Meaning and Definition of Logic - Research Paper Example

Meaning and Definition of Logic Introduction Research methodologies work in accordance to their respective ontological positions and, therefore, every research method is related to a particular logic as depicted by its epistemology. Hence, a multi-method research may correspond to multi-ontological perceptions. However, it is not necessary to base any research method on an ontology or epistemology issue. Therefore, any research method may not necessarily imply a particular ontology. Instead, a research method can argue in support or against any ontological position. For example, while discussing the advantages of multi-method research in the field of political science, the ontology accepted in such research discussions may define it as a natural regularity. Hence, discussing the ontology in relation to any single or multi-method research is essential to formulate such methodology without any confrontation with the ontological issues being discussed there in..........(Chatterjee, 2009) Logic and ontology While talking in philophical terms, logic and ontology sometimes overlap, as they intersect each other under different situations. Hence, it is necessary to understand their meaning. Logic conceptions The main conception of logic is related to the fundamentals of Mathematics as understood by various theorems and formulae of the subject. However, the meaning of logic in the terms of philosophy relates to good reasoning on any topic, although the theory of rationality details the reasoning in a broader manner. For example, while discussing the English language, we can have some words that relate to fixed meanings and hence are said to have logical meaning only. Therefore, it is the inference or interpretation of the formally valid suggestions that become logic for us. Yet other definition of logic can be the statement of certain fact whose validity is taken, as eternally true. The example for this can be the human anatomy. However, logic, as it is, does not cover the good reasoning aspect in its totality. It is the inference of representation of such logical conclusions that consider the logical issues relevant to the study. Therefore, the pattern of inference and the system of representations that are involved in it would decide the validity of the logical issues as dealt in any research study. However, the analysis of this pattern is covered by the theory of rationality as it tries to finish the job of good reasoning that the issues concerning logic has started. Accordingly, logic studies such inferences and the allied topics related to the same, like concepts of formal invalidity, proof and consistency etc. Logical truth, however, would be conditional to the parameters and concepts that are related to it. For example if the meanings of any logical constants are fixed, for certain logic, then its logical truth is guaranteed. Although logic guides us about the reasoning and the way we conclude our inferences from a number of representations, logic may not guide us on these issues in all cases. This brings the meaning and representation of logic under debate. However, in simpler terms the fixed meanings and fixed constants of any representation would always give us the direct and truer meaning of logic, which may not require any debatable discussion..............( .(Logic and Ontology, 2004, chapter, 2) Conceptions of ontology Ontology usually discusses the existence of universal things or entities, like GOD, This also includes the study and research into the metaphysical and philosophical attributes of certain relationships that are established, universally. For example, eating food by a person establishes the relationship of food with the particular person. Therefore, it can be said that ontology is the subject, which studies the reality of existence and the interrelationship of various things that already exist in this world. Hence, attempting to solve ontology questions in terms of philosophy becomes difficult as answers to simple questions that we all can see, hear or touch is found easily, while the answers to existing beliefs or truth that involves different features and properties becomes extremely difficult. This is truer when we discuss these terms in relative theories. For example, the existence of GOD has different meanings for different people who have their own beliefs on this subject. Therefore, investigative studies implying ontological issues require researching into what already exists and how the existing things relate to each other in metaphysically general ways. It needs proper methodology to address these questions, which should aim at understanding the question and then finding ways to answer the question. As such, this part of meta-ontology pertains to the selection of various research methods that can properly imply the correct ontological position. For example, a quantitative research method may take the help of numbers to establish the logic of existence, mathematically. This would also be helpful in the formal ontology implications where the logical conclusions of many theorems and axioms are drawn for various mathematical entities. As this type of ontology is descriptive, representative and systematic, it can be applied to fields like Calculus or Algebra. However, most often the ontology is related to the philosophical questions that try to address the existence of certain objects and then study the features of this existence. Hence, investigating into such entity explores whether it is a living thing, a belief or a philosophical issue that warrants debate on its being as what it is. Therefore, research studies encompass the larger ontological issues, which relate to controversial subjects or topics, like the belief of a certain concept within a community. It becomes difficult to find answers to such topic questions, as another community may not have the same belief, or two groups of one community may differ on such ontological issues, making it a debatable topic. However, the investigation into the commitments of certain belief or different commitments on the same set of belief would certainly form the part of ontological study on the particular issue. Hence, the larger discipline of ontology would include the commitment of an individual and the community with reference to an ontological issue, followed by the study of the concept or entity that exists. It will also include the features of this existence and the way these relate to each other metaphysically. However, the task of meta-ontology is to understand the questions connected with such existence and the manner in which answers for the same can be understood. In fact the study of meta-ontology is related to the philosophical topics that have left many scholars wondering to find answers to many tricky questions, which form the real ontological issues for a research study. As these need in-depth investigation, a quantitative research methodology cannot do justice to such topics........