Research philosophies and approaches Grete Arro, MSc Researcher in Tallinn University.
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Transcript of Research philosophies and approaches Grete Arro, MSc Researcher in Tallinn University.
Research philosophies and approaches
Grete Arro, MSc
Researcher in Tallinn University
Research paradigmResearch paradigm
- basic belief system guiding your investigation
Research philosophyResearch philosophy
- the ways, how the knowledge is created and what is the nature of that knowledge
or:
- how things are in general in the world
Epistemology
...deals with what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study
e.g., concentrating on “real”, countable and measurable objects having separate existence
versus versus
concentrating on social phenomena with no external reality; “invisible” and unmeasurable phenomena
Positivism
• stance of a natural scientistnatural scientist
• unambiguous, countable objects of study - observable social realityobservable social reality
• product - law-like law-like generalisation
• existing theory -> hypotheseshypotheses
• testingtesting our hypotheses
• value-freevalue-free way of studying (does it exist?)
Realism• objects have an existence independentindependent of the human
mind (trust your senses!)• direct realism - what you see is what you get: our
senses portray the world accurately • critical realism - what we experience are sensations, the
images of things in the real world and not the things directly. http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/mot_feet_lin/index.html
Critical realism - two steps in experiencing the world: Critical realism - two steps in experiencing the world: 1)1) thing itself and sensations it conveys thing itself and sensations it conveys 2)2) cognitive processing following sensationcognitive processing following sensation
Direct realism - the first step is just enoughDirect realism - the first step is just enough___________________
Which position suits better in business and management research?
• multi-level studies
Interpretivism• ... crucial to understand differences between humans in our role as
social actors • ...interpret our everyday social roles in accordance with the meaning
given to these roles • we also interpret the social roles of others in accordance with our own
set of meanings• empathetic stance of the researcher• appropriate in business and management research (organisational
behaviour, marketing and human resource management) Why?Why?
Business situations – complex AND uniqueBusiness situations – complex AND unique
• ...a function of a particular set of circumstances and individuals - question about the generalisability of research that aims to capture the complexity of social situations
• Business world – constantly changing. Do we need to generalize?
Ontology
• ... asks about the nature of reality• ... and the assumptionsassumptions researchers have about
the way the world operates• objectivism – social entities exist in reality
external to social actors concerned with their existence
• subjectivism – social phenomena are created from the perceptions and consequent actions of social actors concerned with their existence
Objectivism vs subjecitivsm
Social phenomena...
• ...are an objective entity • ...are independent of your
perceptual system
Social phenomena...• ...are created from the perceptions
and consequent actions of social actors
• ... in continual process and constant state of revision
Important to study...- details of the situation in order to understand the reality- subjective meanings motivating the actions of social actors, in order to understand these actions
The task is to try to understand The task is to try to understand the subjective reality of the the subjective reality of the
customers in order to be able to customers in order to be able to make sense of and understand make sense of and understand
their motives, actions and their motives, actions and intentions in a way that is intentions in a way that is
meaningfulmeaningful
Pragmatism • ...most important determinant of research philosophy
adopted -> the research questionresearch question• ...one approach may be better than the other for answering
particular questions • mixed methods,mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative are
possible/appropriate within one study• ...the research philosophy as a continuumcontinuum rather than
opposite and mutually exclusive positionsPragmatism -> avoids the researcher engaging in rather Pragmatism -> avoids the researcher engaging in rather
pointless debates about „truth” and „reality” and „essence pointless debates about „truth” and „reality” and „essence of knowledge”of knowledge”
Better:- study what interests you- is of value to you- study in all the different ways you find appropriate- use the results in ways that can bring about positive
consequences within your value system
Axiology • ... a branch of philosophy that studies judgments about value
!!! The role your own values play in the research process is of !!! The role your own values play in the research process is of great importance - if you wish your research results to be great importance - if you wish your research results to be
crediblecredible• values -> the guiding reason of all our actions (?)• Values jump in in every level: in choosing your...
