit of Quantum Optics: Not what it seems at first sight

2013

http://blogs.chapman.edu/press-room/files/2014/05/mirror-w-prize.pdf

Interesting Thoughts on Research

Similarly throughout all their political thinking. Proximate causes and proximate results are alone contemplated; and there is scarcely any consciousness that the original causes are often numerous and widely different from the apparent cause, and that beyond each immediate result there will be multitudinous remote results, most of them quite incalculable. - Herbert Spencer

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Popular_Science_Monthly/Volume_1/May_1872/The_Study_of_Sociology_I

Max Planck Institute for The History of Science Projects

Histories of Scientific Observations
http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/en/news/features/feature18

Historical Epistemology

Bibliography

http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/en/news/features/feature1

http://www.academia.edu/688993/Historical_Epistemology_or_History_of_Epistemology_The_Relation_between_Perception_and_Judgment_pre-print_version_

Private Online Community Focus Group Research

Shobha Subramanian and Soniya Mahajani in an article in Brand Equity, the supplement to The Economic Times of India, on 16.4.2014 titled "Unfocused But Why?" stated that in many developed markets, private online communities are being used for focus group research.

The private online community consisted of specially recruited consumers, with whom researchers interact, converse and dialogue. The biggest advantage of this method is that members respond at a time and from a place convenient to them. The critical group dynamics is retained since members respond to what others say.

It may be limited to consumers who have internet connectivity. Hence it can have some limitations.

Focus Group Research in Marketing - Some Opinions - 2014

An article was published in the Brand Equity Supplement of The Economic Times, India with the title Unfocused Groups.

Shobha Subramanian and Soniya Mahajani wrote a comment article on it with the title "Unfocused But Why?" in the Brand Equity of 16 April 2014.

The wrote:

Focus groups are a fantastic tool.  The discussion about a subject in a focused group allows participants to dig deep into their own selves, have conversation with others and to agree and disagree.  The dynamics that come into play, the agreements and disagreements, emphatics statements, examples or incidents quoted provide rich understanding and insights to the market researchers. This research technique or tactics cannot be replaced by other methodologies.

But still we need to figure out why focus group researches in India have not delivered the expected results. According to authors, the root cause is extremely low budgets provided. The low budgets meant that people are using the technique where it is not suitable in preference to other methods. Thin and superficial researches are being conducted. The research users marketers and brands are suffering.

Philosophy of Science

Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy. It  attempts to elucidate the nature of scientific inquiry—observational procedures, patterns of argument, methods of representation and calculation, metaphysical presuppositions—and evaluate the grounds of their validity from the points of view of epistemology, formal logic, scientific method, and metaphysics.

Historically, it has had two main preoccupations, ontological and epistemological. The ontological preoccupations ask what kinds of entities can properly figure in scientific theories and what sort of existence such entities possess. Epistemological preoccupation, is concerned with the concepts and methods employed in studying natural phenomena and explaining their natural causes.
(  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/528804/philosophy-of-science         )

http://www.philosopher.org.uk/sci.htm

Essays from Galiliean Library
http://www.galilean-library.org/site/index.php/page/index.html/_/essays/philosophyofscience/

Ockham's Razor
http://www.galilean-library.org/site/index.php/page/index.html/_/essays/philosophyofscience/ockhams-razor-r55

Confirmation
http://www.galilean-library.org/site/index.php/page/index.html/_/essays/philosophyofscience/confirmation-r73

Philosophy of Science - Course Home Page of Prof David Banach

http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/ph31.htm

http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/ph31e.htm#srl



Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
Google book
http://books.google.com/books/about/Philosophy_of_science.html?id=W2jCrzKYqxMC
(Interesting book. It is a book in the series of short books published by Oxford.)

Models and Methods in Philosophy of Science: Selected Essays
Patrick Suppes
Springer, 1999, Mathematics
Google Book Link with Preview facility
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Hp00FbX_LTkC


A Recent Article
How Science Works III - The Philosophy of Science
http://techtravelandtalks.blogspot.in/2014/02/how-science-works-iii-philosophy-of_22.html

First published in
http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao/philosophy-of-science/2utb2lsm2k7a/5056

Re-engineering Philosophy - William Wimsatt

Re-engineering Philosophy for Limited Beings: Piecewise Approximations to Reality
William C. Wimsatt
Harvard University Press, 2007 - Philosophy - 450 pages


Analytic philosophers once pantomimed physics: they tried to understand the world by breaking it down into the smallest possible bits. Thinkers from the Darwinian sciences now pose alternatives to this simplistic reductionism.

In this intellectual tour--essays spanning thirty years--William Wimsatt argues that scientists seek to atomize phenomena only when necessary in the search to understand how entities, events, and processes articulate at different levels. Evolution forms the natural world not as Laplace's all-seeing demon but as a backwoods mechanic fixing and re-fashioning machines out of whatever is at hand. W. V. Quine's lost search for a "desert ontology" leads instead to Wimsatt's walk through a tropical rain forest.

This book offers a philosophy for error-prone humans trying to understand messy systems in the real world. Against eliminative reductionism, Wimsatt pits new perspectives to deal with emerging natural and social complexities. He argues that our philosophy should be rooted in heuristics and models that work in practice, not only in principle. He demonstrates how to do this with an analysis of the strengths, the limits, and a recalibration of our reductionistic and analytic methodologies. Our aims are changed and our philosophy is transfigured in the process.

Google Book Link with Preview
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=in_rMFXR3agC