Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

This paper is an attempt to explain apparent confusion of efforts in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) research in terms of differences between underlying methodological perspectives held by practicing researchers. A review of such perspectives discussed in the existing literature will be presented, followed by consideration of what a relatively specific and usable taxonomy of differing research perspectives in AI might include. An argument will be developed that researchers should make their methodological orientations explicit when communicating research results, both as an aid to comprehensibility for other practicing researchers and as a step towards providing a coherent intellectual structure which can be more easily assimilated by newcomers to the field.