Dear all
Interesting also to read the following article (using also MTO case) written
by economists who use also the concept of "mechanism", using theory-based
evaluation literature but not realistic lit.
http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.25.3.17
Ludwig, Jens, Jeffrey R. Kling, and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2011. "Mechanism
Experiments and Policy Evaluations." Journal of Economic Perspectives,
25(3): 1738.
Still work to do about the concept and utilization of mechanism to follow
Astbury, B. and Leeuw, F.L. (2010) AJE.
Valéry
> De : Geoff Wong <[log in to unmask]>
> Répondre à : "Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving
> Standards" <[log in to unmask]>, Geoff Wong <[log in to unmask]>
> Date : Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:15:56 +0100
> À : <[log in to unmask]>
> Objet : Re: Interim summary - Theories local....
>
> A good point... to avoid any confusion that comes from simplification :-) ....
>
> I would agree a mechansims is a form of theory. I did not say it wasn't,
> though I accept that my posting by implication may have suggested so. (More
> interesting is the question of whether or not all mechanisms are theories??)
>
> If we define a theory as "... an attempt to organize the facts some
> Œproven¹, some more conjectural within a domain of inquiry into a
> structurally coherent system.²
> [Klee R. Introduction to the philosophy of science. Cutting nature at its
> seams. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. It's only an example of a
> definition that I like as it is simple and easy to remember]
> .... then a mechanism is a theory and it would be surprising it is not as in
> explaining 'how' an outcome is generated there is a degree of overlap with
> 'why'.
>
> Perhaps a 'better' explanation of what I was trying to say is that you can't
> always just stop in a RS when you have 'found' a mechanism. More 'work' is
> often needed - is it reasonable to call this more theory? For example, feeling
> safe may be a mechanism, but whether or not is is triggered will depend on
> context and also needs to be linked to the outcome of interest. An example of
> the importance of having 'more' theory where feeling safe acts may be found in
> Jackson et al.'s review on Moving to opportunity (MTO) (attached). In brief
> summary (that does this review little justice) for this programme (MTO) the
> refinement needed was to specify this feeling safe mechanism in more detail.
> One finding was that moving to a 'better' new neighbourhood was a more
> positive experience for females (vs. males) as the former felt physically
> safer. (Which nicely ties in with Gill's comments that CMOs are also theories
> ...)
>
> Geoff
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