(Logic and Ontology, 2004, chapter, 3-4) Research Methods While this paper will now discuss the two main methods of research, namely, qualitative and quantitative methods, it will also discuss the issues that emphasize their respective relevance. However, we need to understand the purpose and process of any research methodology before concluding on its attributes. While we have deductive research, where theory guides the research execution and its methodology, the theory becomes is the outcome of research itself, in case an inductive methodology. As no research, whether a business research or a social research can exist in vacuum. The research methods adopted should address various ontological issues, like the interaction of the social world with the society embers itself.............(Bell & Bryman, 2007. pages4-7) In addition, the research methodology should suit its need to be valid and reliable, which differs for various requirements. A descriptive validity requires that the information and data collected is accurate and detailed in a descriptive manner, while any interpretive validity will refer to the proper understanding by the research investigator, as he/she interprets the information provided by the respondents, in case of any interviews or surveys are included within the research purview. While research methodology has to be valid and reliable in terms of external and internal validity, the researcher’s conclusion of the research findings should relate to the issues involving logic and ontology implied by the research findings.....................(Robertson, “A Critique of Research Methodology”, Ch – C) However, it is imperative that any research method or process of investigation should involve the following to obtain the proper and correct results: The study must follow the ethical norms, which means that no participant should be subjected to any physical harm or mental torture that can bring psychological distress to such person, during the course of investigations. The participant should not be lured into the study activities on any false promises, while the privacy of participants should be safeguarded, throughout. Researcher should understand the research problem fully to arrive at the hypothesis and its basis. The study should also identify the problems of the topic and any ontological or other issues related to the same, to select the appropriate research method for finding the required answers. The wording and statement of hypothesis is crucial to the research study and therefore it should flow from a certain theory that is already established or is being verified during the current study. The literature review done for the topic must cover all the relevant issues related to it, while researcher should ensure that the information is taken for such review from reliable sources only, as citation of such sources is essential for any research paper. The research framework should flow from the methodology and paradigm of the research so that it compliments the hypothesis and its theory. The conceptual and operational definitions should match with each other, while testing the framework and the hypothesis.....(Polit, Beck & Hungler, “Guidelines for critiquing...) Quantitative research method Due to the precise results obtained from this type of research analysis, many scholars prefer this method as it gives the details in accurate measurements. Therefore, a quantitative research methodology is based on established data that can be verified statically and justified by any mathematical calculations or theorms/exioms as well as formulae. This type of research is also called scientific research methodology as it gives accurate results that are based on precise and established measurements. Hence, one can conclude that a quantitative research method is also a form of any deductive research as its reasoning utilizes tools that are measurable and accurate to provide the desired results, on a firm basis. However, the problem topic of the research paper that employs such methods of analysis should be concise and to the point so that it can be verified with the established data available on the topic. Hence, all the variables in this method of research are well defined, while deductive logic should support the purpose of the problem topic and its statement. Accordingly, the data collection methods that include the survey and other areas like personal or postal interviews should be objective in nature as the results and outcome of such study would be, mostly, in terms of numerical or statistical values. In addition, the quantitative research is employed where the purpose and ontological issues are not subject to any pre-conditions, as this methodology is totally objective and based on deductive reasoning only...........(Jenkins, 2009) Process involving quantitative research Although this type of research is linear in nature, it certainly requires following certain steps for meeting the objectives of the research study. Hence, the relation between the theory and the research must be established to begin working with this method. However, here the hypothesis specifications are deducted from the experimental research. The selection of research design would depend upon the issues that imply the research study and their relevance to the design selected. Therefore, the measure of concepts would be devised accordingly to meet the set issues and their relevance to the research study. Hence, the quantitative research methodology would involve the measure of concepts in definite terms. For example if the concept is about the heat or warmth under a certain situation, the measure of this concept would certainly be the temperature which would necessarily indicate the definitive nature of terms like hot., warm or cold. Designing of a study paper in the form of a questionnaire or a respondent sheet will come next as that would decide about the respondent profile, in relation to the issues that are being addressed within the research study. Accordingly, the research site or the location that has relevance to the topic and other ontological issues related with research study would be decided, while also selecting the number of respondents from chosen profiles. While the administration of this