research and participatory technology development, concentrating on implementation. Arguments in ... more research and participatory technology development, concentrating on implementation. Arguments in favour of farmer participatory research (FPR) are examined, as are a number of dtficulties. An important question is the extent to which the findings generated by location-specific, participatory research are applicable und transferable to similar systems elsewhere. Issues of data analysis and use of statistics in participatory research are discussed. Modern statistical methods have u useful role in participatorv research, but knowledge of these is limited due to the lack of suitable texts and, until recently, the lack of easily, accessible computer software. Assessing the eflectiveness of participatory 'methods' is d@icult as they are context sensitive. The resources needed,for collaborative participatory work are often underestimated and methodologies for monitoring and evaluation have been particularly weak. The development of linkages between participatory research projects and national research organisations is not straightforward, and does not always lead to the institutionalisation of participatory approaches. Integration of participatory methods into dtrering institutional contexts requires management innovation, skill development and new working procedures. Critical areas are: building institutional linkages, maintaining communication, and co-ordination and management and monitoring of participatory research. Signtficant increuses in devolved participator_y research approaches are unlikely in the absence of strong farmers' organisations and intermediary organisations. A number of suggestions for further research are made. 0 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd
. The use of field-based empirical methodologies in the production and operations management POM ... more . The use of field-based empirical methodologies in the production and operations management POM area has been steadily increasing over the past several years. One of the most prominent among these is the survey research methodology which has often been used to capture data from business organizations. However, to effectively contribute to theory development in the POM field, this methodology must be carefully implemented. Poorly designed and executed survey research is of little or no value. This paper attempts to provide a normative perspective on 'good survey research practices'. In doing so, it attempts to bridge the gap between survey research and theory development. The paper liberally draws from work in other social science disciplines like psychology, marketing, organizational behavior, and other related fields that are more mature in the use of surveys, and applies it to the POM area. A set of ideal survey research attributes are identified, and existing POM survey work in four prestigious academic journals is evaluated with respect to these attributes. Results of assessing 25 survey-based articles published in these journals between 1990 and 1995 indicate that both exploratory as well as explanatory survey research is being conducted, with current emphasis being more on explanatory kind of research. In order to move the field forward, greater attention will need to be focused on employing multi-item constructs, assessing them for content validity, and purifying them through field-based pretesting. More sophisticated POM studies in the future would have to aim for testing theory with reliable and valid scales that are relatively free of measurement related errors. It is hoped that this work will act as a catalyst in compressing the learning curve with respect to survey research practices in POM, and also accelerate the use of greater methodological rigor in future empirical studies in the field. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
I Abstract Sustainable development has broad appeal and little specificity, but some combination ... more I Abstract Sustainable development has broad appeal and little specificity, but some combination of development and environment as well as equity is found in many attempts to describe it. However, proponents of sustainable development differ in their emphases on what is to be sustained, what is to be developed, how to link environment and development, and for how long a time. Despite the persistent definitional ambiguities associated with sustainable development, much work (over 500 efforts) has been devoted to developing quantitative indicators of sustainable development. The emphasis on sustainability indicators has multiple motivations, which include decision making and management, advocacy, participation and consensus building, and research and analysis. We select a dozen prominent examples and use this review to highlight their similarities and differences in definition of sustainable development, motivation, process, and technical methods. We conclude that there are no indicator sets that are universally accepted, backed by compelling theory, rigorous data collection and analysis, and influential in policy. This is due to the ambiguity of sustainable development, the plurality of purpose in characterizing and measuring sustainable development, and the confusion of terminology, data, and methods of measurement. A major step in reducing such confusion would be the acceptance of distinctions in terminology, data, and methods. Toward this end, we propose an analytical framework that clearly distinguishes among goals, indicators, targets, trends, driving forces, and policy responses. We also highlight the need for continued research on scale, aggregation, critical limits, and thresholds.
research and participatory technology development, concentrating on implementation. Arguments in ... more research and participatory technology development, concentrating on implementation. Arguments in favour of farmer participatory research (FPR) are examined, as are a number of dtficulties. An important question is the extent to which the findings generated by location-specific, participatory research are applicable und transferable to similar systems elsewhere. Issues of data analysis and use of statistics in participatory research are discussed. Modern statistical methods have u useful role in participatorv research, but knowledge of these is limited due to the lack of suitable texts and, until recently, the lack of easily, accessible computer software. Assessing the eflectiveness of participatory 'methods' is d@icult as they are context sensitive. The resources needed,for collaborative participatory work are often underestimated and methodologies for monitoring and evaluation have been particularly weak. The development of linkages between participatory research projects and national research organisations is not straightforward, and does not always lead to the institutionalisation of participatory approaches. Integration of participatory methods into dtrering institutional contexts requires management innovation, skill development and new working procedures. Critical areas are: building institutional linkages, maintaining communication, and co-ordination and management and monitoring of participatory research. Signtficant increuses in devolved participator_y research approaches are unlikely in the absence of strong farmers' organisations and intermediary organisations. A number of suggestions for further research are made. 0 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd
. The use of field-based empirical methodologies in the production and operations management POM ... more . The use of field-based empirical methodologies in the production and operations management POM area has been steadily increasing over the past several years. One of the most prominent among these is the survey research methodology which has often been used to capture data from business organizations. However, to effectively contribute to theory development in the POM field, this methodology must be carefully implemented. Poorly designed and executed survey research is of little or no value. This paper attempts to provide a normative perspective on 'good survey research practices'. In doing so, it attempts to bridge the gap between survey research and theory development. The paper liberally draws from work in other social science disciplines like psychology, marketing, organizational behavior, and other related fields that are more mature in the use of surveys, and applies it to the POM area. A set of ideal survey research attributes are identified, and existing POM survey work in four prestigious academic journals is evaluated with respect to these attributes. Results of assessing 25 survey-based articles published in these journals between 1990 and 1995 indicate that both exploratory as well as explanatory survey research is being conducted, with current emphasis being more on explanatory kind of research. In order to move the field forward, greater attention will need to be focused on employing multi-item constructs, assessing them for content validity, and purifying them through field-based pretesting. More sophisticated POM studies in the future would have to aim for testing theory with reliable and valid scales that are relatively free of measurement related errors. It is hoped that this work will act as a catalyst in compressing the learning curve with respect to survey research practices in POM, and also accelerate the use of greater methodological rigor in future empirical studies in the field. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
I Abstract Sustainable development has broad appeal and little specificity, but some combination ... more I Abstract Sustainable development has broad appeal and little specificity, but some combination of development and environment as well as equity is found in many attempts to describe it. However, proponents of sustainable development differ in their emphases on what is to be sustained, what is to be developed, how to link environment and development, and for how long a time. Despite the persistent definitional ambiguities associated with sustainable development, much work (over 500 efforts) has been devoted to developing quantitative indicators of sustainable development. The emphasis on sustainability indicators has multiple motivations, which include decision making and management, advocacy, participation and consensus building, and research and analysis. We select a dozen prominent examples and use this review to highlight their similarities and differences in definition of sustainable development, motivation, process, and technical methods. We conclude that there are no indicator sets that are universally accepted, backed by compelling theory, rigorous data collection and analysis, and influential in policy. This is due to the ambiguity of sustainable development, the plurality of purpose in characterizing and measuring sustainable development, and the confusion of terminology, data, and methods of measurement. A major step in reducing such confusion would be the acceptance of distinctions in terminology, data, and methods. Toward this end, we propose an analytical framework that clearly distinguishes among goals, indicators, targets, trends, driving forces, and policy responses. We also highlight the need for continued research on scale, aggregation, critical limits, and thresholds.
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