lecture 1 intro to QRM

Question 1

Ontology

Answer 1

What is out there to know about?
(nature of reality)

Question 2

Epistemology

Answer 2

What can we know about it?
(theory of knowledge/ how can we know)

Question 3

Methodology

Answer 3

How can we aquire knowledge?

Question 4

Positivism

Answer 4

Assumes on objective reality that can be measured scientifically

• broadly analogous
• universal + invariant laws of human behaviour
• aim: indentify causal relationships
• Researcher = objective + value-free
• generate hypothesis + test them –> deduction

Question 5

Interpretivism

Answer 5

Emphasizes subjective understanding of social reality. Focusing on meaning + context from participants perspectives

• social world is socially constructed
• Aim: understanding social phenomena (interpretaion is crucial)
• Researcher = cannot be neutral –> value-mediated (double hermeneutic)
  *identify interpretations discourses attach to social phenomena

Question 6

Critical Realism

Answer 6

Reality is outside of our obersvational reach
aim: emancipatory, social change (uncover underlying structures)
researcher = self-reflective and seeks social change
Theories shoudl be re-evaluated

Question 7

Pragmatism

Answer 7

Metaphysical debates are irrelevant
aim: understand the research problem
- interpretations are true if they have practical utility
Researcher = cautious and self-conscious
use all necessary approaches to understand a research problem

Question 8

What is qualitative research

Answer 8

aim: provide novel insights into phenomena that are difficult to measure

focuses on understanding social phenomena through participants perspectives and experiences

data often collected in natural settings = textual , visual or audible
systematic
prioritizing depth over breadt.

Question 9

When is qualitative research streategy best suited?

Answer 9

When the topic is:
-ill-defined/ not well understood
- complex, specialist and deeply rooted in personal experiences
- delicate, intangible or sensitive

Question 10

a good research question is

Answer 10

1. informed by and connecting to existing research (cumulative effort)
2. focuses on research topic (feasibility)
3. open-minded and non-leading (unbiased)
4. open-ended and allows several potential answers

Question 11

Qualititave research question often …

Answer 11

1. focus on peoples perceptions, experiences, beliefs and motivations
2. uncover how contextual conditions matter
3. are concerned with understanding complex political processes (y-centered)
4. Aim to understand the beliefs and motivations underlying political behaviour

Question 12

Deductive reasoning

Answer 12

Top-down approacht to knowledge
the rule + case = the inference

Deductive reosoning is from hypothesis to observations, testing the hypothesis.

Question 13

Inductive resoning

Answer 13

bottom-up approach to knowledge
the case + patterns= the generalisation

inductive reasoning is from observations to hypothesis, generating the hypothesis.

Question 14

Adbductive reasoning

Answer 14

The detective approach to knowledge
- puzzle-out or sense-making process
- researcher is simultaneously puzzling over empirical materials and theoretical literature
The case + suprising pattern = new hypothesis

Question 15

Retroductive reasoning

Answer 15

retro fitted inference to the best explanatin
case + suprising patterns =causal mechanisms

Question 16

Why are abduction and retroduction innovative tools?

Answer 16

Abduction: helps us inquire after cases that fall outside of our theoretical freamework
Retroduction: provides new ideas and insights which might lead to re-conceptionalizations

Question 17

Two ontological positions

Answer 17

Realism: based on idea that there is an external reality which exists independently of people’s bliefs/understanding of it.

Idealism: based on idea that reality is mind-dependent: it is only knowledgeable through the human mind and socially constructed meanings

Question 18

Two epistemological positions

Answer 18

Objectivism: meaning is within the object. An objects has certain properties and we can measure that objectively.

Subjectivism: meaning is mind-dependent. A subject gives meaning to an object.

Question 19

How to overcome cognitive bias?

Answer 19

• Question your own assumptions and from those around you (philosophical foundations of research)
• Look for information outside of your filter bubbles
  (research design & data collection)
• Look for alternative explanation + information that disproves your previously held beliefs (research design & data analysis)

Question 20

What is a research paradigm

Answer 20

• a framework or set of beliefs that researchers bring to their work, guiding how they think about and conduct their research
• shape overall approach, influencing choices of methods + data interpretation