The Interpretive Aspect of Ontology - Assignment Example

Activity 3.2 1. What ontological position do you prefer? How do you understand reality? Ontology means “speaking of being”. It is the philosophical subject that asks “what is?” and what does it mean to be” (cf Heidegger, 1993). Ontology researches the basic questions of being. Therefore, we can say that ontology actually studies the characteristics of reality. Ontological assumptions create a very important part of our worldview. They are so very essential that they are taken for granted. I personally prefer the interpretivist aspect of ontology. According to this aspect the reality depends on different things and so there isn’t one single reality, as reality depends on the social interactions that happen. One of the main supporters of the interpretivist tradition in sociology was Max Weber (1864-1920) (Taylor, 2005). He said that “natural science” and “social science” are completely different ideas thus they work on different logic and ways. Studying sociology means studying about people. Unless one actually gets to know about the way people think, one cannot be successful in this field. To understand reality we have to get to know the way reality works. Every person has a different way of thinking and looking at things. Thus, different realities. The world is not only affected by what is there but also by how is it there; it is complicated world. That is, not only by the scientific facts but the social interactions as well. 2. How are the criticisms of positivism by the interpretive and critical theoretical approaches similar? Positivism has been criticized by different sociologists who prefer the interpretive or critical theoretical approaches. According to the interpretive approach, positivism is wrong due to its limitations. Positivism says that everything depends on the natural laws and facts though this fact cannot be applied. Interpretivism refutes the positivism claim as complications in the world make positivism exactitude impossible (Dow, 1996). There cannot be laws in social sciences as it does not depend on anything or acts due to certain stimuli unlike the nature. Society is different from nature. This is the interpretivist criticism and it completely refutes the claims of the positivist supporters. The critical theoretical approaches also signify that they rather side with interpretivism than with positivism. According to the critical paradigm, the positivist way is not correct due to the fact that nothing depends solely on nature. That there is a distinction between society and nature. Thus, in this aspect critical and interpretive approaches are similar. They together say the same thing that social interaction does have a part in determining the world. However, the critical theory differs from interpretivist in one way; it says that social interactions along with nature laws influence the reality while interpretivist says that its only the social interactions that count when talking about social sciences. This is the slight way that both are different. However, their criticisms against positivism are same: that the natural facts influence everything. Activity 5.1 1. Refer to Table 6.1 on page 157 of your textbook. Note how the language and research contexts are described for the qualitative researcher. Post a comment on MySCU detailing which approach to research design appears to be most relevant to your chosen topic. In order to study about the world and the views of the people the qualitative research is most appropriate in the case where the person thinks that interpretivist ontology is most applicable. According to interpretivists, the world views are different for everyone and that means there are man realities as everyone has their own viewpoint. The views are affected by the so many social interactions that keep on occurring and there is no connection between the nature and society. In this case the research design used would be qualitative. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research more studies into the views of people rather than real and numerical things. In qualitative research one has to go into depth while interviewing the participants or collecting other type of data. The researcher has to immerse themselves into the study that they are undertaking in order to get precise results. As is written in the table, they work more with observations and surveys rather than with variables and numerical data. For their studies the kind of language that the qualitative researchers use is much detailed and interpretive as it explains the views of people. Such a research is ideal for the interpretivist view of ontology. Activity 5.2 1. How do you react to Cresswell’s (1994) different design models for combining qualitative and quantitative research designs? Which do you prefer and why? Record your thoughts in MySCU. Research design refers to the plan of action that links the philosophical assumptions to specific methods (Creswell, 2003). By mixing the data the researcher is able to provide with a better aspect of the problem. There are three ways through which mixing can be done: merging the data from both researches, connecting the two datasets or embedding one on the other. In merging the researchers bring the qualitative and quantitative data together and interpret it so as to find how far they agree with each other. In connecting the data the researchers connect an initial data collection and analysis (quantitative or qualitative) with a subsequent data collection and analysis (qualitative or quantitative). In embedding of data, the researchers mix the data by embedding one type of data into design of another. Out of these I prefer the second method, that is of connecting the data. This is because when the researchers connect one type of data to another type, they are relating them to each other. As I prefer the interpretivist point, I believe that the natural science and