Understanding Research Philosophy and Its Impact
Today’s society is highly technology focused with an abundance of data available through simple internet searches. The researcher needs to be skilled in selecting applicable information from the vast amount of data available and be able to use it in a meaningful way. To do this effectivity the researcher must understand the philosophical foundations of research. Understanding philosophy as part of the research process encourages researchers to widen their perspectives and open their minds to other prospects, resulting improved research skills and increased confidence that the most suitable methodology has been selected. The selection of an inappropriate research methodology may produce phony results so researchers must fit their philosophy and methodology to the specific research activity.
Research philosophy is principally concerned with the source, nature and development of knowledge. In basic terms it is about the ways in which data should be collected, analysed and used in order to solve problems and add meaningful knowledge to existing literature. Research methods although defined by many scholastic words enable a researcher to recognise and appraise flaws in the design of their experiments ensuring their research provides a valid contribution to scientific knowledge. It is well recognised that researchers make assumptions in all stages of their research.
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The Role of Paradigms in Shaping Research
Kuhn introduced the concept of paradigms, a set of basic beliefs about how the world is viewed. Hesse-Biber defined a paradigm as a theory or hypothesis, a framework in which theories are built focussing on a scientific approach. Whilst Trochim and Donnelly suggest a research paradigm is a shared set of attitudes, values, beliefs, procedures and techniques that create a framework of understanding through which theoretical explanations are formed. Cohen, Manion and Morrison note that Kuhn identifies that scientific truth changes over time affecting often long held paradigms.
Reflexivity and Its Importance in Research
Gouldner recognised the significance of a researcher being able to value and understand their own research philosophies so that they can candidly question their thinking and rationale. This ability is referred to as reflexivity and it minimises the impact of any long-held beliefs interfering with the research results. Johnson and Clark also note that business management researchers need to be conscious of their own beliefs and research philosophies as it will affect their choice of research strategy and subsequently the investigation process. Tsoukas and Knudsen suggest that business and management researchers do not agree that there is one best philosophy.
Distinguishing Between Research Paradigms
In order to distinguish between paradigms, various taxonomies have been used to explain world views; ontology, epistemology and methodology (Guba and Lincoln. Guba and Lincoln and Orlikowski and Baroudi suggest four paradigms; positivism, post-positivism, constructivism and critical theory and their dimensions; ontology, epistemology, and methodology. Whilst Creswell uses ontology, epistemology, axiology, rhetorical and methodology. Saunders et al, 2009 refers to 6 paradigms positivism, realism, interpretism, objectivism, constructionism and pragmatism and their dimensions epistomology, ontology and axiology. Reviewing these three examples highlights the difficulties associated with research programmes. The different descriptions, categorisations and classifications of both research paradigms and philosophies (or taxonomies), all with overlapping boundaries and meanings makes the identification of paradigms and research philosophies difficult particularly to the novice researcher. Despite their definitions of ontology, epistemology and axiology demonstrating a common theme there appears to be little consensus in the classification and categorisation of these paradigms.
The Challenge of Categorizing Research Philosophies
Ritchie and Lewis define and categorise ontology and epistemology differently to Saunders et al. Ritchie and Lewis’s ontological perspective include realism; materialism, critical realism, idealism and relativism. Whilst their epistemological perspective includes positivism and interpretivism. However, Saunders et al. and Guba and Lincoln view philosophies (positivism, realism, interpretism and pragmatism) from an ontological, epistemological and axiological view point. Research indicates that even though these philosophies share essential hypotheses, they focus on different connotations of the hypotheses and adopt different classifications. It is therefore clear to see why research is considered a confusing and difficult subject and why there is a widely recognised need to standardise philosophies.
