}Policymakers and managers rely to a large extent on stories told to them for information that shapes problem formulation and decision. But what can give them confidence in such stories? In this article, one of several articles by the author in which the value of stories is examined, the social origins of validity standards for storytelling. Based on sociological theory regarding the construction of social reality, the author argues that four questions typically are asked when the validity of a story is to be tested.
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