- topic - philosophical approach - research method- data collection tehniques
Phrasing your own personal values in relation to the topic may be important for:
- to heighten your own awareness of value judgements you are making in drawing conclusions from your data
- solving ethical problems
Which research philosophy is better?
Please, try to explain, why this is a stupid question?- very human to stick to one worldview or paradigm- a “congitive trap” -> deciding that one research
paradigm is better than the other
All philosopies are „better” at doing different All philosopies are „better” at doing different things;things;
which is better, depends on your research which is better, depends on your research questionquestion
• flexibility, realism• another stupid question: what is the practical use
of understanding your philosophical position?
Research approaches
• the issue of theoryissue of theory – you will, want it or not, base on some theory when you start your research... you will lean on some earlier knowledge that belong to some wider contextual framework
• deductivedeductive – you develop a theory and hypothesis first and then design a research strategy to test the hypothesis
• inductiveinductive – you first collect data and develop theory as a result of your data analysis
Deduction: testing theory • ...the development of a theory that is subjected to
rigorous test• ... approach, where laws present the basis of
explanation, allow the anticipation of phenomena, predict their occurence and therefore permit them to be controlled
Five stages of the deductive research:Five stages of the deductive research:1) deducting a hypothesis from a theory2) expressing the hypothesis in operational terms, which
propose a relationship between two specific concepts or variables
3) testing this operational hypothesis4) examining the specific outcome of the inquiry5) if necessary, modifying the theory in the light of the
findings
Characteristics of deduction...• ...we try to explain causal relationships between
variables;• ...we need some controls to allow the testing;• ...structured methodology -> facilitate replication;• ... researcher -> independent of what is being observed; • concepts -> operationalised;• reductionism (the problems as a whole are better (the problems as a whole are better
understood if they are reduced to the simplest possible understood if they are reduced to the simplest possible elements)elements)
• generalisation (to generalise statistically about (to generalise statistically about regularities in social behaviour -> samples of sufficient regularities in social behaviour -> samples of sufficient numerical size)numerical size)
Induction: building theory
• Methods: get a feel of what is going onget a feel of what is going on -> to understand better the nature of the problem
• Result of analysis -> the formulation of a theorytheory
• ...concerned with the contextcontext in which the phenomena under study are taking place -> small samples
So what - why it is so important to think about the choice about my research approach?
- more informed decision about your research design -> understanding better, if that what you will do, will answer to if that what you will do, will answer to the question you posedthe question you posed- consider those research strategies that will work for you and those that will not- interested in understanding whywhy something is happening -> inductive approach- interested to describe whatwhat is happening -> deductive approach- considering possible constraints: knowing with which approach it is likely to get what kind of information, you are able to consider, is given approach or method manageable for you:- is the right sample available;- do you have enough prior knowledge about the topic -> important to frame meaningful hypothesis
Combining research approaches: which one should you Combining research approaches: which one should you prefer? Practical criteria for guiding your decision for prefer? Practical criteria for guiding your decision for
combining them:combining them:• research topic:
- wealth of literature/previous studies and theories -> basis for your theoretical framework/ hypothesis -> deductiondeduction- new, exciting much debate, little existing literature -> inductioninduction
• time:- deductive research -> quicker to complete; data collection based on „one take”. - inductive research -> ideas need time to emerge from the data and analysis; living in constant risk that no useful data patterns and theory will emerge!!!
• audience and data – most managers familiar with deduction; likely to put faith in the conclusions growing out from this approach
• “irrational aspects” - preferences of your supervisor; approaches/ topics „in fashion”; fields/paradigms that get more money in the moment
Homework :-P
Read the article from Joel Michell. Write a brief note – do you agree with his standpoint – why? Or don’t you agree with it – why? Please explain, what and why you think about the given article in the way you do.
Please send this really brief essay at least 2 workdays before the next lecture as a spontaneous discussion will follow My email: [email protected]
Thank you!
