Interpretive Research Workshop 1 20/01/20141 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University London Metropolitan University Monday 20 th January 2014

To understand Interpretivist Tradition 20/01/20142 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Interpretivist Positivist 20/01/20143 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Methodological Roots of Positivist Approach  Discourse on Methodology- Descartes, (1637) Focus on objectivity of method  Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon in 17 th century Value of Observation 20/01/20144 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Hume – 1800s  Empirical research tradition- Knowledge originates in our experiences  Evidence through direct observation, collected objectively Comte (early 1800s)  Social world studied in terms of laws, mirroring natural world = positivism 20/01/20145 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Scientific tradition 20/01/20146 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Key Properties  Derives from scientific thinking World is known as a set of a priori concepts that structure our thought and argument Developing “laws” that govern human action and interaction Men make own history- not self-selected circumstances Under existing circumstances, given and transmitted from the past 20/01/20147 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Planned, technologically- managed, systematic, information-driven solutions Based on idea of constant progress Constant Mode for achievement: Progress Modernist Thinking 20/01/20148 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

20/01/20149 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Critique of Pure Reason, (Kant, 1781)  Ways of knowing other than rational  Interpretive aspects of knowing the social world 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Dilthey, 1870s  Importance of ‘verstehen’ (understanding)  Studying lived experience  Social research should reveal connections between social, rational and historical 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Anthropos – Human  Logica – Study  Anthropology is the study of human kind ▪ Who we are ▪ How we came to be that way ▪ Where we may go 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Malinowski- early British anthropologist Spent time “in the field” out of the UK WWI Frank Boas - first US anthropologist to argue for fieldwork Margaret Mead - Boas’ student- Women in the field 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Weber, (1890s)  Understand meaning of social actions in context of material conditions  Ethnographic Studies  Robert Park, Chicago, 1920s  Focus on local culture within city  Symbolic Interactionism (Blumer, 1969)  Symbolic meanings and Interpretation 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Interpretive Sociology (verstehende Soziologie) is the study of society that concentrates on the meanings people associate with their social world.  How reality is constructed by people themselves in their daily lives. Interpretive Sociology 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Interpretive sociology manifest in sociology of culture  This line of thought regarded as interpretive because it argues that sources, structure, and functions of social life are not entirely objective. The do not fully exist in the observable world  Instead, their meaning and consequences are subject to interpretation 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Interpretive researchers thus attempt to understand phenomena through accessing the meanings participants assign to them’  (Orlikowski and Baroudi 1991) 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Lived Experience 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Interpretive View of Knowledge ‘ Social process is not captured in hypothetical deductions, covariances and degrees of freedom. Instead, understanding social process involves getting inside the world of those generating it’ (Orlikowski and Baroudi 1991) 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Phenomenology e.g. Zuboff 1988  Ethnomethodology e.g. Suchman 1987  Hermeneutics e.g. Boland and Day 1989 (Walsham 1995) 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Theory and Practice 4 ‘The interpretive research approach towards the relationship between theory and practice is that the researcher can never assume a value-neutral stance, and is always implicated in the phenomena being studied’ (Orlikowski and Baroudi 1991) 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

Simple? So far…… 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Postmodernism (1990s) Lyotard, Brown  Questioning objectivity, rather a relativist view  Fragmentation of Meaning  ‘Grand narratives’ of history flawed  Practice Theory 2000s  Interpreting in terms of shared practice 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Positivism predominant up to mid 20 th century  Interpretivism - many roots and variations  Key Characteristics taken into qualitative research centre on:  Lived experience  Contextual, holistic understanding of events  Interrelatedness of our lives However… 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Nothing is simple in academic life -We have seen ideas her that are at opposite ends of the research tradition  Other philosophical viewpoints that have emerged and will have some relationship either to interpretivism or positivism are:  Pragmatism  Critical Realism  Constructivism 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Sometimes these other viewpoints and traditions can be discussed  epistemology OR  ontology OR  Axiology  You will find many research methodology textbooks that consider this  It can be confusing and contradictory 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 When looking at a research tradition, always go back to the original ideas and then trace it forward.  In that way, you will understand it and the research design implications that may arise from it. 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Before you spend a lot of time reading about every tradition, consider your own study, identify the research tradition(s) that you think you are drawing upon and then ask three questions:  What kind of data do I wish to gather?  What do I wish to know about my respondents and/or the context?- What will the nature of my inquiry be?  What method seems appropriate for this? 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

See next file Interpretive Research Workshop 2 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Angen, MJ. (2000). Evaluating interpretive inquiry: Reviewing the validity debate and opening the dialogue. Qualitative Health Research. 10(3) pp Qualitative Health Research  Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic Interactionism. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Symbolic Interactionism  Berger, PL & Luckmann, T. (1967) The Social Construction of Reality. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company.  Blumer, M. (1984). The Chicago School of Sociology: Institutionalization, Diversity, and the Rise of Sociological Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.The Chicago School of Sociology: Institutionalization, Diversity, and the Rise of Sociological Research 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Garfinkel, H. (1967). Enthnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.  Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Stragegies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine.The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Stragegies for Qualitative Research  Guba, EG and Lincoln, YS. (1994). "Competing paradigms in qualitative research." In NK Denzin and YS Lincoln (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research. pp  Lyotard, J. (1979). The Postmodern Condition: A report on Knowledge. Theory and History of Literature. Volume 10. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.The Postmodern Condition: A report on Knowledge 20/01/ produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Malinowski, B. (1967). A Diary in the Strict sense of the Term. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.  Orlikowski, W.J. and J.J. Baroudi. "Studying Information Technology in Organizations: Research Approaches and Assumptions." Information Systems Research, 2, 1, 1991: 1-28  Schutz, A. (1962). Collect Papers, Volume 1, The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff. See in particular: "Commonsense and scientific interpretations of human action" pp. 3-47; "Concept and theory formation in the social sciences" pp ; "On multiple realities" pp /01/35 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University

 Walsham, G, (2006) European Journal of Information Systems (2006) 15, 320–330, & 2006 Operational Research Society Ltd.  Weber, Max The Protestant Ethic and "The Spirit of Capitalism" (1905). Translated by Stephen Kalberg (2002), Roxbury Publishing Company.  Wittgenstein, L. (1958). Philosophical Investigations (GEM Anscome transl). Third Edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice-Hall. 20/01/2014 produced by Dr. Anne Broderick, De Montfort University 36