social science are not directly related to each other, although there is a slight link between the two. Because of this fact the connecting data method is preferable as it would relate quantitative with qualitative data. And find any links between the two. Activity 5.2 1. Visit the following websites to learn more about ethnography: http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/sociology/VSOC/Handbook/What.html http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/sociology/VSOC/Handbook/Uses/Uses.html Post some comments on MySCU. According to Emerson (2001): “Ethnography seeks to represent social “things” as they are grasped and shaped through the meaning conferring response of members. To understand the way that group members interpret the flow of events in their lives.” Ethnography is a very old qualitative research method. In ethnography the researcher tends to study an entire culture. In the beginning the concept of culture was just around the idea of ethnicity and geography. However, now it has been widened and almost any group or organization may be the subject for study. In ethnographic research focus is laid on close field observation of socio-cultural phenomena. The ethnographer may concentrate on a group. They then chose informants who know about the activities of that group. They are then requested to find others who may represent the group. The informants are usually interviewed a couple of times. This method is planned to identify common cultural conception. Agar (1986) says that ethnography is the type of research in which strange happenings are come across and made sense of. According to him ethnographers elaborate on how social performance of one thing can be viewed by another. For this a lot of personal involvement is needed. Activity 5.6 1. Compare the ways quantitative and qualitative researchers deal with personal bias and the issue of establishing trustworthiness. Lodge your responses in MySCU. In order that the research is considered credible the researchers, both qualitative and quantitative, need to show that they have conducted a trusted research. For this the researchers have to address certain issues, four in all. The quantitative researchers first of all, see to it that their research data is accurate. That there is “internal validity” present. They have to show the truth value between the variables that they investigated. Qualitative researchers need to show “credibility” in their work. They do this through an isomorphism between the investigated and the collected data. The second way is “external validity” for the quantitative researchers and “transferability” for the qualitative ones. External validity means the supposed cause-effect association between the investigated variables in new situations and with new subjects (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Transferability refers to how far the findings of one study relate to a similar another study. The more similar they are, the more reliable the research. Another way is “reliability” which refers to how consistent the results of the research are. This is for qualitative researchers. For the quantitative ones, the concept of “dependability” is used. For dependability the researchers have to use multiple data collection methods. Finally there is “objectivity” and “confirmability”. The former is for qualitative researchers and relates to how far two or more investigators have same findings. The more similar they are, the more reliable the research as it means all biases have been overcome. The latter method is used by quantitative researchers and means the same but is carried out in a different way. It is also done to remove any personal biases and for that the researchers practise reflexivity, use triangulation and conduct a confirmability audit by member checking. Activity 6.1 1. Consider how interview questions asked in quantitative research differ from those asked in qualitative research. Lodge your answer in MySCU and respond to at least one other response posted. The aim of qualitative research is to look at attitudes, behaviour and experiences. This research uses criteria such as interviews and focus groups. In this research the person wants personal opinions from the respondents. On the other hand, quantitative research looks into facts and statistics. It is usually a wide scale survey. In this research the person uses questionnaires or structured interviews. The interview difference between these two researches is that while quantitative research looks into the personal ideas of an individual, the qualitative research tends to get a lot of information that concerns more with facts. While quantitative research is objective, qualitative is subjective. The interview method is considered the most used method in qualitative research. This is due to its flexibility. In qualitative interviewing the interviewer takes a personal interest in the person’s views and what he has to say. The researcher is looking for detailed answers about what the interviewee thinks is important. However, in the quantitative interviewing this is not the case. In quantitative interviews the researcher attempts to get as reliable data as possible. The interviews are structured so as to fulfill this purpose. The researcher wants to investigate only a specific area thus he prepares a set of questions to be answered by the respondents. Activity 7.1 After completing this section post your answers to the following questions in MySCU: 1. Name four methods qualitative researcher use to collect data. surveys observations interviewing the use of focus groups 2. What is coding? In 1960s Glaser and Strauss developed a qualitative research approach called the grounded theory (Qualitative Approaches, n.d.). For the research first generative questions are made. After that the information is gathered. Links between theory and the information is sought and later the researcher tries to verify his