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During the last decade or so, philosophers of science have shown increasing interest in scientific models and modeling. The primary impetus seems to have come from the philosophy of biology, but increasingly the philosophy of economics has been drawn into the discussion. This paper will focus on the particular subset of this literature that emphasizes the difference between a scientific model being explanatory and one that provides explanations of specific events. The main differences are in the structure of the models and the characteristics of the explanatory target. Traditionally, scientific explanations have been framed in terms of explaining particular events, but many scientific models have targets that are hypothetical patterns: “patterns of macroscopic behavior across systems that are heterogeneous at smaller scales” (Batterman & Rice, 2014, p. 349). The models with this characteristic are often highly idealized, and have complex and heterogeneous targets; such models are “central to a kind of modeling that is widely used in biology and economics” (Rohwer & Rice, 2013, p. 335). This paper has three main goals: (i) to discuss the literature on such models in the philosophy of biology, (ii) to show that certain economic phenomena possess the same degree of heterogeneity and complexity often encountered in biology (and thus, that hypothetical pattern explanations may be appropriate in certain areas of economics), and (iii) to demonstrate that Hayek’s arguments about “pattern predictions” and “explanations of the principle” are essentially arguments for the importance of this type of modeling in economics.

The purpose of this paper is to design a conceptual model for the scholarly communication system in the Iranian Research Institute for Scientific Information and Documentation (IranDoc).

Some models have been developed to describe the scholarly communication process in different contexts but few considered this process from the organizational point of view. In the model, the organizational structure of scientific communication in IranDoc was considered. This model has four levels:, e.g. person‐to‐persons (P2P) scientific communication, person‐to‐organizations (P2O) scientific communication, organization‐to‐organizations (O2O) scientific communication, and organization‐to‐persons (O2P) scientific communication.

A conceptual model for scholarly communication within IranDoc is designed. Scientific and research institutions can establish their scholarly communication system by customizing the model.

The model is fairly conceptual and does not refer to technological aspects of the system. The implementation implications of the model are also not considered, so it could not be used directly in action. As it has been developed specifically for IranDoc, it may need some revisions to be used in other contexts.

Compared to the earlier models, the main differences and innovations in the model are: its organizational structure; detailed functions of the organizational scholarly‐communication; researcher based approach of the model; and different and new levels of the model analysis. This model can be applied in research institutions and generalized to those institutions in which information plays an important role.

In 1971 UNISIST proposed a model for scientific and technical communication. This model has been widely cited and additional models have been added to the literature. There is a need to bring this model to the focus of information science (IS) research as well as to update and revise it. There are both empirical and theoretical reasons for this need. On the empirical side much has happened in the developments of electronic communication that needs to be considered. From a theoretical point of view the domain‐analytic view has proposed that differences between different disciplines and domains should be emphasised. The original model only considered scientific and technical communication as a whole. There is a need both to compare with the humanities and social sciences and to regard internal differences in the sciences. There are also other reasons to reconsider and modify this model today. Offers not only a descriptive model, but also a theoretical perspective from which information systems may be understood and evaluated. In addition to this provides empirical exemplification and proposals for research initiatives.

This paper aims to design a viable model for a scholarly communication system.

Stafford Beer's viable system model (VSM) is an exceptionally insightful analysis tool which has been applied in different fields. This paper illustrates the usefulness of Beer's model as a tool for anticipating, planning, and implementing large‐scale development in the scientific communication domain. Following the Beer thinking of organisational structure and the usefulness of VSM in knowledge management stated by some researchers, a viable scientific communication model (VSCM) was designed.

The paper has developed a viable scientific communication model which relates personal knowledge about a scientific communication system with Beer's viability thinking.

The designed model is fairly conceptual.

Compared with the earlier models, it seems that the suggested model is not dependent on context, time, and scale. This model may be used in many contexts because the functions and the operations of scholarly communication are unique. This model is viable and can update itself over a period of years. New elements of scholarly communication and the Web 2.0 platforms have also been incorporated into the model.

Gives an overview of quantitative model‐based research in operations management, focusing on research methodology. Distinguishes between empirical and axiomatic research, and furthermore between descriptive and normative research. Presents guidelines for doing quantitative model‐based research in operations management. In constructing arguments, builds on learnings from operations research and operations management research from the past decades and on research from a selected number of other academic disciplines. Concludes that the methodology of quantitative model‐driven empirical research offers a great opportunity for operations management researchers to further advance theory.

This paper aims to provide a process-driven scientific data quality (DQ) monitoring framework by information product map (IP-Map) in identifying the root causes of poor DQ issues so as to assure the quality of scientific data.

