ST/SD Lexicon Entries
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GUIDELINES for ENTRIES in the ST/SD LEXICON
The lexicon is a compendium of terms and phrases used in Systems Thinking and System Dynamics.
It is a scholarly reference. By scholarly we mean the term or phrase:
- has appeared in peer reviewed journals.
- has appeared in commonly or generally used textbooks.
- has appeared in a published volume by an author acknowledged as a seminal thinker.
- has appeared in a published volume by a professional society.
- is commonly used by members of a professional society.
- has appeared in a paper peer reviewed and selected for presentation at a professional society conference, and appears in the conference proceedings.
- is, generally speaking, supported by theories in systems thinking or in other disciplines (physics, for example).
Excluded are terms or phrases that:
- appear in self published books
- have been coined by practitioners for their own promotion or as part of their service offerings
- are variations or paraphrases of scholarly terms used as a matter of personal preference
The spirit of the lexicon is that all entries are grounded in scholarly work and have solid academic credentials.
MAKING ENTRIES
TERMS or PHRASES
There are two main sections: Systems Thinking and System Dynamics. Some terms and phrases are common to both. You may enter a term or phrase under both categories. Make a note that the term or phrase has been double entered.
ENTRY FORMAT
All entries are maintained in alphabetical order under each category. An entry is composed of:
- the term or phrase
- the definition or description
- the citation
Entries use this form: "Term or phrase in lowercase bold: brief explanation of the term. [citation(s)]." For example:
teleological system: systems that are goal seeking and purposeful; a output-oriented view of a system rather than a deterministic input-oriented view of the system. [Ackoff, RL. 1999. Ackoff's Best. Wiley, New York.]
CITATIONS
All entries must have a citation. If you enter a term or phrase and still have to locate the citation, add, without the quote marks, "[citation pending]" after the entry. Entries may have multiple citations if they add to the understanding of the term or phrase.
Citations are a modified APA style. No underlining in any of the citations.
- Books
- Ackoff RL. 1981. Creating the Corporate Future. Wiley, New York.
- Chapter in a Book (Multiple Authors)
- Senge P, Kleiner A, Roberts C, Ross R, Smith B. 1994. The Language of Systems Thinking: "Links" and "Loops". The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. Doubleday Currency, New York.
- Papers in Journals, Single Author
- Agosto, D. E. (2002a). Bounded rationality and satisficing in young people's web-based decision making. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(1), 16-27.
- Papers in Journals, Multiple Authors
- Hines J, House J. 2001. The source of poor policy: controlling learning drift and premature consensus in human organizations. System Dynamics Review, 17(1): 3-32.
- Papers in Conference Proceedings (Unpublished)
- Braun B. 2005. The Dynamics of Economic Value Depletion: A Proposal for Accelerated Feedback Loops in Production and Purchasing Decisions. 2005 International Systems Dynamics Conference, Boston.
- Electronic Source
- Belkin, NJ. 2003. Interface techniques for making searching for information more effective. Retrieved October 4, 2004 from http://home.earthlink.net/~searchworkshop/docs/belkin-final.pdf
If you have other sources for which you would like to have a style, please contact Bill Braun.
Differing Definitions
The Systems Thinking and System Dynamics literature is not monolithic. Different authors and different schools may describe the same term or phrase differently. This lexicon has room for all of the richness of variety in the literature. If you wish to make a dual entry, follow this style guideline.
As you found the entry already made by another person:
teleological system: systems that are goal seeking and purposeful; a output-oriented view of a system rather than a deterministic input-oriented view of the system. [Ackoff, RL. 1999. Ackoff's Best. Wiley, New York.]
If you wish to add another description from another author or school, do the following.
- Above the first entry type the term or phrase in lowercase bold.
- In front of the entry already there add a colon (":") and an asterisk ("*")
- Remove the bolded term or phrase from the first entry
- Add your entry directly below the entry already may starting with a colon (":") and an asterisk ("*"), and using the style guidelines above (but omitting the initial term of phrase).
The result is:
teleological system
- systems that are goal seeking and purposeful; a output-oriented view of a system rather than a deterministic input-oriented view of the system. [Ackoff, RL. 1999. Ackoff's Best. Wiley, New York.]
- taking into account what is variously and rather loosely called adaptiveness, purposiveness, goal-seeking and the like. [von Bertalannfy, L. 1969. General System Theory. George Braziller, New York.]
Discussion of Entry Criteria and Style Guidelines (This page, Above)
Click on the "discussion" link at the top of the page.
Discussion of Lexicon Entries
The ST/SD Lexicon page has a discussion page. Any discussion related to entries on the page should take place there (click on the "discussion" link at the top of the page).
Return to the ST/SD Lexicon page
References
| Systems Thinking World Discussions Systems Thinking World Q&A * Gene Bellinger |
