Text Mining The Quality Paradigm(s)

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis orbits around an examination of the formation of a quality paradigm. In this inquiry, the exploration and application of text mining have been used to provide new insights into quality as a paradigm.The findings reveal the existence of unifying topics, around which research on quality has clustered, constituting the foundational pillars of an academic quality paradigm. These foundational pillars are operational paradigms that embody both epistemological perspectives and operational concerns regarding quality. The three operative paradigms upon which the quality paradigm rests are the operative paradigm of back-end quality (orbiting around: QM, TQM and service quality), the operative paradigm of middle-way quality (orbiting around: ISO, BEMs and Quality Awards) and the operative paradigm of front-end quality (orbiting around: Reliability, Costs and Processes). The three operative paradigms differ in their levels of abstraction, accountability and system-learning emphasis. However, the mutual purpose and aim of the three operative paradigms, and hence the paradigm as a whole, is to continuously control, assure and develop systems affecting quality initiatives in service of the customer(s).The findings also indicate that the operative paradigms of back-end and front-end quality seem to be specializing and drifting apart, which might lead to a division of the quality paradigm into two separate paradigms.The studies in this thesis also confirm the existence of changes in the focus and popularity of specific topics. However, the key epistemological findings are the central and perpetual research topics that are identified – supporting the supposition that research on quality truly constitutes a delimited and recognized research paradigm.Furthermore, the studies show that research on quality expanded during the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, after which a contraction took place, followed by stability at the start of the 21st century. Consequently, it is found that research on quality entered a stable and mature phase in the 21st century, settling down as a distinctive and established research paradigm.Finally, it is found that the exploration and application of text mining is a potent approach when probing the epistemological foundations of an academic discipline.