Difference between revisions of "Methods"

From Sustainability Methods
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'''This sub-wiki deals with scientific methods.'''  
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'''This sub-wiki deals with scientific methods.''' <br/>
 
''We define Methods as follows:''
 
''We define Methods as follows:''
 
* First and foremost, scientific methods produce knowledge.  
 
* First and foremost, scientific methods produce knowledge.  
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* Many specific methods can be differentiated into different schools of thinking, and many methods have finer differentiations or specifications in an often hierarchical fashion. These two factors make a fine but systematic overview of all methods an almost Herculean task, yet on a broader scale it is quite possible to gain an overview of the methodological canon of science within a few years, if you put some efforts into it. This Wiki tries to develop the baseline material for such an overview, yet can of course not replace practical application of methods and the continuous exploring of empirical studies within the scientific literature.  
 
* Many specific methods can be differentiated into different schools of thinking, and many methods have finer differentiations or specifications in an often hierarchical fashion. These two factors make a fine but systematic overview of all methods an almost Herculean task, yet on a broader scale it is quite possible to gain an overview of the methodological canon of science within a few years, if you put some efforts into it. This Wiki tries to develop the baseline material for such an overview, yet can of course not replace practical application of methods and the continuous exploring of empirical studies within the scientific literature.  
  
Each method currently included in this Wiki (see below) is described in terms of  
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'''This Wiki describes each presented method (see below) in terms of'''
 
* its historical and disciplinary background
 
* its historical and disciplinary background
 
* its characteristics and process
 
* its characteristics and process
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Also, each scientific method that is described on this Wiki is categorized according to the Wiki's underlying [[Ontology of Methods]].
 
Also, each scientific method that is described on this Wiki is categorized according to the Wiki's underlying [[Ontology of Methods]].
This means that each method fulfills one or more categories of each of the following criteria:
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'''This means that each method fulfills one or more categories of each of the following criteria:'''
 
<br/>
 
<br/>
 
* [[:Category:Quantitative|Quantitative]] - [[:Category:Qualitative|Qualitative]]
 
* [[:Category:Quantitative|Quantitative]] - [[:Category:Qualitative|Qualitative]]

Revision as of 05:50, 28 September 2020

This sub-wiki deals with scientific methods.
We define Methods as follows:

  • First and foremost, scientific methods produce knowledge.
  • Focussing on the academic perspective, scientific methods can be either reproducible and learnable; can be documented and are learnable; or are reproducible, can be documented, and are learnable.
  • From a systematic perspective, methods are approaches that help us gather data, analyse data, and/or interpret it. Many specific methods refer to either one or two of these steps, and few methods refer to all three steps.
  • Many specific methods can be differentiated into different schools of thinking, and many methods have finer differentiations or specifications in an often hierarchical fashion. These two factors make a fine but systematic overview of all methods an almost Herculean task, yet on a broader scale it is quite possible to gain an overview of the methodological canon of science within a few years, if you put some efforts into it. This Wiki tries to develop the baseline material for such an overview, yet can of course not replace practical application of methods and the continuous exploring of empirical studies within the scientific literature.

This Wiki describes each presented method (see below) in terms of

  • its historical and disciplinary background
  • its characteristics and process
  • its strenghts and challenges
  • everything related to normativity
  • the potential future and open questions for the method
  • as well as key publications and futher readings.

Also, each scientific method that is described on this Wiki is categorized according to the Wiki's underlying Ontology of Methods. This means that each method fulfills one or more categories of each of the following criteria:

You can click on each category for more information and all the entries that belong to this category.

The following methods have been described: