Abstract:

Typological analysis is a very general method with a wide range of very different applications. It can be used for any study of the general form described in the introduction to this note. We have already applied it to marketing and town-planning studies Gallup polls and agronomy survey data and have invariably found that users of the method were particularly impressed with its simplicity of interpretation despite the multi-dimensional nature of the problems dealt with. We have also found the method suitable for such different purposes as the acquisition of comprehensive knowledge or as a means of decision. We consider, therefore, that this method has its own place among the various other general operational research methods.