foundations of social research
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Foundations of social research. Introduction to theories of knowledge and foundations of social research 8 August 2013 Opening seminar of the lecture series “Foundations of social research”. CoCo research centre. Lina Markauskaite. Outline. The nature of inquiry - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
FACULTY OF EDUCATION & SOCIAL WORK
Foundations of social research
Introduction to theories of knowledge and foundations of social research
8 August 2013
Opening seminar of the lecture series “Foundations of social research”
CoCo research centreLina Markauskaite
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Outline
1. The nature of inquiryOntology, epistemology, axiology, etc.
2. Disciplined inquiryunderstanding methodological choices
3. From methodology to methodunderstanding instruments
4. Putting science back into the society disciplines, societies & policies
From ideal paradigms to skilful improvisation From science, technology, & evolution to intuition, craft, & creativity
Note: improvisation based on Ingold, 2000
3
Key messages
1. The notion of knowledge that underpins modern research is more creative than the traditional positivist vs. interpretativist debate suggests:
- Modern interpretative thought is more than a plain subjectivism
- Modern scientific method is more than a simple “quantification & computation”
2. Not to turn away from the fundamental tensions between sciences, practices & policies, but to search for meaningful explanations:
- To look deeper into the ideas that emerged at the intersection of modern philosophy, psychology, science & technology
- To seek skilful meshing of different research methodologies, methods, techniques and tools
Nature of inquiry
Approaches in social inquiry
This section is based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006; Denzin & Lincoln, 2005
How do we know?
1. Experience – common sense knowing- Hunches
2. Reasoning – logic - Deductive – formal logic
- Inductive – from observation to generalisation
3. Research – empirical science- Systematic, controlled, inductive-deductive
- Empirical
- Theoretical
- Public, critical, self-reflective and self-correcting
Rene Descartes1596-1650
Francis Bacon1561-1626
Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006
How do we know social reality?
Objectivist view › Social phenomenon is similar to natural phenomenon› Logic of science discovering existing laws of human
behaviour
Origins› Auguste Comte (1798-1857)› Emile Durheim (1858-1917)
› Experiments, quasi-experiments, survey research, etc
Based on Cohen et al, 2002, Neuman, 2006
Objectivist: Logic of scientific method
Main steps:1. Experience: hunches & hypothesis
2. Conceptualisation & quantification
3. Design of experiment
4. Systematic & controlled manipulation
5. Discovery of cause-effect relationships
6. (Dis)proof of hypothesis
Main research principle - logic & experiment
Based on Cohen et al, 2002
Against scientific method
Classroom episodeTeacher: Wilson, we will have to put
you away, if you don’t change your ways, and do your homework. Is that all you’ve done?
Student: Strawberries, strawberries…
(Laughter)
Coding[7: Teacher criticises]
[4: Teacher asks question]
[9: Pupil irritation]
[10: Silence or confusion]
Context. The teacher used to say: “Pupils’ work is like strawberries – good as far as it goes, but it doesn’t last nearly long enough”.
Why did students react in such ‘odd’ way?
Dealmont 1976, cited in Cohen et al, 2002, 21
How do we know social reality?
Subjectivist view
› Social phenomenon is different from inanimate natural phenomenon
› Research logic accounts for subjectivity & individuality
Origins› Max Weber (1864-1920)› Willem Dilthey (1833-1911)
› Phenomenology, ethnomethodology, symbolic interactionism
Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman 2006
Subjectivist principles of inquiry
Key emphasises:› Knowledge & knowing is situated
› Individuals as constructors
› Process of negotiation is constructed
› Multiple components interact
Main research principle – structuring, analysing, & interpreting situations & events
Based on Cohen et al, 2002
Approaches & underlying assumptions
1. Ontology
2. Epistemology
3. Axiology
4. Human nature
5. Methodology
Logic & rigor Research Logic & rigor
Objectivist
Subjectivist
Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006
What is social reality?
Objectivist
› External to individuals
Subjectivist
› Product of individual consciousness
Realism ONTOLOGY Nominalism
Based on Cohen et al, 2002
What is knowledge?
Objectivist
› Objective› Discovered› Subject-object relationship
Subjectivist
› Subjective› Personally experienced› Subject-subject relationship
Positivism EPISTEMOLOGY Anti-positivism
Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006
How do we act?
Objectivist
› Respond to environment› Action – a mechanic
product of environment
Subjectivist
› Create our environment› Action – a “free will”
Determinism HUMAN NATURE Voluntarism
Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006
What is valued, right & moral?