The Intersection of Research Philosophy and Strategy
The research philosophy mirrors the assumptions made and underpins the research strategy. Crotty suggests that it is assumptions about human knowledge, what is already known (epistemological assumptions), the experiences encountered during the research (ontological assumptions) and individual values (axiological assumptions) that influence a research process. These assumptions define the research questions, the methods used and how the findings are interpreted. It is also clear that the selection of a research philosophy is affected by how practical it is to undertake the research and whether the focus is based on facts and numbers, or on qualitative studies such as opinions and views. Two main research philosophies have been identified, namely positivist (sometimes called scientific) and interpretivist. Positivists believe that reality is steady and unchanging and can be tested or observed from an objective viewpoint. Whilst interpretivits believe reality can be understood in many different ways and the focus of their study is the natural environment (acknowledging that scientists will have an impact on the environment during the course of the research). A On a positive note Johnson and Onwuegbuzie suggest that the differences in philosophy categorisations do not define the data collection and analytical methods used and therefore don’t affect the data collection process. Guba and Lincoln support this view by recognising that the data collection method is unimportant to the paradigm and does not affect the research methodology.
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research Methods
The primary data collection methods can be divided into two groups: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data collection processes are based on mathematical calculations, whilst quantitative data collection and analysis include questionnaires with closed questions, methods of correlation and regression, mean, median and modal analyses. However, research indicates that several studies have used different descriptions of qualitative and quantitative methods. Hinchey, 2008 refers to quantitative research as empirical research, and Saunders et al., and Engel and Schutt, refer the same as deductive explanatory. Conversely, Neelankavil and Bernard, refer to qualitative research as exploratory research whilst Saunders et al.,; and Engel and Schutt refer to it as inductive whilst Khotari uses the term formulative. Some researchers note the similarity between the terms whilst others treat each approach separately leading to considerable confusion with the many research approaches. Bryman suggests that there are 3 main research approaches qualitative, quantitative or the combination of the two referred to as mixed method or multi method depending on the study type or the reference. For mixed method data collection both types of data can be collected at the same time, but the methods cannot be combined according to Saunders et al. However, Creswell and Clark, argue that the mixed method provides more widespread evidence than a single method of data analysis thus overcoming the weaknesses associated individual data collection methods.
Quantitative methods usually short in duration, have been standardised so enable easier comparison of findings and are therefore often cheaper to apply compared to qualitative methods. Qualitative research methods do not involve numbers or mathematical calculations; they are usually associated with words, sounds, feelings, emotions, colours and other non-quantifiable elements. Qualitative studies offer an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a research problem using methods such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, observation, role-playing and case studies. The selection of the data collection method depends largely on research area and the aims and objectives.
The Complexity of Choosing Research Methods
In most cases the chosen research strategy is dependent on the research questions and objectives, research time and resource availability. In work places surveys are now a frequent pastime but add little value to research data because a deductive approach is commonly adopted resulting in large volumes of data from wide range of sources. There are generally two types of questionnaires - self-administered whereby there is no need for the researcher to be present and interview administered questionnaires. Brace suggests the self-administered questionnaire is preferable as the respondent tends to be open and honest without an interviewer and can take their own time to answer the questions. Brace also identified the importance of using simple language without technical jargon and Bryman and Bell suggest piloting a questionnaire before general release to ensure it will generate the data required. Piloting also provides an opportunity for feedback from respondents regarding the understanding of the questions.
Benbasat et al. observed that each research methodology has merits and drawbacks, but to ensure quality research it is preferable to use a combination of research methods. However, selecting a research methods is not a simple process due to the array of methodologies available. Galliers lists fourteen, Alavi and Carlson suggest eighteen categories and Saunders et alrefers to seven different research methods experiment, survey, case study, action research, grounded theory, ethnography and archival research.
Conclusion: The Vital Role of Research Methods in Society
Research methods are important to society as they define and shape our beliefs about the world around us. Through extensive reading it is easy to see why this subject is saturated with difficulty and confusion. The ambiguity of definitions, different descriptions and categorisations of the same philosophy are difficult to comprehend especially to the novice researcher. In business and management research Tsoukas and Knudsen identified that there is no single ideal philosophy and philosophical disagreements occur regularly between researchers. Interestingly business and management draw their theoretical base from several disciplines including social science, natural science, applied sciences, humanities an organisational practice. The vast quantity of theories could be a reason why there is no clear consensus as to whether the abundance of research philosophies, paradigms and methodologies is actually desirable or useful. Knowledge is subjective and how it is gained almost certainly always will be due to the nature of the assumptions made throughout the process and the researchers chosen methodology.
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