2 Interpretative and transformative frameworks Flashcards
How would a postpositivist see London? (interpretative)
A post positivist, like a positivist will see a city when they look at something like London. They might say something like: I can measure its size but I’m aware that it’s only an approximation. Greater London is growing all the time. How we define and measure London is imperfect and so the picture is never quite complete. Even if we acknowledge that London is something objective and real, which we do. We can create some generalizations we can create some descriptions and we can use rigorous qualitative methods to define some elements of the city that wouldn’t necessarily be captured by a positivist. Sometimes it can be easier to say what London is not.
How would a constructivist see London? (interpretative)
A constructivist would still see a physical city but that also see dimensions that are mediated by human activity. Cities organize the world. They’re complex in multiple communities that give life meaning and purpose. They might see London as a point in global exchange in culture. London has a lot of different functions for many different people and it’s a diversity with a rich history and it’s understood differently in different contexts. So the way people see London varies by their local community and within London itself there are many local communities.
How would a post-structuralist see London? (interpretative)
If a post-structuralist looked at the city of London they might ask a question like: what is a city. They might trace the genealogy of the idea of a city. They would argue that the City of London isn’t a stable construct but an idea that has evolved over time and that it means different things to different people. The Romans knew this area as Londinium. Australians have for a hundred years or even more understood it in different ways and different people within Australia understand it in different ways. within London itself it’s never fully understood as one absolute thing but a mix and a mess of ideas and that’s what language does.
How would a critical theorist see London (transformative)
A critical theorist might look at a city like London and see it as a site of power, a global mega city from which imperialism spread and from which Western power continues to push out into the world. Critical theorists will see the city, but they’ll also note the social relations within that City, the inequality of rich and poor within the city, differentials around voting for issues like Brexit and they’ll notice the differentials between the city of London and the rest of the world and how that power inequality plays out. They’ll also have ways to transform London and its relationship with other parts of the world for the better in socially just ways.
Common grounds of interpretative frameworks
Interpretative frameworks also have a number of aspects in common:
o The research focuses on understanding specific issues, topics, situations, places and processes.
o The research procedures are sensitive to participants and context and their varied perspectives.
o Researchers are respectful co-constructors of knowledge, acknowledging their own subjectivity and position.
o Research is reported in widely diverse formats and appeals for societal change.
(post)positivism
Possible Researcher Goals: To discover
contributors to probability within situations of cause and effect.
Potential Researcher Influences: Prior quantitative research training.
Examples of Researcher Practices: Reports systematic data collection and analysis procedures followed to ensure rigor.
Social constructivism
Possible Researcher Goals: To understand the
world in which they live and work.
Potential Researcher Influences: Recognition of background as shaping interpretation.
Examples of Researcher Practices: Interprets participants’ constructions of meaning in his/her account.
(post)positivism and associated Philosophical beliefs
Ontological Beliefs (the nature of reality): A single reality exists beyond ourselves, out there. The researcher may not be able to understand it or get to it because of a lack of absolutes.
Epistemological Beliefs (how reality is known): Reality can only be approximated, but it is constructed through research and statistics. Interaction with research subjects is kept to a minimum. Validity comes from peers, not participants.
Axiological Beliefs (role of values): The researcher’s biases need to be controlled and not expressed in a study.
Methodological Beliefs (approach to inquiry): Scientific method and writing is used. The object of research is to create new knowledge. The method is important. Deductive methods are important, such as testing theories, specifying important variables, and making comparisons among groups.
Poststructuralist perspectives
Possible Researcher Goals: To change ways of
thinking.
Potential Researcher Influences: Understandings of the conditions of the world today.
Examples of Researcher Practices: Situates research to highlight the multiplicity of perspectives.
Transformative frameworks
Possible Researcher Goals: To act for societal
improvements.
Potential Researcher Influences: Knowledge of power and social relationships within society.
Examples of Researcher Practices: The researcher openly discusses values that shape the narrative and includes his or her own interpretation in conjunction with those of participants.
Critical theory
Possible Researcher Goals: To address areas of
inequities and empower humans.
Potential Researcher Influences: Acknowledgment of own power, engagement in
dialogues, and use of theory to interpret social actions.
Examples of Researcher Practices: Designs research in such a way that transforms the
underlying orders of social life.
Feminist theories / Queer theory
Possible Researcher Goals: To conduct research
that is transformative for women. To convey the voices and experiences of individuals who have
been suppressed.
Potential Researcher Influences: Perspectives of power relationships and individuals’ social position and how they impact women. Understandings of need for thinking about sexual categories as open, fluid, and nonfixed.
Examples of Researcher Practices: Poses questions that relate to the centrality of gender
in the shaping of our consciousness. Engages in inquiry with a focus on exploring the myriad complexities of individual identity.
Social constructivism and associated Philosophical beliefs
Ontological Beliefs (the nature of reality): Multiple realities are constructed through our lived experiences and interactions with others.
Epistemological Beliefs (how reality is known): Reality is co-constructed between the researcher and the researched and shaped by individual experiences.
Axiological Beliefs (role of values): Individual
values are honored and are negotiated
among individuals.
Methodological Beliefs (approach to inquiry): More of a literary style of writing is used. Use of an inductive method of emergent ideas (through consensus) is obtained through methods such as interviewing, observing, and analyzing texts.
Poststructuralist / Transformative frameworks and associated Philosophical beliefs
Ontological Beliefs (the nature of reality): Participation between researchers and communities or individuals is being studied. Often a subjective-objective reality emerges.
Epistemological Beliefs (how reality is known): There are co-created findings with multiple ways of knowing.
Axiological Beliefs (role of values): There is respect for indigenous values; values need to be problematized and interrogated.
Methodological Beliefs (approach to inquiry): Methods consist of using collaborative processes of research, encouraging political participation, questioning of methods, and highlighting issues and concerns.
Critical / Feminist / Queer theories and associated Philosophical beliefs
Ontological Beliefs (the nature of reality): Reality is based on power and identity struggles. Privilege or oppression based on race or ethnicity, class, gender, mental abilities, sexual preference.
Epistemological Beliefs (how reality is known): Reality is known through the study of social structures, freedom and oppression, power, and control. Reality can be changed through research.
Axiological Beliefs (role of values): Diversity of values is emphasized within the standpoint of various communities.
Methodological Beliefs (approach to inquiry): Start with assumptions of power and identity struggles, document them, and call for action and change.
