ABSTRACT
In a scientific discipline specific research questions are formulated, which have to be answered in a well-defined way concerning logical reasoning, theory formation and testing. The reality, as science attempts to understand, is multi-dimensional, complex, full of interdependencies, feedback loops, different groups of actors with different motivations, interests, power and values. Moreover, the reality is dynamic due to creative acts of actors, interaction between actors, changes in physical structures, in preferences, values, norms and (shared) mental maps. Science tries to understand, explain and in the end predict the complex, dynamic reality by means of frameworks, theories and models. 1 In short: by means of abstractions of the reality.
