Research Skills Essay
johnathan1993
lecture_2_research_philosophies.pptxLECTURE 2: UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHIES AND APPROACHES By: Dr. Tao Zhang Email: [email protected]
RESEARCH SKILLS (SINGAPORE PROGRAMME)
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lecture you will be able to:
Understand the nature of the relationship between theory and research;
Distinguish between ontological and epistemological issues;
Understand how these issues relate to the widely used types of research strategy, quantitative and qualitative research;
Figure 1.2 The research process
Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011
Business research does not exist in isolation
Link between social reality and research
Link between business research methods and practice connect with wider social relations
Understanding the link between theory and research
There are two key issues here:
What form of theory is being referred to?
Is data collected to test theories or build them?
Theory and Research
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Theories come at two levels
Grand theories:
e.g.
Structural‑functionalism
Symbolic Interactionism
Critical theory
Poststructuralism
Structuration theory
Middle-range theories:
e.g.
Strategic choice
Trait theory
Contingency theory
Innovation adoption theory
Middle-range theories typically guide business research.
How would structuration theory inform management/business research?
Ontology and Epistemology in Research
The way in which business researchers build theory and carry out research is dependent on their ontological and epistemological positions
Ontological considerations
Ontology – concerned with the nature of ‘reality’
Social ontology - the nature of social entities
What kind of objects exist in the social world?
Do social entities exist independently of our perceptions of them?
Is social reality external to social actors or constructed by them?
Objectivism
Objectivism is an ontological position that asserts that social phenomena and their meanings have an existence that is independent of social actors.
It implies that social phenomena and the categories that we use in everyday discourse have an existence that is independent or separate from actors.
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Constructionism
An ontological position which asserts that social phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by social actors.
It implies that:
social phenomena and categories are produced through social interaction
social phenomena and categories are in a constant state of revision
Researchers' own accounts of the social world are constructions
Also referred to as constructivism
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Example
Other examples may include:
Objects like technology
Concepts like ‘taste’
Categories like ‘race’
Exercise (Source: Saunders et al. 2012)
Critique John’s assumptions and ontological position using the social constructionist stance
Task
Epistemological considerations
What is (or should be) considered acceptable knowledge in a field of study?
How do we come to understand ‘reality’?
Can the social world be studied ‘scientifically’?
Is it appropriate to apply the methods of the natural sciences to social science research?
Positivism and interpretivism are the main contrasting approaches
Figure 4.1 The research ‘onion’
Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2011
PHILOSOPHIES
Positivism
Only phenomena (or knowledge confirmed) by the senses can genuinely be warranted as knowledge (phenomenalism).
The purpose of theory is to generate hypotheses that can be tested and that will allow explanations of laws to be assessed (deductivism).
Knowledge is arrived at by gathering facts that provide the basis for laws (inductivism).
Science must (and can) be conducted in a way that is value free (i.e. objective).
Interpretivism
Interpretivism is taken to denote an alternative to positivism.
Holds that a strategy is required that respects the differences between people and the objects of the natural sciences and therefore requires the social scientist to grasp the subjective meaning of social action.
About understanding rather than explaining human behaviour
Is about how people make sense of the world around them (Phenomenology)
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Realism shares two features with positivism:
a belief that the natural and the social sciences can and should apply the same approach to data collection and explanation;
a commitment to the view that there is an external reality to which scientists direct their attention (in other words, there is a reality that is separate from our descriptions of it).
One form of realism is ‘critical realism’.
Realism
Philosophies Cont’d
Critical realism - a specific form of realism which recognizes the reality of the natural order and the events and discourses of the social world
Argues that in order to understand and change the social world, need to identify the structures at work that generate those events and discourses.
