ROLE OF SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

• NCJ Number: 66700
• Author(s): R E CAVALLO
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 211 pages
• Corporate Author: Martinus Nijhoff Publishing
• Sale Source: Martinus Nijhoff Publishing
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: FRONTIERS IN SYSTEMS RESEARCH - IMPLICATION FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES V 1

Annotation

TO TRANSFORM SYSTEMS CONCEPTS INTO WORKING APPROACHES, THIS BOOK DEVELOPS AND ILLUSTRATES AN INTEGRATED CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL GENERAL SYSTEMS FRAMEWORK FOR STUDYING COMPLEX AND HUMANISTIC SYSTEMS.

Abstract

PAST SYSTEMS-ORIENTED RESEARCH HAS BEEN MAINLY THEORETICAL. MOREOVER, THE METHODS INVOLVED HAVE DEVELOPED IN A PIECEMEAL FASHION, WITHOUT ANY COHESIVE FRAMEWORK. THIS BOOK'S MAIN PROPOSITION IS THAT GENERAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH PROVIDES AN OPERATIONAL, CONCEPTUAL, AND LOGICALLY CONSISTENT BRIDGE BETWEEN SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES AND VERY GENERAL AND ABSTRACTED DISCIPLINES SUCH AS MATHEMATICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, AND PHILOSOPHY. FOLLOWING TWO CHAPTERS DISCUSSING THE MOTIVATION FOR THE FRAMEWORK, THREE CHAPTERS DEVELOP THE GENERAL SYSTEMS CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION OF THE OVERALL FRAMEWORK. THE FRAMEWORK, TERMED A GENERAL SYSTEMS PROBLEMSOLVER, IS THEN ILLUSTRATED USING AN INVESTIGATION OF CONFLICT WITHIN NATIONS. FUNDAMENTAL SYSTEMS CONCEPTS SUCH AS BEHAVIOR, STATE, STRUCTURE SIMPLIFICATION, COMPLEXITY, AND DECOMPOSITION ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR REAL WORLD COUNTERPARTS. FIGURES, TABLES, A REFERENCE LIST, A SUBJECT INDEX, NAME INDEX, AND FOUR APPENDIXES PRESENTING DATA FROM THE CASE EXAMPLE, ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)