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An expanded model adding two crucial dimensions to the basic framework. Axis 1: Pure-Applied (knowledge for understanding vs. knowledge for use). Axis 2: Hard-Soft (precise measurement vs. complex interpretation). Axis 3: Consensus-Stable vs. Consensus-Emerging (fields with established paradigms vs. fields still in formation). Axis 4: Value-Laden vs. Value-Neutral (sciences that explicitly engage values vs. those that aim for value-freedom). These four axes create a sixteen-type space that captures far more nuance than simple binaries. Physics sits at hard, pure, stable, relatively neutral. Medicine sits at applied, mixed hardness, stable, deeply value-laden. Sociology sits at soft, mixed pure-applied, emerging, deeply value-laden. The 4 Axes reveal that methodological debates often stem from different positions on these spectra.
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