The Explanatory Force of the Models

Abstract

Models in social science are validated by their explanatory force. This chapter looks at the insights the refined applied model offered in making sense of actual instances of composing in 13 more video protocols, as well as retrospectively, in terms of what the first applied model had already validated: in 35 instances the evidence of clear stages in composing had already been confirmed. The applied model could then be tested out against further instances of actual composing to see whether the refinements accurately represented actual instances of intra- and extra-systemic variation in composing, and whether the model now clarified the social aspects of composing. An analysis of the data obtained in the 13 video protocols suggested that the refined applied model of composing explained actual instances of intra- and extra-systemic variation in composing, and, more importantly, showed that much of the intra-systemic variation was triggered off by contingent factors. Finally, the refined model clarified how social factors worked both outside and inside of the composing system, which is in fact the most significant contribution of the whole modelling exercise, as composing could now be represented as a social process.