The Foundations of Social Research Ch 1

The Foundations of Social The Foundations of Social ResearchResearch

Introduction: Research is About Questions◦ What methodologies and methods will we

be employing in the research we propose to do?

◦ How do we justify this choice and use of methodologies and methods?

◦ What kind of knowledge do we believe will be attained by our research?

◦ What characteristics do we believe that knowledge to have?

◦ How should our audience regard the outcomes of our research?

◦ Why should our audience take these questions seriously?


At issue in the questions are four steps of inquiry that constitute the basic elements of the research process:◦What methods do we propose to use?◦What methodology governs our choice

and use of methods?◦What theoretical perspective lies

behind the methodology in question?◦What epistemology informs this

theoretical perspective?


Methods: The techniques or procedures used to gather and analyze data related to some research question or hypothesis.

Methodology: The strategy, plan of action, process or design lying behind the choice and use of particular methods and linking the choice and use of methods to the desired outcomes.


Theoretical Perspective: The philosophical stance informing the methodology and thus providing a context for the process and grounding its logic and criteria.

Epistemology: The theory of knowledge embedded in the theoretical perspective and thereby in the methodology.


(See Table 1, page 5 of Crotty Text)

What purpose do the four elements serve?◦Ensures soundness of research

design (validity)◦Assists in justifying research◦How might we outline our research

proposal in these terms? 2 methods


1. Discussion of Research Methods

2. Discussion of Research Methodology

3. Discussion of Theoretical Perspective

4. Discussion of Epistemology(In communication…)


1. Discussion of Epistemology2. Discussion of Theoretical

Perspective3. Discussion of Research

Methodology4. Discussion of Research

Methods


Epistemology◦A way of looking at the world and

making sense of it◦How we know what we know◦The nature of knowledge, its

possibility, scope and general basis◦Philosophical grounding for what

kinds of knowledge are possible and how we can ensure that they are both adequate and legitimate.


Major Types of Epistemology◦Objectivism◦Constructionism◦Subjectivism


Objectivism◦Meaning and meaningful reality exists

as such apart from the operation of any consciousness.

◦The tree in the forest is a tree, regardless of whether anyone is aware of its existence or not

◦Without humans, it carries intrinsic meaning of ‘tree-ness.’ When human beings recognize it as a tree,

they are discovering a meaning that has been there all along.


Constructionism◦There is no objective truth waiting

for us to discover it. Truth, or meaning, comes into existence in and out of our engagement with the realities in our world. There is no meaning without a mind.

◦Meaning is not discovered but constructed. Subject and object emerge as partners in

the generation of meaning.


SubjectivismMeaning is imposed on the object

by the subject.The object itself makes no

contribution to the meaningMeaning comes from anything

but the object to which it is ascribed.


Question to class for discussion:◦How would taking one of these three

epistemological stances affect how you do your research?


Ontology◦The study of being◦Concerned with what is (as opposed to

how we come to know what is)◦Concerned with the nature of

existence◦Ontological issues and Epistemological

issues tend to emerge together◦“Realism is often taken to imply

Objectivism” One is ontological, one is epistemological, which one is which, how are they different? See p. 10


How would creationists and evolutionists view the 3rd paragraph statement on p. 10?

What does it mean to say, “The existence of a world without a mind is conceivable. Meaning without a mind is not.”


On page 12, Why does Crotty tell us that there are very few restrictions on where these left-to-right (and even occassionally up and down) arrows may go in the four part schema? Do you agree, why or why not?


Crotty critiques research textbooks that pit qualitative and quantitative methods against one another and instead argues the divide should be at the epistemological or theoretical level, not at the methodology or methods level. Why does he do this?

The Foundations of Social Research Ch 1

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