Objectivist
› “Value free” science› Knowledge is instrumental
Subjectivist
› Relativistic inquiry› Knowledge is
transcendental, practical
External AXIOLOGY Internal
Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006
How do we research?
Objectivist
› Discovering universal laws in behaviour
› Quantification› Deductive reasoning
Subjectivist
› Understanding of social forms created by people
› Interpretation› Inductive reasoning
Nomothetic METHODOLOGY Ideographic
Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006
Some layers of social inquiry
› What kind of conclusions will we be able to draw?
› Where do we focus?
› What kind of evidence do we collect?
› What things do we choose to notice?
› How do we know & research?
› What kinds of questions do we ask?
› How do we see things?ONTOLOGY
EPISTEMOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
INSTRUMENTATION
DATA
ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES
Realism
Positivism
Nomothetic
Segregation
Numerical
Statistical
Nominalism
Anti-positivist
Ideographic
Integration
Qualitative
Interpretative
How do we choose methodology?
Research Focus & Question MethodologyCausal relationshipsWhat is the relationship between A and B?
Experiment
MeaningWhat is the meaning of this experience?
Phenomenology
Patterns, descriptions What is the culture of this group of people?
Ethnography
Single phenomenonWhat are characteristics of the phenomenon?
Case study
Partly based on Richards & Morse, 2007
What kinds of data do we collect?
Methodology Likely data sources/typesExperiment (causal relationship)
Tests, behavioural measurement, etc.
Phenomenology (meaning)
In-depth conversations, phenomenological literature, etc.
Ethnography (patterns, descriptions)
Observations, field notes, interviews, focus groups, documents, artefacts, etc.
Case study(phenomenon)
Interviews, observations, focus groups, documents, evidences, etc.
Partly based on Richards & Morse, 2007
How do we choose analytic techniques?
Methodology Analysis techniques
Experiment(causal relationship)
Statistical: comparison, correlation, etc.
Phenomenology (meaning)
Themeing, reflective writing, etc.
Ethnography (patterns, descriptions)
Sorting, identifying topics and patterns, thick description, etc.
Case study(phenomenon)
Structural, interpretational, reflective analysis, etc.
Partly based on Richards & Morse, 2007
Research question and methodology
› A question about causation: may be ‘before’ and ‘after’ or comparison
› A general question – about a whole population
› Points to a quantitative study perhaps with a quasi-experimental research design
› A question about meanings, experiences and practices
› A question about a particular place and particular phenomenon
› Points to a qualitative study, perhaps an ethnographic case study
Will the use of laptops affect students’ writing skills?
How does this school use laptops in their daily practices?
But this is not so black and white
26
“Descartes error”
Post-positivism Critical(Discourse analysis)
Participatory(Action research)
Post-modernism
New materialism
Ecological perspectives
Performative(Arts-based inquiry)
Complexity
Positivist Interpretativist(Interaction analysis, Phenomenology)
Critical realism(Design based research)
Feminism(Discourse analysis)
27
“Assemblage” science
› Gilles Deluge
› Realist
› Assemblages vs. totalities
› Social reality as emergent
Emergent ontology› Properties
› Capacities
› Tendencies
Epistemology› Population thinking
› Intensive thinking
› Topological thinking
New Materiality: Assemblage theory
Simon McIntyre, in progress
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“Performative” science
Ontology› Materialist
› Phenomenological
› Psychology of perception
Epistemology› Performative: centrality of “raw”
perception, skill, body and action
› [Anthropology] is not a study of at all, but a study with. Anthropologists work and study with people. Immersed with them in an environment of joint activity, they learn to see things (or hear them, or touch them) <…> it educates our perception of the world, and opens our eyes and minds to other possibilities of being.” (Ingold, 2010, 238)
Material ecology
It is NOT an eclectic constellation of different ontologies, epistemologies
and methodologiesNEXT
29
Example from my research
How do concepts become “actionable”?
Model view Culture
(Formal concepts)
Module view Context
(Functional concepts)
Modality view Experience
(Situated concepts)
A
E
B
B
C A
E B
C A
E B
CA
E B
C A
Markauskaite & Goodyear (in progress) “Epistemic fluency and professional action”. Springer Based on Greeno, 2012; Barsalou, 2009
30
How do concepts become “actionable”?
S2: You could have a jigsaw kind of thing happening. (…) Where you take, so if you’ve got groups, you’ve got everyone in their individual groups and then you switch it around so that you share it with the other people that were not in your group.
(….)
S2: It could get messy, I know, I know, but just as theoretical – it sounds like it could work, but I don’t know in practice.
