3 components of research designs:
- philosophical world views
- research approach
- research methods
3 research approaches:
- qualitative
- quantitative
- mixed methods
The analogy made for quantitative vs qualitative:
bread vs duck
What are the keywords of qualitative research?
- exploring
- understanding
- subjective
What are the defining features of qualitative research?
- non numerical data
- themes
- open ended interview questions
- small sample sizes (duck)
- emergent and flexible
What are the keywords in quantitative research?
- testing
- objective
What are the defining features of quantitative research?
- numerical data
- closed ended survey questions
- large sample size
- bread (many participants)
Give an example of the quantitative and qualitative sides of a mixed methods approach.
- topic: role of self compassion in athletes’ psychological well-being
- quantitative: statistical relationships among measured variables
- qualitative: athletes’ experiences of self compassion and psychological being
What are the defining features of the mixed methods approach?
- can take many forms (can come simultaneously or staggered)
- more comprehensive understanding of the research problem
- requires expertise in both approaches
Philosophical worldviews:
- a researcher’s set of beliefs and general orientation of the world, that guide his or her actions as they conduct research
- dictates what a researcher believes is knowledge
The term philosophical worldviews is often used interchangeably with:
- philosophical assumptions
- research philosophy
- research paradigms
- ontological/epistemological assumptions
- knowledge claims
What are the 2 types of philosophical worldviews?
- ontology
- epistemology
Ontology:
- what is it?
- general orientation to the world
- belief in the nature of truth and reality
Epistemology?
- how do we get it?
- nature of research
- belief about how we acquire knowledge about truth and reality
What are the 5 philosophical worldviews?
- postpositivism
- constructivism
- transformative
- pragmatism
- two-eyed seeing
Postpositivism:
- single reality
- single objective truth waiting to be discovered
- scientific method
Defining features of postpositivism:
- determinism (cause and effect)
- reductionism (small, testable variables)
- empirical observation and measurement
- theory testing
Constructivism:
- multiple realities exist
- meaning is varied
Defining features of constructivism:
- understanding
- multiple participant meanings (subjective)
- social and historical construction
- theory generation
- subjective
Transformative:
- research needs to be closely connected with politics
- action agenda
- advocate for marginalized people
Defining features of transformative:
- political, advocacy
- power and justice oriented
- collaborative
- change-oriented, reform
Pragmatism:
- solutions to problems
- no commitment to any specific notion of reality
- real world problems
Defining features of pragmatism:
- consequences of actions
- problem centred
- pluralistic (many approaches used)
- real-world practice oriented
Two eyed seeing
- many ways of understanding the world
- some views represented by indigenous knowledge, some by European-driven scienes
