Methodological Pluralism and Epistemology between and Beyond Relational Methods

Relational Methodologies and Epistemology in Economics and Management Sciences, IGI Global, ISBN: 9781466697706, 2016

17 Pages Posted: 9 Mar 2018

Date Written: March 3, 2016

Abstract

The years of epistemological – and a fortiori, methodological – Manicheism waded: since the seventies, excepted for the supporters of positivism, as an epistemological position, and mathematical analytical approach, as a methodological position, methodological pluralism and non-positivist epistemologies widely diffused and consolidated. On the methodological side, qualitative studies, laboratory case studies, statistical analysis, case-based reasoning, network-based methodologies and computational modeling have been accepted and practiced. What we want to underlie here is that, in search of better explanations of a given phenomenon, all these methodologies can be viewed not necessarily as competing, but rather feeding each other. As for most human behaviors, besides competition there is also collaboration as a possible approach. Contextualized on methodological pluralism, it means that, for instance, a qualitative study could provide salient data to better calibrate an agent-based model, whose findings in turn could lead to better empirical or statistical studies. The scarce practice of these methodological cross-fertilizations derive much more on the tendency of scientific communities to close into a self-referential world rather than to the undeniable methodological difficulties in combining different methodologies. On the other hand, some recent studies seem to demonstrate that mixed methods research has a major impact on scientific growth, thus, witnessing a certain demand for richer and more articulated approaches. Likely, most researchers perceive, more or less knowingly, that socio-economic phenomena are complex and that such a complexity require finer and deeper and multiple methodological perspectives.

Keywords: epistemology, methodology, methodological pluralism, relational methods

JEL Classification: B15

Suggested Citation

Biggiero, Lucio, Methodological Pluralism and Epistemology between and Beyond Relational Methods (March 3, 2016). Relational Methodologies and Epistemology in Economics and Management Sciences, IGI Global, ISBN: 9781466697706, 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3133555

Lucio Biggiero (Contact Author)

University of L'Aquila ( email )

Via Giuseppe Mezzanotte
L'Aquila, AQ 67100
Italy
0862434861 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.luciobiggiero.com

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