(….)
S2: Yeah, but kids, I don’t think there’s gonna be that much discussion, I just think that’s gonna be more “show me your thing” and then ((shows writing gesture)) copy, copy, copy ((all laugh)). You know how it is.
(….)
S3: But maybe … [4 seconds] (…) ‘cause I remember with – when we did jigsaw – like the kids ‘d actually test, like we were tested like when we did it in a tutorial, we were tested on it, so it wasn’t just procrastination. They must have actually done something.
How do pre-service teachers learn conceptual knowledge?
[Formal]
[Functional]
[Functional]
[Situated]
[Situated]
[Functional]
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Ontological and epistemological foundations
Ontology: realist, dynamic
Axiology: internal-external
Epistemology: manifold
Human nature: grounded
Methodology: interpretativeImmanuel Kant1724-1804
Thomas S. Kuhn1922-1996
David Hume1711-1776
Lawrence Barsalou
Stephen Toulmin1922-2009
Atkinson & Shriffin
Grounded cognition & manifold view of human conceptual understanding
It is NOT an eclectic constellation
32
Theory & methodology
› a system of interconnected ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge and presents a systematic view about a phenomenon: concepts, definitions, propositions, relationships, etc
E.g., feminist theory, complexity theory, conflict theory, consensus theory
Kinds of theories› Grand theories – broad
narratives, ontological and epistemological postulates that define a field of inquiry.
› Empirical theories – empirically testable theories
› Critical theories – knowledge via interpretation or self-reflection
Theory
Based on Cohen et al, 2002, Neuman 2006
Nature of inquiry
Method, instruments & data
Research methods
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in it” From Shakespeare’s, “Hamlet” [Polonius’ comment on Hamlet’s behaviour]
Methodology - theoretical, political and philosophical approaches to systematic inquiry
“Know why”
Method – systematic procedures that underpin knowledge production cycle, particularly data gathering and analysis
“Know how”
Power of instruments: Seeing invisible
› Data is only a very tiny representation of the “actual thing”
› Instruments are not equal
› Choice of instruments & data is a big choice
› Determines, what is included and what is lost forever
Images from Dimper, eResearch Australasia, 2007
Power of instruments: Large picture
Structured
Power of instruments: In depth picture
Individuals
Change over time
Space
› Same data can have multiple meanings
› Analytical tools & techniques are key for getting results
Images from Hopkin 2002, 90-94
Evolution of scientific & social methods
Scientific research
1. Empirical: Aristotle
2. Logical-theoretical: Newton, Kepler
3. Computational: modelling
4. Exploratory: data-driven
Social research
1. Descriptive: qual & quan.
2. Theory-oriented: interpretative & experimental
3. Constructivist-critical: action, design-based, cybernetics
4. ?“Social” data mining, performative
Cutting-edge discoveries emerge at the edges of disciplinary domains from the synthesis of theories, experiments and computation using large
integrated datasetsBased on Szalay, 2007
Data mining in “a nutshell”
Data mining is the process of discovering hidden messages, patterns and knowledge within large amounts of data and of making predictions for outcomes or behaviours
It is different from canonical statistical thinking
What could be mined: Administrative records Digital learning traces
Texts & numbers Lots of data
Data mining vs. statistics in “a nutshell”
An example: › Peter is a PhD student who will do his fieldwork in a remote area. What
kind of support might help him to succeed?
Possible statistical question: Which kinds of support are related
to the success of PhD students in remote areas?
Possible data mining question: What kinds of support were
successful (and not) for PhD students similar to Peter?
PhD students in rural areas
Peter
BackgroundLearning
history Thesis aims
Ruralschool
Etc
Ruralarea
Statistics vs. data mining
Statistics Data mining
Data samples* Purposeful, structured, ideally experimental
Realistic, opportunity, messy
Approach Confirmatory Exploratory
Inquiry process* Starts from theory/ hypothesis Starts from data
Theory Informs hypothesis Informs mining process
Assumptions about population* Homogenity Variation
Generalizability Commonality Idiosyncratic behaviour
Target Inform theory Inform action
Nature of inquiry
Putting social research back into the society
Key qualities of “good research”
1. Technically good
2. Show something new
3. Meaningful
Judgements include:
Research
How well was it done?
Education
What was achieved?
Based on Yates, 2004
Not all counts as research
“Awful reputation” of educational research
Failures:
› Rigour & coherence› Commensurability of findings
› Society expectations› Ideological bias
› Knowledge for decision-making› Practical benefit for teachers
Research
How well was it done?
Education
What was achieved?
