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Templates · disciplined-imagination

Theory construction as disciplined imagination

By Jun Sato (example)

Generates many heterogeneous conjectures about a problem and selects among them with criteria declared in advance, following Weick (1989).

ExampleExample · follows Weick, K. E. (1989)theoretical
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Input
A problem statement and your literature
Output
A selected set of conjectures with the reasons for their selection, and boundary conditions

Description

Data model
Discipline
Organization scienceGeneral
Method family
Theoretical
Design
not specified
Research stage
HypothesesFormal modeling
Contributors
Jun Sato (Methodology, Conceptualization)
Usage
not used in published research yet · Examples: 3 example studies
Source
Example
Record
template:disciplined-imagination · JSON

Solid tags are declared by the source or mapped from its terms; dashed tags are inferred by a published rule. Hover a tag for its provenance.

Steps

  1. 1
    problem_statement
    States the problem and the assumptions it rests on.
    second_order_theorist
    specialist
  2. 2
    declare_criteria
    The selection criteria must be written down before any conjecture is generated. Halts otherwise.
    check
  3. 3
    thought_trials
    Several specialists generate conjectures independently, each drawing on a different field.
    conjecture_generator
    specialists, parallel
  4. 4
    selection
    Applies the declared criteria to every conjecture and records why each one was kept or dropped.
    selection_judge
    specialist
  5. 5
    coherence_check
    The selected conjectures must not contradict each other; contradictions are reported with the propositions involved.
    check
  6. 6
    boundary_conditions
    States when and where the selected conjectures apply.
    selection_judge
    specialist

Versions and evaluations

Planned

No versions yet.

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Cite this template
Persistent identifiers planned 
@software{e2ercontributors2026e2ertheoryconstructionas,
  title   = {E2ER theory construction as disciplined imagination template},
  author  = {E2ER contributors},
  year    = {2026},
  note    = {E2ER template. Persistent identifier planned},
  url     = {https://e2er.org/templates/disciplined-imagination}
}

Checks on this template

  • ✓Output contracts · Every step produced the artifact it declared, in the declared form
    Required of every template.
  • ✓Execution reliability · Analysis code ran and wrote a parseable, non-empty result
    Required of every template.
  • –Numbers · Every number in tables and text matches the output of executed code
    Not applicable. This method produces no computed numbers to match.
  • ○Citations · Every reference resolves to an existing publication via OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar or Crossref
    Proposed. Proposed for the floor; runs log it but may not block on it.
  • ○Verbatim passages · Every claim about a source points to a passage found word for word in that source
    Proposed. Proposed for the floor; runs log it but may not block on it.

Runs of this template

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