Foundations for Inquiry
Choices and Trade-Offs in the Organizational Sciences
Published on 26. July 2005
Book
Hardback
552 pages
978-0-8047-4153-8 (ISBN)
Description
Foundations for Inquiry, a philosophy of social science book, is both a primer and a resource for anyone interested in social and behavioral research. As a "reader" with excerpts from classic and soon-to-be classic writings on research in the organizational sciences, the book shows the myriad choices facing researchers-including assumptions they make about ways of creating knowledge, beliefs and values they hold regarding reality, and philosophical and managerial allegiances they form. This book will give readers the information they need to select among these choices, appreciate the tradeoffs involved, and understand how they affect the ways in which data is collected, analyzed, and interpreted, and in which "truth" is ultimately created.
Most books about research address the "how to" of inquiry rather than the "why." Foundations for Inquiry enlightens readers about the variety of philosophical assumptions regarding inquiry and organizational phenomena, demonstrates how these assumptions shape subsequent choices about theories, and shows how theoretical and philosophical choices consequently shape and guide the research process. Awareness of these choices and tradeoffs enables readers to be more discriminating consumers of, and adept contributors to, research-based knowledge.
Most books about research address the "how to" of inquiry rather than the "why." Foundations for Inquiry enlightens readers about the variety of philosophical assumptions regarding inquiry and organizational phenomena, demonstrates how these assumptions shape subsequent choices about theories, and shows how theoretical and philosophical choices consequently shape and guide the research process. Awareness of these choices and tradeoffs enables readers to be more discriminating consumers of, and adept contributors to, research-based knowledge.
Reviews / Votes
"This is an important book that, I believe, should be read and discussed by all students of contemporary organization studies."-ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWMore details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Palo Alto
United States
Publishing group
Stanford University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Cloth
Illustrations
18 tables, 22 figures
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
862 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8047-4153-8 (9780804741538)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Craig C. Lundberg is Blanchard Professor of Human Resource Management in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Cheri A. Young is Assistant Professor of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Content
Contents Preface xxxxx Acknowledgments xxxxx Introduction: Themes and Exemplars 1 The Orthodox Ideal of Inquiry 000 Reactions: Critical, Defensive, and Constructive 000 Toward Undermining Debate Equivoque, Alternatives, and Tradeoffs Toward Making Sense of Choices Part One: Getting Acquainted with Inquiry Chapter One Embracing Inquiry as Learning The Guest Lecturer: Davydd J. Greenwood and Morten Levin The Making of a Scientist: Richard P. Feynman What Is Science? Richard P. Feynman Kim Encounters Atlas Summary Chapter Two. Mapping the Domain of Inquiry Inquiry as Making Meanings The Research Process Framing Research: Models and Theories Framing Knowledge: Philosophic Context Summary Part Two--The Philosophic Context Of Inquiry Chapter Three. The Frame of Paradigm Origins, Definition, and Function Two Dimensions, Four Paradigms: Gibson Burrell and Gareth Morgan Paradigmatic Communities: George Ritzer Applications to Organization Theory: Louis R. Pondy and David M. Boje Paradigm Concerns and Development Paradigm Shifts: Yvonne S. Lincoln Summary Chapter Four. Images of Human Nature About Images Images Throughout History: Stanford Research Institute