Classification of intellectual fields: variables
Strategic dependence: a measure of the political dependence of the members of within a field. It is concerned with co-ordination, control and conflict.
Strategic task uncertainty: a measure of the conceptual coherence within a field. It is concerned with relative importance of different problems and the presence of schools of thought.
Functional dependence: a measure of the technical and procedural coherence within a field. It is concerned with the standardisation of research tools, procedures and results interpretation.