Definition of Epistemology and Ontology - Assignment Example

DRAFT Introduction [About 200 words] – Indicate definition of epistemology and ontology and then topic focus (Reference article reviewed) and then the gap in knowledge identified. Indicate that you will consider the focus from a qualitative and then quantitative epistemological perspective. Epistemology generally refers to the nature of knowledge or the manner in which the knowledge of certain things is acquired in the world. In terms of healthcare, an understanding is required of the way particular research methods as well as certain research methodologies towards data collection have come up from varying traditions and the manner in which they produce different understandings in terms of the social world (Saks and Allsop 2007). Ontologies can be used to create a connection between various concepts and depending on the requirements, different application ontologies exist in health applications. There are three types of ontologies that are vital in the querying and representing of health data that include health domain ontologies, cartographic ontologies as well as geometric ontologies (Governatori, Hall and Paschke 2009). There is a relevant connection that exists between qualitative and quantitative approaches as far as research in social science is concerned and the relationship has been empirically and theoretically demonstrated by many researchers that have dealt with different issues. The recent years have been saturated with widespread debate within the social sciences that is associated with the relative advantages in respect to qualitative and quantitative strategies for research, and the opinions different researchers have vary significantly. There are those that consider the two strategies to be totally separate and in relation to the alternative views of the world, there are those that prefer to blend both approaches within their research projects. Bryman (1998) advocated an approach that would entail the best parts of both approaches and was therefore of the opinion that both Qualitative as well as quantitative approaches should be combined. There are other researchers that argue that this blending of the two approaches underestimates the politics that are associated with legitimacy in terms of the choice of the methods to use and specifically, the quantitative approach has always been considered to be both scientific and objective. Qualitative epistemological perspective (main focus) but also briefly the reality from an ontological perspective.  Normally, the Qualitative research encompasses different orientations as well as approaches, several intellectual and disciplinary traditions that are based on varying philosophical assumptions and all these different orientations and approaches come up with new data collection as well as evaluation strategies. The contribution by epistemology to research is in effect theoretical and basically deals with theories of knowledge meaning that epistemology is not escapable. A researcher that is reflexive dynamically embraces a theory of knowledge while the researcher who is less reflexive embraces knowledge in an implicit manner since there is no way that one can take part in the creation of knowledge without ideas of what knowledge is and the way it is developed. Health research typically includes any study that addresses that understandings that are associated with human health, behavior related to health or health services and qualitative data tends to use language data that may be oral or written. Quantitative epistemological perspective (main focus) but also briefly the reality from an ontological perspective.  An epistemological perspective can be regarded as theories of knowledge used to justify the knowledge generation process that a researcher is using actively or consciously given the assumptions known by the process. Assumptions will help in evaluation of the knowledge contribution of published work as well as guide decisions about research work. These decisions are based on the research questions, theories, methods and analysis in social enquiry shaped by the epistemology of the researcher. Researches recognize that the researchers bring, data generated, the literature range and moral socio-political contexts to the research product in examining the ways our social locations shape our process of knowing. This will help understand why such questions asked and answered as further the researcher’s epistemology affects the kind of scholarly work done situates oneself in relation to the work. The importance of epistemological integrity notes how one values and understands its political imports from a social perspective in which the authors account for the logical and compelling connections between genre, the overall strategy and research methods. Quantitative research should reveal a consistency and integrity of approach that is easily recognized by the reader and the reviewer as researchers demonstrate their epistemological engagement with the work. This is possible through explicit discussion of their research paradigm or inquiry tradition, which is fundamental for rigorous qualitative research given the importance of epistemology to the research endeavor. Social work researchers must take explicit decisions in the process of inquiry if they are serious about contributing to the knowledge base of the professional and be accountable to readers regarding the underlying assumptions and logic of work. Such is the burden of proof on the researcher to make his work authentic as well as recognizable in the larger profession. Idealism is a matter of astonishment considerably to ontology-minded philosophers in its embrace, a view according to which there is no such thing as objective reality. Many thoughtful members of the knowledge representation and related communities in the development of ontologies have also embraced skeptical or constructionist philosophy in which the concepts of general terms in our knowledge representation systems would correspond. These doctrines appear commonly in wider world under the guise of postmodernism or cultural relativism that the theories of objective reality developed by the natural sciences are nothing more than cultural constructs. Ontology can be regarded as specifics of a conceptualization through our senses and experiences since everyone has their own perspective of reality. Ontology is thus a formal specification of a perspective and if two people agree to use the same ontology when communicating, then there should be no ambiguity in the communication due to the codified semantics used to present reason with a body of knowledge. It is assumed that as a matter of course, the knowledge representation has to do not with reality but rather with concepts conceived as human creations that rest in the predominant practices. Knowledge exists in the mind of human objects and thus can have knowledge of things in reality and not of entities as they are in themselves but only for our own concepts. On other premise, we now know to be errors were in the past encountered as belonging to knowledge and certainly among our current beliefs. Some of these beliefs are misclassified this way hence the knowledge must be allowed to comprehend false beliefs expressed by means of sentences involving general terms referring to nothing in reality but rather only to our own concepts. Conclusion [About 200 words]- The value of both perspectives in the development of research based evidence in relation to the topic focus References Governatori, Guido, John Hall, and Adrian Paschke. Rule Interchange And Applications. 1st ed. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2009. Print. Saks, Mike, and Judy Allsop. Researching Health. 1st ed. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2007. Print. Read More