Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: How Do We Combine the Insights of Multiple Theories in Public Policy Studies?
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
This article argued that the insistence on a rigid universal scientific standard may harm rather than help scientific collaboration and progress and pointed out the practical limits to using multiple theories and pursuing different research agendas when academic resources are limited.Abstract:
The combination of multiple theories in policy studies has a great potential value—new combinations of theories or concepts may produce new perspectives and new research agendas. However, it also raises important ontological, epistemological, methodological, and practical issues that need to be addressed to ensure disciplinary advance. This article identifies three main approaches: synthesis, in which we produce one theory based on the insights of multiple theories; complementary, in which we use different theories to produce a range of insights or explanations; and contradictory, in which we compare the insights of theories before choosing one over the other. It examines the issues that arise when we adopt each approach. First, it considers our ability to “synthesize” theories when they arise from different intellectual traditions and attach different meanings to key terms. Second, it considers the practical limits to using multiple theories and pursuing different research agendas when academic resources are limited. Third, it considers the idea of a “shoot-out” in which one theory is chosen over another because it appears to produce the best results or most scientific approach. It examines the problems we face when producing scientific criteria and highlights the extent to which our choice of theory is influenced by our empirical narrative. The article argues that the insistence on a rigid universal scientific standard may harm rather than help scientific collaboration and progress.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Governing Institutional Complexity: The Ecology of Games Framework
TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of the adaptation of Long's concept of the "ecology of games" into a theoretical framework for analyzing institutional complexity is provided. And the authors assess the future prospects of the ecology of games framework, including future research needs for theoretical and empirical development.
Journal ArticleDOI
Kingdon's Multiple Streams Approach: What Is the Empirical Impact of this Universal Theory?
Paul Cairney,Michael D. Jones +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the broader impact and trends in usage of MSA and find that these trends in application are due largely to its intuitive appeal and low barrier to entry.
Journal ArticleDOI
Choice, Rationality and Social Theory
D. S. King,Barry Hindess +1 more
TL;DR: The rational choice approach to social behaviour rationality, egoism and social atomism models of the actor rationality, action and deliberation individualism, and social structure was proposed in this article.
Book ChapterDOI
Comparison of Theories of the Policy Process
Tanya Heikkila,Paul Cairney +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the theoretical approaches by identifying their key concepts, their strengths and weaknesses for understanding the policy process and advancing knowledge, and identify the similarities and differences in what these theories explain and what shared knowledge can be gleaned across them.
References
More filters
Book
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
TL;DR: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as discussed by the authors is a seminal work in the history of science and philosophy of science, and it has been widely cited as a major source of inspiration for the present generation of scientists.
Book
Agendas, alternatives, and public policies
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the origins, rationality, incrementalism, and Garbage Cans of the idea of agenda status and present a case study of noninterview measures of Agenda status.