Integrating the Views of Researchers

See our discussion of research integration more generally: Integrating Insights A cognitive approach to integration was urged there. When differences span goals as well as means, and/or reflect different predictions regarding the future, there is often a place for formal approaches to integration where researchers' views are formally compared and contrasted.

David McDonald, Gabriele Bammer and Peter Deane. Research Integration Using Dialogue Methods. ANU Press 2009 discuss two possibilities:

· Where experts disagree, the Delphi technique, consisting of a series of structured questionnaires with feedback on how answers differed, can identify sources of conflicts and often common ground.

· When there is a great deal of uncertainty involved (which is a characteristic of complex systems), scenario planning is a technique for identifying possible futures and reflecting on policies to shape these