Social Science Images Human Nature and Organization Theory: Ali H. Mir Summary Chapter Five. Choices about Reality and Knowing The True and the Known: Ralph E. Stablein Two Contrasting Modes of Inquiry: Roger D. Evered and Meryl Reis Louis The Range of Core Assumptions: Gareth Morgan and Linda Smircich Traditional Positivism: Allen S. Lee Socially Constructed, Administrative Science Is: W. Graham Astley Summary Chapter Six. The Impact of Ideology and Values Ideology Critique: Mats Alvesson and Stanley Deetz Explanations of Ideologies: Harrison M. Trice and Janice M. Beyer Ideologies in Organization Studies: Ralph E. Stablein Scientific Ethos: Harriet Zuckerman The Value-Oriented Bias of Social Inquiry: Ernest Nagel Whose Side Are We On?: Howard S. Becker Values in Inquiry: Abraham Kaplan Summary Chapter Seven. Allegiances to Schools of Thought Theoretical-Methodological Subcultures An Expanding Variety--Management Schools of Thought: Richard Whitley Summary Part Three--Centering Inquiry: Models and Theories Chapter Eight. Models and Theories: Purposes and Reach What a Theory Is and Is Not (Samuel B. Bacharach) What a Theory is Not (Robert I. Sutton and Barry M. Staw) What Theory is Not, Theorizing Is (Karl E. Weick) Comments on "What Theory is Not" (Paul J. DiMaggio) Functions of Theories (Abraham Kaplan) Summary Chapter Nine. Patterns and Criteria of Theories Types of Theories (Abraham Kaplan) Three Conceptions of Theory (Paul D. Reynolds) A Typology of Explicative Models (Roger D. Evered) Variance and Process Theories (Lawrence B. Mohr) Thorngate's Criteria and Their Tradeoffs (Karl E. Weick) Theory Evaluation Criteria (Samuel B. Bacharach) Summary Chapter Ten. Theorizing Two Contrasting Strategies (Paul D. Reynolds) Theory Construction (Karl E. Weick) Toward a Method of Theorizing (Louis J. Bourgeois III) Strong Inference (Kenneth D. MacKenzie and Robert House) Summary Part Four--The Research Process Chapter Eleven. Inventing and Framing Research Questions The Importance of Questions (Roger Schank) Question Creation in Organizational Research (Craig C. Lundberg) Problem-Oriented Research (Paul Lawrence) A Theory-Focused Approach (Karl E. Weick) Ploys for Question Generation (Craig C. Lundberg) That's Interesting! Murray S. Davis Summary Chapter Twelve. Plans for Answering: Strategies and Designs Research Strategies and the Three-Horned Dilemma (Joseph E. McGrath) Basic Designs: Features and Assessment (Eugene F. Stone) Taking Extreme Cases Seriously (Louis R. Pondy and Mary Linda Olson) N = 1 (William F. Dukes) Mixing Levels of Analysis (Appa Rao Korukonda) Summary Chapter Thirteen. Acquiring and Handling Data Concept Formulation Before Methods (Chimezie A. B. Osigweh, Yg.) Characteristics and Difficulties of Settings (Thomas Bouchard, Jr.) The Representativeness of Phenomena (Thomas W. Lee) Breaking Up Mono-method Monopolies (Joanne Martin) Issues with Self-Reports (Philip M. Podsakoff and Dennis W. Organ) Observer Effects (Robert Rosenthal) On Removing Measurement Bipolarity (Philip Bobko) Summary Chapter Fourteen. Data Sensemaking Toward Understanding Scientific Understanding (Kenneth J. Gergen and Gun R. Semin) The Initial Examination of Data (C. Chatfield) Validity and Correlational Research (Terrance R. Mitchell) Concerns About Statistical Data Analysis (Ralph L. Rosnow and Robert Rosenthal) Guidelines for Selecting a Level of Significance (Sanford Labovitz) A Few Precepts for Interpretation (Fred N. Kerlinger) Summary Chapter Fifteen. Sharing Research Contributions Part Five--Living Inquiry Chapter Sixteen. Considerations for Inquiry's Journeys Learning and Knowing (Linda Ford) Socialization and Identity Creation (Schulamit Reinharz) Scholarly Activities: Career Archetypes and Consequences (James G. Hunt and John D. Blair) Relationships Among Scholars (Connie J. G. Gersick, Jean M. Bartunek, and Jane E. Dutton) Mintzberg on Passion in Science (Charlie Galunic) A Scholar's Quest (James G. March) Summary Reprise References Credits Index