Cornelis Johannes "Cor" van Dijkum (born 1950) is a Dutch sociologist, consultant and academic at the

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, known for his contributions in the field of

methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

for complex societal problems.

Biography

Van Dijkum obtained his MSc in Physics from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

in the 1970s, and in 1988 his PhD in Social Sciences from the

"Cor van Dijkum. Senior researcher" at linkedin.com, 2015 with the thesis entitled "Paradoxen : een methodologische studie naar vicieuze cirkels in denken en handelen" (Paradoxes: a methodological study to vicious circles of thought and action). After his graduation Van Dijkum had started his academic career at the

, where he became professor at the Department of Methodology and Statistics. He has been director of the NOSMO (Dutch Organization for Methodological Research in the Social Sciences) for about a decades. In 2000 he also founded Sokrates Consultancy and Engineering. Van Dijkum was also Editor-in-Chief of the ''International Scientific Journal of Methods and Models of Complexity'' journal. Van Dijkum's research interests are in the field of "nonlinear modeling, computer simulation, methodology, epistemology of science, and action research health care."

Work

NOSMO

The Dutch Organization for Methodological Research in the Social Sciences (NOSMO) started in the early 1980s as Stichting Nederlandse Organisatie voor Sociaal-Wetenschappelijk Methodologisch Onderzoek (NOSMO). Their initial focus was on qualitative research. Over the years working groups were created around the following subjects: * Data collection, Instrumentation &

Research design Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to answer research questions. A research design typically outlines the theories and models underlying a project; the research question(s) of a project; a strategy for gathering data and info ...

* Qualitative Research (formerly SIM) * Longitudinal Models * Nosmo Methodology of Societal Complexity *

Simulation A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...

& Game *

Social Network Analysis Social network analysis (SNA) is the process of investigating social structures through the use of networks and graph theory. It characterizes networked structures in terms of ''nodes'' (individual actors, people, or things within the network) ...

, and *

Sociocybernetics Sociocybernetics is an interdisciplinary science between sociology and general systems theory and cybernetics. The International Sociological Association has a specialist research committee in the area – RC51 – which publishes the (electro ...

Notable academics who cooperated in NOSMO beside Van Dijkum were Gerhard van de Bunt, Dorien DeTombe, Stasja Draisma, Frans van Eijnatten, Henk Flap,

Joop Hox Josephus Johannes Cornelis Maria (Joop) Hox (born 1949) is a Dutch psychologist and Professor of Social Science Methodology at the Utrecht University, known for his work in the field of social research method such as survey research and multileve ...

, Edith de Leeuw, Cora Maas, Gerty Lensvelt-Mulders, Han Oud, Tom Snijders and Fred Wester. One of the offspring of NOSMO is the KWALON platform for qualitative research,kwalon.nl
/ref> and the journals ''Journal for the improvement of methodology in applied research'' and ''International Scientific Journal of Methods and Models of Complexity.''

Complexity science

In his 2013 speech on the EURO Mini-Conference Graz 2013, entitled "Complexity is more than complicated," Van Dijkum stipulated that:

... social scientists realized in the last decennia, inspired by colleagues in the natural sciences, that many phenomena in the social world can be viewed as complex social systems.C. van Dijkum.
Complexity is more than complicated. Investigating, simulating and handling complexity: a challenge for system dynamics
" in: Leopold-Wildburger, Ulrike, et al., eds. ''Proceedings of the EURO Mini-Conference on Collaborative Decision Systems in Economics and in Complex Societal and Environmental Applications.'' EWG-DSS, 2013.

And furthermore:

Through
systems theory Systems theory is the Transdisciplinarity, transdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or artificial. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, de ...
one recognizes that events are interrelated, interact with each other and make up systems. With dynamic systems theory one understand that social systems evolve in time, moved by cause-effect relations between events that can be described mathematically in differential equations."

Van Dijkum believed that "with the idea of ‘complex social systems’ one comprehend that those differential equations are non linear, reflecting systems that are difficult to follow and predict, just as many phenomena in the world. It is the start of a promising program of research in the social sciences including system dynamics."

Selected publications

* Dijkum C. van, Zeeuw G. de & Glanville R. (1998) (Eds.). Methodological Explorations in Constructivism. Southsea and Amsterdam: BKSplus. * Dijkum C. van, DeTombe D., Kuijk E.. (1998) (Eds.) . Validation of Simulation Models. Amsterdam: Siswo. * C. van Dijkum, J. Blasius, H. Kleijer, B. van Hilten (Eds.), ''Recent Developments and Applications in Social Research Methodology.'' SISWO, Amsterdam, 2004. * Baarda, Dirk Benjamin, Martijn PM de Goede, and Cor van Dijkum. ''Introduction to Statistics with SPSS: A Guide to the Processing, Analysing and Reporting of (research) Data.'' Wolters-Noordhoff, 2004. Articles, a selection: * Schroots, Johannes JF, Cor Van Dijkum, and Marian HJ Assink. "Autobiographical memory from a life span perspective." ''The International Journal of Aging and Human Development'' 58.1 (2004): 69-85. * Hoksbergen, R., ter Laak, J., Rijk, K., van Dijkum, C., & Stoutjesdijk, F. (2005). "Post-institutional autistic syndrome in Romanian adoptees." ''Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,'' 35(5), 615-623. * Landsheer, Johannes A., and Cor van Dijkum. "Male and female delinquency trajectories from pre through middle adolescence and their continuation in late adolescence." ''Adolescence'' 40.160 (2005): 729.

References

External links

Former website
at Utrecht University (at archive.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dijkum, Cornelis Johannes 1950 births Living people Dutch sociologists Academic staff of Utrecht University