findings. There are many key analytical strategies that can be used for this. One of them is “coding”. Coding is the process through which the qualitative data is categorized and then the allusions as well as details of those categories are described. First, open coding is done. This includes looking at the information minutely and simultaneously working on some initial groupings. The second is axial coding. This is the process of connecting codes (categories and concepts) to each other, by the use of a grouping of inductive and deductive thoughts. Axial coding is a foundation of Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) methodology. However, Charmaz (2006) regards it as highly controlled and elective. Next there is selective coding which includes examining the information and the previous codes. In selective coding the researcher skims through his notes and checks for any differences. During this process the main ideas direct the search. The researcher distinguishes certain topics that had been recognized in earlier coding. He then expands on more than one main topic (Neuman, 2003, p323). 3. What are ‘themes’ or ‘categories’ in qualitative data? In order to make sense of the data that the researcher has obtained through his studies he has to present the information in a proper way. He does this by creating “themes” or “categories”. These themes or categories fit the data accordingly and allow for easier verification and finding of links between concepts. As the researcher goes through the notes that he has made, he codes it. He would see that certain data can fit into a particular category according to the questions that he asked during the interview. He reads the transcribed data properly and divides into meaningful analytical units. The researcher may also find that there are other themes that occur due to the respondents’ input and the usual themes that have occurred during the interviews can be placed together in one category. Coding is then. That is, segments of data are marked with symbols, descriptive words or other category names. Whenever the researcher would come across a meaningful data he would code it. He would continue till he completes all of it. The researcher would give headings for similar data. Such headings may include: greatest successes, greatest challenges, teacher learning. 4. Why is it important to look for negative evidence in qualitative data? The analysis of qualitative data typically takes place alongside the data collection. This opens up further possibilities for the search for negative evidence. When a researcher designs a category system to test a theory it is just as necessary to also look for negative evidence. It is necessary to look at negative evidence as we can then counter the inclination to look for evidence that confirms our views. It is required in order to check whether enough data has been collected that would support the analysis. When negative data is looked for, the researcher gets to know at what position his study lies. He finds out whether the theory that makes sense to him would work with the data that he has collected or would be countering it. When the researcher would look for negative evidence in the data that he has collected, he would see all sides of the research. He would find how far the data supports his theory, or to what extent is there a similarity in the people’s views, or what the ideas that lead to the differences present are. Activity 8.5 1. After reviewing the article discuss the ethical issues as you see them in terms of the seriousness of the breach of ethics in human research. Post your answers to MySCU. The article by Milgram would probably hold for an argument among human rights people. The issues of ethics are involved in here. Ethical issues are to be considered before performing a human research. This is extremely important as otherwise the researcher would be taking away the rights of the subjects. Whether the research involves using the people physically, like in the Milgram’s article, or affecting them psychologically, which was again in the article, it is necessary that the issue of ethics is considered beforehand. The most important thing that the researcher should consider is the safety of the subject during his experiment. It is necessary for him to consider all risks and benefits before starting the research and making sure that the participant would not be subjected to any kind of harm. Next, the researcher should make sure that he has obtained “informed consent” from the subject. That is, the subject should not have been forced to participate in the research and should be informed of all risks or benefits involved in it. If it is otherwise, it involves breach in ethics; and that is not to be accepted. Apart from this, there is the issue of privacy involved. The researcher should make sure to get permission from the subject to publicise the results or his information. If that is not the case he should be publishing the data. Also, the subject should be informed of the essentials of the research beforehand, that is, the true essentials and that they are not being deceived. All these issues are very important and have to be considered seriously and any irresponsibility on this part should be avoided as that would be a breach in the human rights issues. Activity 8.6 Now access the MySCU site and evaluate what you have learned about ethics in research by posting your answers to the following questions on the site. 1. What is informed consent, and how does it protect research subjects? Informed consent is when the research subjects have been informed about a research and they agree to participate in it voluntarily. The researchers have a duty to inform their subjects about the research before attempting it. Shaughnessy, Zechmeister & Zechmeister write that the main information for informed consent include: introducing the research activities, informing the subjects about the