A critique of statistical modelling in management science from a critical realist perspective: its role within multimethodology

J Mingers ()
Additional contact information
J Mingers: University of Kent

Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2006, vol. 57, issue 2, 202-219

Abstract: Abstract Management science was historically dominated by an empiricist philosophy that saw quantitative modelling and statistical analysis as the only legitimate research method. More recently interpretive or constructivist philosophies have also developed employing a range of non-quantitative methods. This has sometimes led to divisive debates. ‘Critical realism’ has been proposed as a philosophy of science that can potentially provide a synthesis in recognizing both the value and limitations of these approaches. This paper explores the critical realist critique of quantitative modelling, as exemplified by multivariate statistics, and argues that its grounds must be re-conceptualized within a multimethodological framework.

Keywords: critical realism; critique; mathematical modelling; multimethodology; multiple regression; philosophy of OR; statistical modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601980 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:57:y:2006:i:2:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2601980

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... search/journal/41274

DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601980

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of the Operational Research Society is currently edited by Tom Archibald and Jonathan Crook

More articles in Journal of the Operational Research Society from Palgrave Macmillan, The OR Society
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().