ABSTRACT

In this chapter I describe and discuss macro-level methods in two groups: methods of studying macro-level structures and processes and methods of studying macro-level processes. Although it is not always clear where one should draw the line between structures and processes (see the discussions in Chapters 2, 3, and 4), I made this diff erentiation to indicate the diff erent emphases in these two groups of methods. For example, in most of their applications, regression models are static: They are used to measure and sort out the cross-sectional relations between variables. Regression models are used in time-series analyses as well but less frequently. Fractal geometry is about self-similar (self-replicating) processes, and its tools can be used to detect macro patterns that emerge from these processes. The time-series methods are used to detect particularly the “chaotic patterns” in a system’s behavior. System dynamics modeling is used to describe the patterns of systemic relations and their outcomes.