research would involve the study of findings and information as gathered from respondents to know their collective or individual behavior and categorizing the same in different sets, the information should be transformed into a set of data with definite concepts that can be quantified. However, this may not be an easy job for certain applications where the relevant issues are not straight forward enough to be quantified in simple terms like sex or age of the group under investigation. Nevertheless, codification of sets of information gathered during the research can be helpful in quantifying this information through computer software to transform the data into representative numbers. As the purpose of any quantitative research study involves the presentation of data and its concepts in precise and accurate measurements, the facts transformed as above, should be analyzed properly. While many techniques are utilized for this, the most appropriate one, which relates to the issues of the research and its hypothesis, will give the best analytical results. For example, a research study on the census profile of a certain community can produce the changes in the same, in definite percentages, while comparing the data for two different periods.......................(Bell & Bryman, 2007, pages 151-159) However, quantitative research method being rigid and based on structured interviewing pattern, it has certain potential risks that can jeopardize the study results. Hence, some of the following may be true for any investigative study that employs a quantitative research methodology. Results based on statistics may not reflect findings properly There are many areas that need further understanding of the issues involved with the research topic, which may not be resolved within the statistical or numerical representations. For example, studying the social behavioral pattern of a community may throw numbers that support a certain phenomenon, but its meaning and relevance cannot be measured in numbers, particularly for social science topics or ontological issues. Significance of random results Statistically analyzed results that base their findings on numerical may have significance in terms of statistics or other mathematical science. However, the analysis of such results reveals the flaws of the study that depends on the random results taken from a particular group, whose selection was the result of some random application of the numbers. Hence, these results may not reflect the true purpose of the investigation, while the researcher would have a shallow knowledge of the solutions applicable to the topic problem. Neglecting covariants This happens when a study employing quantitative analysis bases its methodology and execution on two variants that relate to the study parameters, as the third variant, which is mostly present in the study area is neglected or presumed to be integrated into the two active variants. For example, studying the birth order pattern of new born in relation to their IQ, many studies may throw up the results that show declining rate of IQ corresponding to the order of birth. Simply put, this means that the last offspring of parents having five children would have the least IQ. However, the hidden fact remains that the covariant, which was not considered here is the number of parents that have only two children. Hence, going into other issues related to the same topic may not be possible with the quantitative research method................(Nielsen, 2004) Qualitative research method As any research, method is a tool to collect, analyze and present the investigative findings, that address to the issues involved with the objective of the study, qualitative research methodologies differ with the perception of its axiom and how the research study should be conducted. Accordingly, qualitative research methodology can be of different forms that include, among others, ethno-methodology, ecological study, cultural, reception studies, and textual analysis. Although all of these studies would require different set of research techniques, most of the time they overlap with each other, as many other strategic formulations can be embedded in a single research study to obtain the desired objective that relate to its ontological and other issues. Ethnographical research would involve the study of human interaction and how communities are held together, while studying the religious tracts and other attributes of the group that bind them. The research methods involved here require the researcher to spend days living with the community while observing their individual and collective behavior, on a certain issue. While in an inter-actionist methodology the participants’ observation becomes crucial and dominant as the research observes the study findings from the respondent’s viewpoint, the cultural studies focus on the social symbols within the historical perspective. The need of this research methodology is to address issue of culture as an influencing factor for the people to shape their lives. The textual analytical method of research focuses on the use of texts and their role in shaping the culture of the people, as it might have the dominating influence on culture of the community....(Potter, an analysis.....) While in case of quantitative research most of the interviews are structured, the qualitative research methodology involves unstructured or semi structured interviews as they allow for detailed and quality study of the respondent’s behavior in relation to certain issues. Accordingly, qualitative research methods allow the research to go beyond the set schedule for interviewing a person as doing so may reveal more about the respondent’s attitude towards a certain issue. Therefore, in an unstructured or semi-structured interviewing pattern, the order of words and questions can be changed or these can be deleted in case researcher finds any definite need to do so. Hence, the purpose of this type of research method is to generate results that are rich and reveal many aspects of the same topic.....................