Types of synthesis and their criteria

Last updated March 17, 2023

#Resource

#[References]
- Title: Types of synthesis and their criteria
- Meta:
  - Tags:: #[References] [D/Synthesis Infrastructure]
  - Authored by:: [Kenneth Strike] [George Posner]
  - Year: [1983]
  - Publication: Knowledge Structure and Use: Implications for Synthesis and Interpretation
  - URL: Strike & Posner (1983). Types of synthesis and their criteria. undefined
- Content
lit-context
- Authors are Known for:: influential Theory of [conceptual change]
📝 lit-notes
- There are two core concepts for synthesis- 1) creating a new whole from parts, and 2) displaying at least some level of conceptual innovation (higher = clearer case of synthesis)
- 15 types of synthesis
  - Inductive (empiricist)
    - 1: Generalizing over instances (p. 349)
    - 2: Simple theory construction (p. 349)
    - 3: Creating a superordinate theory (p. 349-350)
    - 4: Creating a worldview (p. 350)
  - Dialectics
    - 5: Dialectical resolution (p. 350)
      - Thesis –> Antithesis –> Synthesis (e.g., Marx, Dewey)
  - Kuhnian synthesis
    - 6: Normal science (p. 351)
      - Extending a paradigm to new cases (like Piaget’s assimilation)
    - 7: Revolutionary science (p. 351)
      - Changing dominant assumptions in a field (like Piaget’s accommodation)
    - 8: Overcoming incommensurable points of view (p. 352)
    - 9: Emergence of a paradigm
  - Interdisciplinary
    - 10: Semantic synthesis (p. 352)
      - Creating a common language between disciplines that talk about the same concepts in different ways
    - 11: Generating interdisciplines (p. 352-353)
      - Develop new conceptions and approaches to a problem, modified from two or more disciplines that converge on the same problem (e.g., computational linguistics) Convergence
    - 12: Generating multidisciplinary perspectives (p. 353)
      - Generating a point of view that can be used to consider/weigh data from diverse sources
  - Quasi-syntheses
    - 13: Assessment (p.353-354)
      - Weighing the bulk of the evidence (aka meta-analysis / [systematic review])
      - Judgment
    - 14: Application and program development (p. 354)
    - 15: Assemblages (p. 354)
- Some types of synthesis are simpler to produce than others(p. 355-356)
  - Easier: 1: Generalizing over instances (p. 349), Quasi-syntheses
  - Harder: 3: Creating a superordinate theory (p. 349-350), 4: Creating a worldview (p. 350), 5: Dialectical resolution (p. 350), 7: Revolutionary science (p. 351), 8: Overcoming incommensurable points of view (p. 352), Interdisciplinary
  - #Claim Simpler syntheses are not necessarily
- Three intellectual standards for (good) synthesis (p356 onwards)
  - Fleshes out There are two core concepts for synthesis: 1) creating a new whole from parts, and 2) displaying at least some level of conceptual innovation (higher = clearer case of synthesis)
  - A quality [synthesis] will clarify and resolve, rather than obscure inconsistencies or tensions between material synthesized (p357)
  - A quality [synthesis] will result in a progressive problem shift
    - " (p357)
  - A successful [synthesis] will satisfy the formal criteria for good theories
    - (p357)
- assessing crucial assumptions (p. 358)
- [CASCI] reading notes
  - Implicit ordering of “levels” of synthesis on p1
  - Possible tension on p355 between idea of going beyond the sum of parts:
  - Good quote on how hard synthesis is (p355)
  - Interdisciplinarity discussion might be a bit thin (352-353)
  - Question about assemblage (354)
  - What about 2nd order effects of the synthesis process?
    - Maybe the output itself isn’t a “synthesis”, but the people participating in the project of synthesis are changed and go on to create new things that they wouldn’t have
#References
- Title: Types of synthesis and their criteria
- Meta
  - Year: [1983]
  - Authored by:: [Kenneth Strike] and [George Posner]
  - Publication: Knowledge Structure and Use: Implications for Synthesis and Interpretation
  - Strike, K., & Posner, G. (1983). Types of synthesis and their criteria.
  - Status: #In-Zotero-Bib
  - PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wYqUZjKg-E6hN8C33Tr2_FHy_lVZQ6J9/view?usp=sharing
- Content

Scaling Synthesis

Types of synthesis and their criteria

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