Meta-synthesis view toward surveying WSR system approach studies

Meta-synthesis system approach (MSA) is proposed to tackle with complex system problems by Chinese system scientists since the late 1980s. In this paper, we adopt a paradigm of WSR system approach studies, which emphasizes the synthesis of perspectives towards problems description and analysis, to explain the meta-synthesis support to problems solving. Base on the complexity analysis of WSR system approach studies, qualitative meta-synthesis and qualitative-quantitative meta-synthesis are proposed. Meanwhile we have developed a human-machine cooperated platform to enable domain experts and/or their knowledge to be the front, center of the research process, and to interact with data via friendly interfaces and system supports to maximize the power of domain experts´ knowledge and capability in problem solving. Guided by this methodology, we demonstrate some of our work for surveying WSR studies status from different perspectives, such as effect, application domain, co-authorship network and citation network, and so on. Our work has shown that proposed methodology is practical and potential.