Utilization and Methodology of Applied Social Research: Four Complementary Models

Abstract

In applied social research, variations in the utilization of results are more closely interrelated with methodological variations than in the so-called "pure" social sciences. In the following typology, three functions of applied social research are analyzed and related to differences in methodology. In a fourth model, variations in the organizational context of applied social research projects are compared for their impact upon organizational decision making. Together, the four models of feedback, change, control, and context constitute a comprehensive typology of the utilization and methodology of applied social research.