foundations of research (paradigms, philosophy)

Question 1

what is epistemology?

Answer 1

the philosophical study of how knowledge is acquired, ‘the nature and forms of knowledge’ (Cohen et al., 2007 p.7)

Question 2

what is ontology?

Answer 2

the philosophy of being or what is real ‘the study of being’ (Crotty, 1998 p.10)

Question 3

what is a paradigm?

Answer 3

a “basic belief system or worldview” (Guba & Lincoln, 1994)

Question 4

what is positivism paradigm?

Answer 4

• reflects the natural sciences, and assumes that there is a real world ‘out there’ that can be objectively measured

‘concepts such as feelings, emotions, beliefs, and so on have no place in research as they cannot be directly observed or measured, they are unreliable and cannot be observed over time’ (Gratton and Jones, 2004, p.16)

Question 5

what is the ontological position - realism?

Answer 5

‘realism is the view that objects have an existence independent of the knower’ (Cohen et al., 2007 p.7)

Question 6

what is the epistemological position - objectivism?

Answer 6

‘positivists go forth into the world impartially, discovering absolute knowledge about an objective reality’ (Scotland, 2012, p.10)

Question 7

what are positivist research characteristics?

Answer 7

Gratton and Jones (2004) suggest 3 main characteristics of positivist research:
- control: the research can control the variables within the study. e.g. the type of diet the athlete eats and the exercise they do
- replication: the same outcome would need to occur if the research was repeated. e.g. if the same diet was given to another athlete who did the same exercise the result would be the same
- hypothesis testing: positivist researchers develop a hypothesis, which is like a predicted result which they systemically test (e.g. vegan diet increases performance in long distance runners)

Question 8

positives of positivist paradigm

Answer 8

• easier to plan a research study with this paradigm than another
• takes subjectivity out the picture, comparing averages, using t-tests
• objective understanding of our data

Question 9

weaknesses of positivist paradigm?

Answer 9

• taking into account things that don’t clearly exist in reality
• hard to measure thoughts and beliefs
• how do we know that how we’re trying to measure thoughts and beliefs are actually measuring the correct concept
• struggles with questions about the individual
• positivism not going to do a good job capturing the complexity of human experience
• averages but not many answers to why questions
• largely not going to account for our free will as people

Question 10

what is interpretivism/constructivism?

Answer 10

reflects the social sciences and is interested in the ways that people make sense of their experiences and the world around them

Question 11

what is interpretivism/constructivism (Sparkes and Smith, 2014, p.14)

Answer 11

‘most of the traditions within it have the same aim, which is to understand the social reality of individuals, groups and cultures, and explore the behaviours, perspectives and experiences of people in their daily lives

Question 11

what is the ontological position - relativism?

Answer 11

‘relativism is the view that reality is subjective and differs from person to person’ (Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p.110)

Question 12

what is the epistemological position - constructivism/subjectivism?

Answer 12

‘the world doesn’t exist independently of our knowledge of it’ (Grix, 2004 p.83)

Question 13

what are the characteristics of interprevism/constructivism?

Answer 13

context: is important as ‘the social world can only be understood from the standpoint of individuals who are participating in it’ (Cohen et al., 2007 p.19)
rich detail: interpretivist/constructivist research makes room for and values all of the complexity that that positivist research cannot accommodate. It is organic, open-ended and explantory.
researcher role: the researcher is an intrinsic part of the research, they are the main instrument so will bring their biases with them which they examine via a process of reflexivity.

Question 14

what are strengths of interpretivist/constructivist paradigm?

Answer 14

• deep details, context, nuanced understanding

Question 15

weaknesses of interpretivist/constructivist?

Answer 15

• inconsistent findings - differences in contexts

Question 16

What are the differences between the two positions?

Answer 16

Braun and Clarke (2013) use an analogy to illustrate the differences between the 2 positions;

an archaeologist represents a positivist researcher who digs to uncover a reality beneath the surface that exists independently of their practice

a sculptor represents a constructivist researcher who uses material to produce and create a reality so is intertwined with the production of the sculpture.