NCJ Number
51652
Date Published
1978
Length
7 pages
Annotation
ARGUMENTS ARE PRESENTED FOR THE INCREASED USE OF RIGOROUS DEDUCTIVE THEORY IN POLICY STUDIES IN PLACE OF RESTRICTED EMPIRICAL INFERENCE.
Abstract
TWO BASIC APPROACHES ARE INDICATED FOR GENERATING PROPOSITIONS ABOUT SOCIAL PHENOMENA: EMPIRICAL INFERENCE, WHERE REGULARITIES ARE DERIVED FROM OBSERVATION; AND AXIOMATIC THEORY, WHICH REQUIRES AN OBSERVED REGULARITY BE NECESSARILY IMPLIED BY A LOGICAL DEDUCTION FROM A SET OF POSTULATED ASSUMPTIONS, WHILE EMPIRICAL STUDIES ARE THE BASIS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AXIOMATIC THEORY, IT IS HELD THAT THE CONSTRUCTION OF DEDUCTIVE AXIOMS IS A NECESSARY STEP BEFORE EMPIRICAL STUDY CAN BE MOST EFFECTIVELY EMPLOYED IN POLICY STUDIES. THE ADVANTAGES OF AXIOMATIC MODELS ARE DISCUSSED AS FOLLOWS: (1) AXIOMATIC MODELS PROVIDE A STANDARD SET OF ASSUMPTIONS WHICH ARE CUMULATIVE AND CONDUCIVE TO EXTENSIONS AND REFINEMENTS BY OTHER RESEARCHERS; (2) AXIOMATIC MODELS MAKE A PRIORI PREDICTIONS POSSIBLE--CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL TO POLICY DEVELOPMENT; (3) AXIOMATIC MODELS ARE MORE CONDUCIVE TO NORMATIVE ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC POLICY THAN EMPIRICAL APPROACHES; (4) AN AXIOMATIC APPROACH CAN ALSO FERRET OUT VALUES THAT UNDERPIN ALTERNATIVE BEHAVIORS AND INSTITUTIONS; AND (5) DEDUCTIVE MODELS ARE USEFUL IN THE ADVOCATION OF A POLICY. SOME OF THESE VALUES OF THE AXIOMATIC MODEL ARE ILLUSTRATED IN THE INSTANCE OF A SPECIFIC PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS. (RCB)