( Bell & Bryman, 2007, pages 470-77) Important features of qualitative research methods As wide application of this method is evident in many applied social research studies, especially economics and psychology, we must acknowledge the relevance of this methodology in relation to its various inbuilt features. Therefore, analyzing following attributes of the qualitative research methodology would be of great help in deciding the application area for this method in an investigative study. Issues that warrant application of new theories This requires deeper understanding of the topic question and the issues related to the same. For example, to study the affects of a new prescription for the terminally ill patients, the researcher would require spending quality time with such patients, before formalizing an opinion about the affect of any such drugs on them. Similarly, while studying the affect of any employment program for the lower income group, the researcher would need to spend time with the beneficiaries of such program to understand the implication of any such efforts undertaken by a governmental agency, aimed at uplifting the underprivileged members of a society. As this involves in-depth investigation into the topic area, chances are that it may throw a new hypothesis or new theory that has relevance to the research study. Deep understanding of the issues involved While investigating complex and sensitive issues, qualitative research methodology comes in handy as the same can have flexibility to go deeper into the investigative areas concerning the topic and its relevant issues. This is more important when the topic of discussion is controversial and sensitive as well. For example, while the research is about studying the topic of God’s existence, researcher cannot do any justice to summarize the investigations by simply citing various figures or facts on the issue. Instead, a deeper understanding on such a debatable and sensitive issue is possible only through in-depth and open interaction with the selected respondents who represent diverse opinion on the subject. Generalizing the details Qualitative analysis being an in-depth study of the topic and its related issues, it is difficult to generalize and conclude a summary from the findings of such an investigative study. As the research methodology is based on the flexible methods and ways that provide many options to the researcher for finding avenues to go deeper into the issues that concern the particular study, the results thus obtained can be so varied that putting these into any general form or summary would mean injustice to the research effort itself. Availability of funds Since, any research study involving qualitative methodology is a time taking process that carries with it vast field investigations; the availability of funds becomes an obstacle to achieve the set goals of the study. Hence proper funds allocation and planning is a pre-requisite for studies of this type......(Qualitative Measures, 2006) Contrast between the two methods As detailed above, qualitative research can adopt many methodologies that address the topic of the research, like a cultural study or a textual study. While the qualitative research methods pertain to the depth of research, its investigation work can include fewer people, while the investigation may be long lasting. However, with the quantitative analysis, the parameters are fixed as research investigations follow the concepts of measurements that imply statistics and numerical values. While data collected and results obtained from a qualitative research methodology concentrate on the attitude, experience and behavioral aspects of the people who form part of such study; quantitative research stress upon the need to quantify, within the fixed parameters the outcome of the research findings. As the name suggests, quantitative research constitutes a number of people as part of the investigation. Hence, filling up of simple questionnaire that require straightforward answers can be part of a quantitative research study as the results of these investigations are quantified from the number of answers collected with regard to a certain query. In addition, the interviewing structure is fixed in quantitative research techniques, as there is no flexibility, which is representative of any qualitative research study. In this type of research methodology, the usual norm is to have a non-structured or semi-structured pattern of interview, which allows more interaction between the researcher and the respondent. This is evident from the number of prompts that can be attempted by the researcher while finding answers from the respondent. However, quantitative research has a limited scope, as it cannot go deep while probing the interaction of community and its people with the social institutions, which involve their capacity to self-reflect on various issues. As these findings cannot be quantified, they can be observed and analyzed in a qualitative research only. Similarly, the concepts of measurement may not relate fully with the realities of certain ontological issues that may be the subject of the research investigation, as the reliance of instruments and procedures to measure such concepts may not conform to the real everyday life issues. Hence, an analysis based on such findings cannot have an overall dynamic view of the life of people in relation to their ecological, ontological and other issues.........( Bell & Bryman, 2007, pages 173-5) While quantitative methods are most appropriate for the need based assessments and data finding that relate to the profile of a certain community, these may not find any relevance when an in-depth study of human behavior is involved that has a predetermined phenomenon which cannot be quantified. Similarly, relating the issues of research study with the real world happenings may be difficult here, as methods implying quantitative research cannot quantify these issues within any statistical or mathematical parameter. Qualitative research methods are employed to investigate the deep understanding of human behavior and the meanings that are assigned to social patterns by the society members. While this would also find the underlying reasons for mental processes that are responsible for these behavior patterns, the research hypothesis can come up during the data collection or analysis process itself..............(Weinreich, 2006) Conclusion In view of the above, it is advisable to adopt a qualitative research method if the issues at stake relate to ontology or social fabric of the subject study. However, as both the methods have their own importance, the selection of an appropriate method depends upon many factors that include the political, social, historical and cultural factors that determine the purpose of the study. While in case of scientific studies, it is imperative to adopt a more logical method like quantitative one, in other studies that require wider implications of certain findings on various issues of the study topic, a qualitative research method may be suitable. BIBLIOGRAPHY WORKS-CITED Bell Emma & Bryman Alan, 2007. 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