Scientific Method: Forethought or Afterthought

Reviews the book, Scientific Method: Optimizing Applied Research Decisions by Russell L. Ackoff, Shiv K. Gupta, and J. Sayer Minas (see record 1963-02520-000). The authors of this book are distinguished in the practice and teaching of operations research, a field in which there has been rapid growth since World War II. In its simplest terms, this field consists of the application of every useful technique, culled from sciences and mathematics, to the problem of optimizing the way in which an organization is operated. The book is written largely around the decision process. In Scientific Method, the authors give a reasonably full and clear account of the classic operations research approach to problem-solving. While little of the material is actually new, most of it will be new to most scientists. The authors have been plagued by the difficulty of steering a middle course between too much depth and too little. The book is arranged in the same sequential manner as a piece of research appears to a student. This is a book about scientific tools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)