First, a general scientific data life cycle model is constructed based on eight classical models and 37 researchers’ experience. Then, the IP-Map is constructed to visualize the scientific data manufacturing process. After that, the potential deficiencies that may arise and DQ issues are examined from the aspects of process and data stakeholders. Finally, the corresponding strategies for improving scientific DQ are put forward.

The scientific data manufacturing process and data stakeholders’ responsibilities could be clearly visualized by the IP-Map. The proposed process-driven framework is helpful in clarifying the root causes of DQ vulnerabilities in scientific data.

As for the implications for researchers, the process-driven framework proposed in this paper provides a better understanding of scientific DQ issues during implementing a research project as well as providing a useful method to analyse those DQ issues based on IP-Map approach from the aspects of process and data stakeholders.

The process-driven framework is beneficial for the research institutions, scientific data management centres and researchers to better manage the scientific data manufacturing process and solve the scientific DQ issues.

This research proposes a general scientific data life cycle model and further provides a process-driven scientific DQ monitoring framework for identifying the root causes of poor data issues from the aspects of process and stakeholders which have been ignored by existing information technology-driven solutions. This study is likely to lead to an improved approach to assuring the scientific DQ and is applicable in different research fields.

This essay is a review of the recent literature on the methodology of economics, with a focus on three broad trends that have defined the core lines of research within the discipline during the last two decades. These trends are: (a) the philosophical analysis of economic modelling and economic explanation; (b) the epistemology of causal inference, evidence diversity and evidence-based policy and (c) the investigation of the methodological underpinnings and public policy implications of behavioural economics. The final output is inevitably not exhaustive, yet it aims at offering a fair taste of some of the most representative questions in the field on which many philosophers, methodologists and social scientists have recently been placing a great deal of intellectual effort. The topics and references compiled in this review should serve at least as safe introductions to some of the central research questions in the philosophy and methodology of economics.

Employers regularly complain of a shortage of qualified scientists and advocate that to remain competitive more scientists need to be trained. However, using a survey of graduates from British universities, I report that 3 years after graduation less than 50% of graduates from science subjects are working in a scientific occupation.

Accounting for selection into major and occupation type, I estimate the wages of graduates and report that the wage premium of science graduates only occurs when these graduates are matched to a scientific occupation – and not because science skills are in demand in all occupations. I also provide additional evidence to assess whether science graduates are pushed or pulled into non-scientific occupations. Altogether, the evidence does not support the claim that science graduates are pulled by better conditions, financial or otherwise, into non-scientific jobs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the scientific nature of work-based learning (WBL) and research as operationalized in Professional Studies by examining first principles of scientific inquiry.

This paper introduces a Professional Studies program as it has been implemented at University of Southern Queensland in Australia and examines it from the perspective of five first principles of scientific inquiry: systematic exploration and reporting, use of models, objectivity, testability and applicability. The authors do so not to privilege the meritorious qualities of science or to legitimise WBL or its example in Professional Studies by conferring on them the status of science, but to highlight their systematised approach to learning and research.

If the authors define Professional Studies to mean the systematic inquiry of work-based people, processes and phenomena, evidence affirmatively suggests that it is scientific “in nature”.

WBL has been well documented, but its orientation to research, particularly mixed methods (MM) research through Professional Studies, and its adherence to first principles of science have never been explored; this paper begins to uncover the value of work-based pedagogical approaches to learning and research.

The purpose of this paper is to answer the question of how scientific excellency can be achieved. The origin of scientific excellency in Iran, national and international experiences concerning the subject has been investigated to review the literature. The authors also designed a process and then a model to test the course. Guilan University of Medical Sciences was selected as a case study for the research.

The approach used in this paper is from Future Studies, with emphasis on the “Participatory Learning and Action” method. It means that different stakeholders, including the strategic council members, managers, faculty members, students, alumni and non-academic staff, have been involved in different parts of the process.

After semantic analysis of scientific excellency in the theoretical field; the examination of national and international experiences in universities; the analysis of higher-level documents of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education as well as strategic documents of the university; the determination of the strengths and weaknesses of the Guilan University of Medical Sciences in online survey; the completion of the scientific excellency canvas in the expert panel and finally obtaining other stakeholders, a conceptual model was designed for achieving scientific excellency.

The study of the actions, policies and trends of pioneering universities indicates that it is important to consider issues such as the internationalization of education and research and the modification of university structures. To achieve a superior national and international status, the university must specifically enhance a range of different aspects, from intangible aspects, such as motivation of employees to tangible aspects, such as human resources, structure and facilities.

Scientific excellency is going to be one of main streams between universities to attract top students and researchers from all over the world. There has been little academic attempt on scientific excellency. In this research, first the authors examined the concept of scientific excellency, criteria and measurement in higher education, then based on that case study and participatory action learning method, a conceptual framework to achieve scientific excellency in Iran’s higher education system was proposed.