Multilevel Research of Human Systems: Flowers,Bouquets and Gardens 1

Two past research projects are presented as case studies how shifts to a different level of analysis produced remarkable results. In the first project a jump from the individual to the country level related psychological data to a range of other disciplines, with consequences for psychology as well. In the second a shift from the organizational to the individual level linked a sociological study to current concerns in individual psychology.

These cases are used as illustrations for a discussion about levels of analysis in the social sciences. A major part of social science research is based on information collected from or about individuals. Different social science disciplines analyse such data each at their own level of aggregation: the individual, the group, the organization, the tribe, the country. This division of labor has developed into over-specialization: students of one discipline largely ignore developments in neighboring disciplines. As all social sciences study aspects of the same social reality, this parochialism defeats the purpose of the social sciences themselves. Jumping to a different level can shed an entirely new light on existing issues, even within a discipline.