Working Definition
Working toward an optimal definition of a relevant term is a great way to approach the process of research and critical reflection: find a definition; examine it critically; revise it if necessary; aim for maximum clarity and accuracy; continue to reconsider and revise definitions in light of new developments in your research.
In this approach, all definitions are considered working definitions.
My working definition of the term working definition is: a definition sufficient to serve as a basis for further research.
A good working definition of any term must meet two basic parameters: it must encompass everything one would ever use that term to mean, and it must encompass nothing that one would never use that term to mean. A warm-blooded flying vertebrate is a poor definition of the word bird because it’s too exclusive in some ways (it doesn’t encompass penguins or ostriches), and to inclusive in other ways (it encompasses bats and flying squirrels).
Some of the best working definitions are those that manage to concisely and elegantly meet those two basic parameters while also approaching the concept at hand in a way that invites those who hear it to enter exciting new realms of inquiry, reflection, and debate. Often such definitions appear at first glance to be overly inclusive, and their potential to instigate inquiry, reflection, and debate becomes apparent when starts trying to figure out whether it’s the definition that needs to be narrowed, or one’s perspective that needs to be broadened.
A good example is my current working definition of the word game: any activity that follows a set of rules.
Another good one is Hunter S. Thompson’s definition of politics as the art of controlling your environment. I still haven’t decided whether that one is too broad or right on the mark, but I love it either way.