Modeling and Theories

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amos Golan
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Model Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Validation Of Models

In this chapter I concentrate on model and theory building, including model-based hypotheses, based on limited information. I show that the info-metrics framework provides a coherent perspective that helps to identify the elements that are needed for building a logically sound model. The examples given in this chapter show how the info-metrics framework can guide the construction of both theories and models. I start the chapter by introducing conceptual building blocks and providing very simple toy examples. Then a more detailed example, taken from the social sciences, is introduced. A detailed discussion of the falsification and validation of models is also provided.

A Model of Entrepreneurial Capability Based on a Holistic Review of the Literature from Three Academic Domains

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Holistic Review ◽  
The Social ◽  
Single List ◽  
Serial Entrepreneurs ◽  
Entrepreneurial Capital

While there has been a noted variation in the ‘species’ of entrepreneur so that no single list of traits, characteristics or attributes is definitive, it is posited that to be an entrepreneur a certain amount of entrepreneurial capability is required. ‘Entrepreneurial capability’ is a concept developed to place some form of identity on the attributes that are needed to pursue an entrepreneurial career. The concept of entrepreneurial capability is linked to that of entrepreneurial capital, previously discussed by Erikson (2002) and Firkin (2003), but it provides greater depth and offers wider applicability. After reviewing the literature from the fields of economics, politics and the social sciences, the author proposes an ‘equation’ and a model for the factors that act as building blocks for an individual's entrepreneurial capability, which can be applied to nascent as well as experienced and serial entrepreneurs.

scholarly journals An Introduction to Audit Studies in the Social Sciences

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Michael Gaddis
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Social Desirability Bias ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Discriminatory Behavior ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

An audit study is a specific type of field experiment primarily used to test for discriminatory behavior when survey and interview questions induce social desirability bias. In this chapter, I first review the language and definitions related to audit studies and encourage adoption of a common language. I then discuss why researchers use the audit method as well as when researchers can and should use this method. Next, I give an overview of the history of audit studies, focusing on major developments and changes in the overall body of work. Finally, I discuss the limitations of correspondence audits and provide some thoughts on future directions.

Understanding Entrepreneurship through Chaos and Complexity Perspectives

2017 ◽  
pp. 171-188
Author(s):  
Wassim J. Aloulou
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Strategic Entrepreneurship ◽  
Entrepreneurship Research ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Complexity Theories ◽  
Scholarly Inquiry

This chapter aims to cover entrepreneurship as an emergent field of scholarly inquiry in the social sciences. Four different dominant paradigms are developed in this research field. The chapter shows that, in the last two decades, several scholars adopted the chaos and complexity sciences as important perspectives in the social sciences and especially in management sciences, small business and entrepreneurship. Then, the chapter aims also to introduce the pioneering contributions of theses scholars intending to understand entrepreneurship (its conditions, properties and processes of emergence) through the chaos and complexity theories and produce valuable knowledge in this field. And finally, the chapter presents some discussions and implication for future entrepreneurship research perspectives related to three research mainstreams: social, strategic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial learning. In conclusion, the chapter invites researchers to benefit from the chaos and complexity perspectives in order not to miss opportunity to enrich their theory building in entrepreneurship research.

scholarly journals Pierre Bourdieu as Cognitive Sociologist

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Lizardo
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Pierre Bourdieu ◽  
Cognitive Sociology ◽  
The Social

It is now well established that Pierre Bourdieu’s work can be interpreted as a form of cognitive sociology. Yet, given that the term “cognitive” has a variety of meanings, the question of where Bourdieu’s project of cognitive sociology fits into other cognitively grounded approaches in the social sciences remains open. In this chapter, I argue that if Bourdieu is to be considered a cognitive theorist, then there is only one way in which we can interpret his conception of cognition, and that is as a form of embodied cognition. I distinguish different senses of the term embodiment and specify how they show up in Bourdieu’s work. I discuss two broad sets of empirical phenomena---the “hard” and “soft” embodiment of culture---that have recently been identified and argue that their discovery represents a vindication of the prescience and extant promise of Bourdieu’s version of cognitive sociology. I close by providing indications how we can further an empirically grounded version of Bourdieu’s cognitive sociology today.

Model-based Clustering and Typologies in the Social Sciences

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. Ahlquist ◽  
Christian Breunig
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Model Based Clustering ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Comparison Research ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
The Social ◽  
Case Comparison

Social scientists spend considerable energy constructing typologies and discussing their roles in measurement. Less discussed is the role of typologies in evaluating and revising theoretical arguments. We argue that unsupervised machine learning tools can be profitably applied to the development and testing of theory-based typologies. We review recent advances in mixture models as applied to cluster analysis and argue that these tools are particularly important in the social sciences where it is common to claim that high-dimensional objects group together in meaningful clusters. Model-based clustering (MBC) grounds analysis in probability theory, permitting the evaluation of uncertainty and application of information-based model selection tools. We show that the MBC approach forces analysts to consider dimensionality problems that more traditional clustering tools obscure. We apply MBC to the “varieties of capitalism,” a typology receiving significant attention in political science and economic sociology. We find weak and conflicting evidence for the theory's expected grouping. We therefore caution against the current practice of including typology-derived dummy variables in regression and case-comparison research designs.

Tourism and Postdisciplinarity: Back to the Future?

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Coles ◽  
C. Michael Hall ◽  
David Timothy Duval
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Research Investment ◽  
Literature Searches ◽  
Advanced Economies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Institutional Structures

This article revisits postdisciplinary approaches to the study of tourism that were first proposed around a decade ago. Specifically, it sets out to examine the extent to which such approaches have continued relevance to tourism scholarship moving forward. Basic literature searches suggest that the world has changed, yet the tourism academy has not. Traditional disciplines, especially in the social sciences, continue to be the basic building blocks of knowledge production in tourism. However, if a more sophisticated approach is taken to analysis, there is ample evidence of more reasonable, flexible approaches to inquiry about tourism—in particular in the areas of tourism mobilities and climate change. Free from disciplinary dogma and orchestration, these take as their initial cues issues, questions, or problems and how best to tackle them. Indeed, the evidence points to a future trajectory even further in this direction. Many of the major issues facing the research community are so wide in scope and complex in nature that they require academic coalitions to tackle them. Discipline-specific or discipline-exclusive approaches will not suffice on their own. More than 10 years ago, the move toward postdisciplinary modes of inquiry was argued to be inevitable, mainly from intellectual grounds. Although this rationale remains valid, the article argues that unfolding institutional structures and the organization of higher education are also far more encouraging of postdisciplinary approaches. Research investment, especially in advanced economies, is increasingly being targeted toward grand challenges and transformative research.

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