PolicyWhat does matter?
Based on Whitty, 2006
Research: Commensurability & Epistemological awareness
Education is field of study, rather than a discipline
Advantages:› Different research questions› Multiplicity of perspectives› Multiplicity of methodologies
Challenges:› Different findings› Commensurability?› Epistemological awareness
Disciplinary roots:› Anthropology› Ethology› Linguistic› Psycholog(ies)› Sociology(ies)› History› Policy studies› Genetics› Artificial intelligence› Etc…
Education: Imperatives & inquiry approaches
Political
Pastoral
Cultural heritage
Skilling
Regulative
Human capital
Individual expression
Functions of
schooling
Based on Freebody, 2003
Purpose of research: Pasteur's quadrant
Everyday curiosity
Image from: http://publishingarchaeology.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/is-there-archaeology-in-pasteurs.html
Design based research
Action research, evaluation studies
Theory-oriented research: cognition, brain, etc
Research as “method” and Research as “craft”
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Design
Data
Analysis
Findings Theory
Question Hypothesis
Design
Data
Analysis
Findings
Question
Hypothesis
Design
Data
Analysis
Hypothesis
Data
Analysis
Analysis
Analysis
Hypothesis
Findings
Findings
Theory
Findings
Method
Epistemic craft
Improvisation based on Patton (2011) Developmental evaluation
How do we know?
1. Experience – common sense knowing- Hunches
2. Reasoning – logic - Deductive – formal logic
- Inductive – from observation to generalisation
3. Research – empirical science- Systematic, controlled, inductive-deductive
- Theoretical
- Empirical
- Public, critical, self-reflective and self-correcting
4. Craft – knowledge, intelligent perception, skill & improvisation
Rene Descartes1596-1650
Francis Bacon1561-1626
Improvisation based on Ingold (2000)
53
Main sources
› Barsalou, L. W. (2009). Situating Concepts. In P. Robbins & M. Aydede (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Situated Cognition (pp. 236-263). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
› Byrne, D. S. (1998). Complexity theory and the social sciences: an introduction. London: Routledge.
› Carter, B., & New, C. (Eds.). (2004). Making realism work: realist social theory and empirical research. London: Routledge.
› Chalmers, A. F. (1999). What is this thing called science? (3rd ed.). St Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press.
› Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). London: Routledge.
› Connell, R. (2007). Southern theory: the global dynamics of knowledge in the social sciences. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
› De Landa, M. (2006). A new philosophy of society: assemblage theory and social complexity. London: Continuum.
› Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
› Dimper, R. (2007). High performance computing for synchrotron radiation research. Paper presented at the eResearch Australasia conference, Brisbane, 26-29 June 2007.
› Fenwick, T., Edwards, R., & Sawchhuk, P. (2011). Emerging approaches to educational research: Tracing the sociomaterial. London: Routledge.
› Freebody, P. (2003). Qualitative research in education: interaction and practice. London: SAGE Publications.
› Greeno, J. G. (2012). Concepts in Activities and Discourses. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 19(3), 310-313.
› Hey, T., Tansley, S., & Tolle, K. (Eds.). (2009). The fourth paradigm: Data-intensive scientific discovery. Remond: Microsoft Research.
› Hopkins, D. (2002). A teacher's guide to classroom research (3rd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.
› Ingold, T. (2000). The perception of the environment: essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill. London: Routledge.
› Ingold, T. (2011). Being Alive: Essays on Movement, Knowledge and Description. Oxon, OX: Routledge.
› Knorr-Cetina, K. (1999). Epistemic cultures: how the sciences make knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
› Latour, B., & Woolgar, S. (1979). Laboratory life: The social construction of scientific facts. Beverly Hills: Sage.
› Markauskaite, L., Freebody, P., & Irwin, J. (Eds.). (2010). Methodological choice and design: scholarship, policy and practice in social and educational research. Dordrecht: Springer.
› Neuman, W. L. (2006). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
› Patton, M. Q. (2011). Developmental evaluation applying complexity concepts to enhance innovation and use. New York: Guilford Press.
› Richards, L., & Morse, J. M. (2011). Readme first: Users guide to qualitative methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
› Szalay, A. (2007). Science in an exponential world. Paper presented at the eResearch Australasia conference, Brisbane, 26-29 June 2007.
› Whitty, G. (2006). Education(al) research and education policy making: Is conflict inevitable? British Educational Research Journal, 32(2), 159-176.
› Yates, L. (2004). What does good education research look like? situating a field and its practices. Maidenhead: Open University Press.