of others where these are available or the general acceptability of the
starting point in the absence of such building blocks.

Acceptability as one of the terms of reference might strike a jarring
note for anyone who expects all aspects of the pre-research activity to be
just as pure as the research activity is sometimes purported to be. Denial
of acceptability as a legitimate point of reference, however, would surely
cut off some potentially significant departures from established avenues
and methods of research. Not infreguently, it is the interstices between

the established pathways that harbor the really creative yield.

Mutable Standards in a Complicated World

Another difficulty that can prove troublesome, not only in the early
stages but throughout, is concern with just how original, just how signifi-
Cant, just how conclusive, just how generalizeable and just how much of an
addition to knowledge everything has to be.

On these, let my own bias be Clear, not because it is correct or better
than others, but because it may be constructive and useful and because any
researcher may be well advised to consider these with other perspectives
before proceeding. 'Those who intend to incorporate inguiry as part of their
ongoing commitment will regularly confront these guestions and will need some
resolutions with which they can live. My view is that the aforementioned
standards are worth reaching for --- with some allowance to stop short o£
perfection --- especially provided that one knows what has been attained and
what has not and how to keep others properly posted.

In the world of practical affairs, originality, significance (in the
sense of adding to a body of knowledge and method for building knowledge),

conclusiveness and generalizeability might not weigh so heavily as acceptability,

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