Origin of Research Based on Philosophy and Education

Paper- General Research Methodologies

Name-Sudeshna Das

Reg. No.-1234002

M.Phil, Media Studies

Introduction

There are numerous reasons why an understanding of philosophical issues is important. It

is the very nature of philosophical questions that best demonstrates the value of understanding

philosophy. Smith’s 1998 study says that it is the uncomplicated style and innocent way of

questioning, which produces confusion and instability in our assumptions and ideas about the

world and makes the study of philosophy of special benefit.

Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology

The indirectness and circular nature of philosophical questioning in itself is helpful, as it

often encourages in-depth thinking, and generates further questions in relation to the topic under

consideration. Clarifying assumptions related to personal values is also seen as useful when

planning a research study. According to Proctor (1998), individuals rarely take time to do this in

everyday life, but exploring basic personal beliefs could assist in understanding wider

philosophical issues, notably ‘…the interrelationship between ontological (what is the nature of

reality?), epistemological (what can be known?), and methodological (how can a researcher

discover what she or he believes can be known?) levels of enquiry’ (Proctor 1998)

Three Reasons for Philosophy

Easterby-Smith et al (1997) identify three reasons why the exploration of philosophy may

be significant with particular reference to research methodology:

Firstly, it can help the researcher to refine and specify the research methods to be used in

a study, that is, to clarify the overall research strategy to be used. This would include the type of

evidence gathered and its origin, the way in which such evidence is interpreted, and how it helps

to answer the research questions posed.

Secondly, knowledge of research philosophy will enable and assist the researcher to

evaluate different methodologies and methods and avoid inappropriate use and unnecessary work

by identifying the limitations of particular approaches at an early stage.

Thirdly, it may help the researcher to be creative and innovative in either selection or

adaptation of methods that were previously outside his or her experience.

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Positivism

According to Clarke (1998), research methods can be described, considered and

classified at different levels, the most basic of which is the philosophical level. The

methodological distinctions most commonly used focus on the differences between quantitative

research, which is generally associated with the philosophical traditions of positivism, and

qualitative research, most commonly allied with post-positivist philosophy (Polit et al 2001).

Proctor (1998) considers that consistency between the aim of a research study, the

research questions, the chosen methods, and the personal philosophy of the researcher is the

essential underpinning and rationale for any research project. She indicates that before any

decision on research method can be made an understanding of the two extremes of research

philosophy, issues in research i.e. positivism and post-positivism, need to be explored and

understood.

The positivist position is derived from that of natural science and is characterized by the

testing of hypothesis developed from existing theory (hence deductive or theory testing) through

measurement of observable social realities. The importance of induction and verification, and the

establishment of laws, are stressed by logical positivists. This position presumes the social world

exists objectively and externally, that knowledge is valid only if it is based on observations of

this external reality and that universal or general laws exist or that theoretical models can be

developed that can be generalized, can explain cause and effect relationships, and which lend

themselves to predicting outcomes.

Positivism is based upon values of reason, truth and validity and there is a focus purely

on facts, gathered through direct observation and experience and measured empirically using

quantitative methods – surveys and experiments - and statistical analysis.

Interpretivist / Constructivist / Anti-positivist / Post-positivism

Post-positivism or anti-positivism is based on the fact that there is a fundamental

difference between the subject matters of natural and social sciences. In the social world it is

argued that individuals and groups make sense of situations based upon their individual

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experience, memories and expectations. Meaning therefore is constructed and (over time)

constantly re-constructed through experience resulting in many differing interpretations.

It is these multiple interpretations that create a social reality in which people act. Under

this paradigm, therefore, it is seen as important to discover and understand these meanings and

the contextual factors that influence, determine and affect the interpretations reached by different

individuals. Intepretivists consider that there are multiple realities (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003).

Since ‘all knowledge is relative to the knower’ interpretivists aim to work alongside others as

they make sense of, draw meaning from and create their realities in order to understand their

points of view, and to interpret these experiences in the context of the researchers academic

experience (Hatch and Cunliffe, 2006), and hence is inductive or theory building.

Realism

Born from a frustration that positivism was over-deterministic (in that there is little room

for choice due to the causal nature of universal laws) and that constructivism was so totally

relativist (and hence highly contextual), realism takes aspects from both positivist and

interpretivist positions. It holds that real structures exist independent of human consciousness,

but that knowledge is socially created, with Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007) contending

that our knowledge of reality is a result of social conditioning.

According to Blaikie (1993), whilst realism is concerned with what kinds of things there

are, and how these things behave, it accepts that reality may exist in spite of science or

observation, and so there is validity in recognizing realities that are simply claimed to exist or

act, whether proven or not. In common with intepretivist positions, realism recognizes that

natural and social sciences are different, and that social reality is pre-interpreted, however

realists, in line with the positivist position also hold that science must be empirically-based,

rational and objective and so it argues that social objects may be studied ‘scientifically’ as social

objects, not simply through language and discourse.

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

In logic, we often refer to the two broad methods of reasoning as the deductive and

inductive approaches.

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Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is

informally called a "top-down" approach. We might begin with thinking up a theory about our

topic of interest. We then narrow that down into more specific hypotheses that we can test. We

narrow down even further when we collect observations to address the hypotheses. This

ultimately leads us to be able to test the hypotheses with specific data -- a confirmation (or not)

of our original theories.

Inductive reasoning works the other way, moving from specific observations to broader

generalizations and theories. Informally, we sometimes call this a "bottom up" approach. In

inductive reasoning, we begin with specific observations and measures, begin to detect patterns

and regularities, formulate some tentative hypotheses that we can explore, and finally end up

developing some general conclusions or theories.

Conclusion

This paper has provided a descriptive analysis of the philosophies of positivism and post-

positivist thinking in relation to research methodology, and has identified the main elements of

both approaches. Positivism adopts a clear quantitative approach to investigating phenomena as

opposed to post-positivist approaches, which aim to describe and explore in depth phenomena

from a qualitative perspective. As already stated, while quantitative and qualitative research

methods are often seen as opposing and polarized views, they are frequently used in conjunction

with one another. According to some scholars the distinction between the philosophies is

overstated (Webb 1989) and triangulation of methods in current day research is common (Polit

2001).

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