Researching the future: oxymoron or possibility?

Argues that research cannot predict the future, and that a new type of research is needed - 'pro-search'.

Researching the future: oxymoron or possibility?

Wendy Gordon, The Fourth Room, argues the need for a new type of research, 'pro-search', that is forward looking and interdisciplinary

Wendy Gordon

This article argues that research cannot predict the future. Research, as we know it today, is predicated on the past. There are structural factors that maintain this: there are also models of thinking about methodologies and techniques which ensure that strategic recommendations based on research findings are more effective in shaping the present than they are in preparing for the opportunities and threats of the future. A new kind of research...

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