These structures can only be identified through the practical and theoretical work of social sciences (Bhaskar, 1989)
Positivism vs Interpretivism
Exercise
Reflection on personal stance
APPROACHES
Approaches to Theory and Data
Research is guided by theoretical ideas and the aim is to make a contribution to theory
Researchers come to an investigation with particular intellectual preferences
Some view theory as something that guides and influences data collection, while others view it as something that develops after collection and analysis of data
This relates to deductive and inductive theory
Deductive Theory
Researcher deduces hypotheses based on what is known about a domain and the theoretical considerations within it
Embedded within the hypotheses are concepts that need to be translated into researchable entities (operationalizing)
Theory and hypotheses hence drive data collection
Explicit hypothesis to be confirmed or rejected
The process of deduction
Inductive Theory
The opposite of deduction, from data to theory
Here theory is the outcome of the research
Induction is hence more about drawing generalizable inferences from observations
More common with qualitative research /grounded theory
Example – Hawthorne Effect
Initially deductive, testing how change in variables (e.g. lighting, temperature etc) affected productivity
Productivity increased either way, inexplicable
From interviews and observation apparent that the improved productivity had to do with attention (human relations) rather than variables (Inductive method)
Neither inductive or deductive: abductive as a third way
Starts with a puzzle or surprise (not explained by existing theory) and then seeks to explain it
Involves the researcher selecting the ‘best’ explanation (through cognitive reasoning) from competing explanations or interpretations of the data (Mantere and Ketokivi 2013)
Understanding seen as a continuous dialogue between data and the researcher’s preunderstandings
Abduction
Research strategy: quantitative research
A research strategy that emphasizes quantification in the collection and analysis of data and that:
entails a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research, in which the emphasis is on the testing of theories;
has incorporated the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism in particular; and
takes a view of social reality as an external, objective reality
Quantitative Research Cont’d
A measurement of social variables
Common research designs: surveys and experiments
Numerical and statistical data
Research strategy: qualitative research
Is a research strategy that emphasises words rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of data and that:
predominantly emphasizes an inductive approach to the relationship between theory and research, in which the emphasis is placed on the generation of theories;
has rejected the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism in particular in preference for an emphasis on the ways in which individuals interpret their social world; and
takes a view of social reality as a constantly shifting emergent property of individuals’ creation.
Features of Qualitative Research
Understanding the subjective meanings held by actors (interpretivist epistemology)
Common methods: interviews, focus groups, ethnography
Data are words, texts, and stories
Social constructionist ontology
Mixed methods research
It is possible to combine quantitative and qualitative strategies within a research project.
Holmberg et al’s (2008) study of leadership shows how combining quantitative and qualitative research provided a more rounded and complete picture.
See:
Holmberg, R., Fridell, M., Arnesson, P., & Bäckvall, M. (2008). Leadership and implementation of evidence-based practices. Leadership in Health Services, 21(3), 168-184.
Exercise – 20 min
Read the document on Canvas: Lecture 2 Ontology Epistemology case on Napster
In your groups discuss the following questions:
Why is it important to consider epistemology and ontology when undertaking research?
How should Esmée respond to or challenge her tutor’s assertion that
she adopt a quantitative methodology?
Figure 4.2 Four paradigms for the analysis of social theory
Source: Developed from Burrell and Morgan (1982) Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis. Reproduced with permission of Ashgate Publishing Company
Mapping Different Paradigms and Methods in studying Organizations
Competing Paradigms – Assumptions
Objectivist – there is an external viewpoint from which it is possible to view the world/reality (e.g. an organization)
Subjectivist – Reality (organization) is socially constructed; individuals’ experiences important.
Each paradigm makes assumptions about the function of research in investigating the world as either:
Paradigms Cont’d
Regulatory – that the purpose of business research is to describe what goes on (e.g. in organizations) and suggest minor changes
No judgments are made; suggestions work within existing frameworks
Radical – the purpose of business research is to make judgments about the way reality (e.g. organizations) ought to be and suggest how to achieve that; e.g. how orgs should be run. Usually radical changes suggested.
Paradigmatic Positions
| Radical humanist Orgs are social arrangements from which Individuals need emancipation. Research should be guided by the need for change e.g. of status quo | Radical structuralist Orgs. viewed as products of structural power relationships which result in conflict. E.g. hierarchies, reporting relationships etc |
| Interpretative Organizations do not exist apart from the perceptions of people working in them – research should be about studying their experiences; e.g. of communication strategies | Functionalist Assumes a problem-solving orientation E.g. how prevailing communication strategies in an org. may be improved |
Radical
Regulatory
Subjectivist
Objectivist
Organizational
Historical
Political
Ethical
Evidential
Personal
Factors influencing researchers’ choice of methods
Practical considerations
May influence or determine choices on:
research strategy
design
method
resources and costs
May be influenced or determined by:
nature of the topic
people being investigated
political acceptability
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Key Points
Relevance to practitioners and the fundamental purpose of business research.
Quantitative and qualitative research constitute different approaches to social investigation.
Theory can be depicted as something that precedes research or as something that emerges out of it.
Epistemological considerations influence research strategy.
QUESTIONS?
