BACKGROUND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GRADUATE STUDY IN GEOGRAPHY

Research on the diffusion of innovation has been dominated for many years by an approach to scientific reasoning developed most thoroughly and influentially by Hägerstrand. Recently there has been a shift away from this approach. However, this shift has not been previously noted in the literature. After presenting the characteristics of the two perspectives in terms of the instrumentalist and realist conceptions of science, this article provides some evidence for the shift and identifies several key issues for future research.