Philosophic Underpinnings of Qualitative Research Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şehnaz Şahinkarakaş

Main differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research Based on observations that are converted into discrete units that can be compared to other units by using statistical analysis. Based on a positivist position Qualitative: Examines people’s words and actions in narrative or descriptive ways (closely representing the situation as experienced by the participants) Based on a phenomenological position

Some Terminology: Positivism and Phenomemology Positivism (positive or observable facts): objective inquiry based on measurable variables and provable propositions. For positivist research, science is and should be concerned with the explanation and the prediction of observable events. Phenomenological approach: understanding the meaning events have for persons being studied. Sees the individual and his/her world as co-constituted. The person is viewed as having no existence apart from the world, and the world as having no existence apart from the person.

Some Terminology: Paradigm and Postulates Interconnected assumptions about the nature of reality (a typical example or a pattern or something) A paradigm provides the largest framework within which research takes place Postulates: An assumption stated positively (a starting point of reasoning) Postulates are the individual assumptions that are stipulated to be true. A set of postulates make up a paradigm

Why are these terms important? Research questions must be carefully matched with methods of collecting and analyzing data. One set of postulates constitutes an alternate paradigm and the phenomenological approach to inquiry Another set of postulates frames the dominant paradigm and positivist approach.

A Philosophic Perspective to Qualitative Research Quality research is (was!) in the minority status! Why? Quantitative research constitutes objective observation, quantifiable data and verifiable truths. Quantitative researcher makes a guess or forms a hypothesis which is then used to test the data. Qualitative research is a kind of social inquiry and it focuses on the way people interpret and make sense of their experiences and the world in which they live. Qualitative researcher seeks patterns which come out of or emerge from the data. Thus, if the underlying philosophy is not understood, this research is seen as a less rigorous a less valued way of doing inquiry.

A brief history of qualitative research Cultural anthropologists: among the first and best known qualitative researchers Freud: case studies using the knowledge gained from his patients Rogers: transcripts of therapy Piaget: clinical interviews

POSTULATES of RESEARCH PARADIGM Questions Postulates of the positivist approach Postulates of the phenomenological approach 1. How does the world work? Reality is one. By carefully dividing and studying its parts, the whole can be understood. There are multiple realities. These realities are socio-psychological constructions forming an interconnected whole. These realities can only be understood as such. 2. What is the relationship between the knower and the known? The knower can stand outside of what is to be known. True objectivity is possible. The knower and the known are interdependent. 3. What role do values play in understanding the world? Values can be suspended in order to understand. Values mediate and shape what is understood.

POSTULATES of RESEARCH PARADIGM Questions Postulates of the positivist approach Postulates of the phenomenological approach 4. Are causal linkages possible? One event comes before another event and can be said to cause that event. Events shape each other. Multidirectional relationships can be discovered. 5. What is the possibility of generalization? Explanations from one time and place can be generalized to other times and places. Only tentative explanations for one time and place are possible. 6. What does research contribute to knowledge? Generally, the positivist seeks verification or proof of propositions. Generally, the phenomentologist seeks to discover or uncover propositions.

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival Can be examined and broken apart properly Interconnected

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival Sth. is always at the bottom and sth. is always at the top There is a ‘web of meaning’

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival One-way flowchart Multi-dimensional reproduction

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival Potentially identifiable Not identifiable

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival A and B cause each other A causes B

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival Change occurs by replacing parts – individual and discrete parts Change is affected by the next change in a connected manner

Paradigm Shift in Research Methods Research Characteristic Dominant Paradigm (Positivist) Alternate Paradigm (Phenomenological) World View Simple Complex Organization of information Hierarchic Heterarchic Forms of relationships Mechanical Holographic Sources of change Determined Indeterminate Explanation Linear causal Mutual causal Nature of change Assembly Morphogenesis Observer perspective Objective Perspectival No way of seeing the world is definitely true (different perspectives) Instruments are objective

The importance of understanding the philosophical underpinnings of the research: a) understanding similarities and differences between words and numbers b) perspectival observer versus objective observer c) discovery versus proof

Words and Numbers The major difference between quantitative and qualitative approaches is the meaning given to the words. Qualitative research looks closely at people’s words, actions and records. Quantitative research quantifies such observations (using statistics). Qualitative researcher does not have to challenge statistics; however, understanding and presenting qualitative research is as demanding as understanding statistics. Qualitative researcher tries to understand what people say and do (products of how people interpret the world); thus, an emphatic understanding is needed.

Perspectival vs Objective Observer Why would someone use a perspectival (subjective) view in research rather than an objective view? To be objective is to be cold and distant so the knower stands outside; to be perspectival requires to get at the world of the agent/subject so the knower and the known are interdependent.

Discovery vs Proof The goal of qualitative research is to discover patterns which emerge after close observation, careful documentation and thoughtful analysis of the research topic. In the process of discovery, we keep in mind that reality is multiple, events are simultaneously and mutually shaped and the goal of this approach is to discover not to prove. Hypotheses (quantitative approach) are formed after observations, not before!