research purpose, explaining the methods, informing the subjects about any risks or discomforts that might be possible, explain the benefits that might occur, disclosing any alternatives that are available, assuring the subjects of their anonymity, answering any questions that may be posed by the subjects, a disclaimer that has not been subjected to persuasion of any kind, giving an option to withdraw and consent to incomplete disclosure. Usually in qualitative researches the participant is usually vulnerable to be harmed in sociological or psychological way instead of physically, which is the way with quantitative researches. To avoid exposure of the information about the participants the concept of informed consent is used. According to the informed consent the research subject knows about the research that would be taken place and he agrees to participate without being persuaded into; that is, he voluntary consents to take part in the research. Now there is a written note that the researches obtain from their subjects which states that the subjects are voluntarily participating. 2. How do deception and coercion to participate in research conflict with the principle of voluntary consent? By voluntary consent we mean that the participant has willingly decided to take part in the research and without any coercion or deception. Coercion happens when a person is gently persuaded to take part in a research by showing to him the benefits of the research and cajoling him into it. Deception can be used in this. As the researcher may not tell the participant about the faults or any affects that may not be agreed to by the participant. The researcher “deceives” the participant and misinforms him about his project. This may lead to the participant being subject to undesirable aspects of the research which he may not like. Every researcher has to have voluntary consent from the participants otherwise the research may not turn out to be reliable. Voluntary consent should not have any persuasion involved. Persuasion would mean that the subject has only agreed to participate due to certain reasons. This would not give proper results as the participant may not respond naturally. So, the difference between voluntary consent and deception and coercion is that the former tends to have participants who have willingly decided to enter the research while the latter ignores the subjects’ rights and thus they are deceived as to the object of the research or are forced to concede in taking part. 3. What other questions do you have about ethics? A question that has to be answered is that how far a researcher can go in order to get accurate results and not violate the subject’s privacy or any rights. This can be a subject of discussion with varying view points. Some researchers feel that it is necessary for them not to reveal their object of research to the participants as that would interfere with the results. However, others say that this is unfair and against the human rights. The participants are being used without their permission. At other times the researchers need to see how far they can expose the information that they have obtained about their subjects. Some feel that it is necessary for the confirmability of the research. However, there are again the questions of privacy involved here. So exactly what should be the rules for the researchers in order to get accurate results and at the same time preserving the rights and privacy of their subjects? Activity 9.1 1. In what circumstances would researchers depart from the traditional five or six chapter thesis? What questions do you have about this topic? Post your answer/questions to the MySCU site. Researchers usually write their reports using the traditional five or six chapter thesis. This consists of an introduction, literature review, research methodology, data analysis and discussion and conclusion. This is the format of usual reports. However, it is possible hat the analysis that the researchers are doing does not fit into this format. Thus, they would have to change the set up of their report accordingly. For example, the researcher has decided to probe into such an element that has been relatively scarcely researched into, or hasn’t at all. In this circumstance the researcher would hardly have any material to go through and write about in the literature review section. Thus, he may omit this section and add something else, or may not. Another example can be when the data that the researcher has obtained cannot be analysed properly in a tabular form. This can be when the data is divergent, that is, there are a lot of variations in the responses that the researcher has obtained. In this case he would be unable to tabulate the data and instead would have to write out his findings in a paragraph and explain the outcome. Bibliography Agar, M. H. 1986, June. Independents Declared: The Dilemmas of Independent Trucking (Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry) (Paperback). London: Smithsonian Institution Press. Charmaz, K. 2006. Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage. Emerson, R. M. 2001, March. Contemporary Field Research: Perspectives and Formulations (Paperback). USA: Waveland Press. Heidegger, M., 1993, Sein und Zeit, 17th edition, Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen. Qualitative approaches. (n.d.). [Online]. Available at: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualapp.php [Accessed 7 March, 2009]. Ibid; Shaughnessy, Zechmeister & Zechmeister. Research Methods in Psychology, 5th ed. pp.41-81. Neuman, W. L. 2003. Instructor's Manual and Test Bank for Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. 5th ed. (Paperback). Allyn and Bacon/Pearson Education, Inc. p323. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. 1998. Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Taylor, S. 2005. Principles of Sociology. London: Department of Sociology, LSE. p.87. Read More