Positivism or Post Positivism

Why is it important for my research??????

Dr Martin Samy

Presentation

Challenging topic
Novel idea i.e. examples and web links
PhD experience conflicting philosophies
My own research
The dry stuff

Philosophy
What is philosophy??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfYw9OqD8Y
A
Is it important??
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/851193
1/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refu
sing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html

For my research??

Characteristics

Personal belief
Value systems
Expectations
Perceptions
Guide my way of life
Guide my research methodology
Convincing argument for my philosophy

The need of a Philosophy by

Chesterton, 1923
"it is necessary therefore for each of us to
arrange an order in our thinking" and if you
decide to accept these beliefs you must be able
to explain why you believe them and how, and
within what limitations. Without some such
consecutive philosophy, society will become a
monster without a brain. It means full steam in
the darkness with lights out."

Hughes (1994) asks: what is it about

philosophy that gives it this seemingly vital
role in human intellectual affairs? Is this
simply a contingent fact of our intellectual
history, or is there something distinctive
about philosophy itself which gives it this
authoritative place.

It is the uncomplicated style and innocent way of

questioning, which produces confusion and instability
in our assumptions and ideas about the world, that
makes the study of philosophy of special benefit
(Smith 1998). The indirectness and circular nature of
philosophical questioning in itself is helpful, as it often
encourages in-depth thinking, and generates further
questions in relation to the topic under consideration.
Therefore
Clarifying assumptions related to personal values is
also seen as useful when planning a research study.

According to Proctor (1998), individuals rarely

take time to do this in everyday life, but exploring
basic personal beliefs could assist in
understanding wider philosophical issues, notably
the interrelationship between ontological (what
is the nature of reality?), epistemological (what
can be known?), and methodological (how can a
researcher discover what she or he believes can
be known?) levels of enquiry (Proctor 1998).

Methodology ... to do with the tools

and techniques of research
Ontology ... to do with our
assumptions about how the world is
made up and the nature of things
Epistemology ... to do with our
beliefs about how one might
discover knowledge about the world
Macintosh (http://doctoralstudy.blogspot.com/2009/05/being-clear-about-methodology-ontology.html)

Ghauri & Gronhaug (2010) pg43

Post Positivist
Post-positivist research principles emphasise meaning
and the creation of new knowledge, and are able to
support committed social movements, that is,
movements that aspire to change the world and
contribute towards social justice (Ryan:2006).
post-positivist approaches, which aim to describe and
explore in-depth phenomena from a qualitative
perspective using an inductive approach.

Positivist
Positivism adopts a clear quantitative approach to
investigating phenomena (Crossan:2003)
Positivist researchers believe that they can reach a full
understanding based on experiment and observation.
Concepts and knowledge are held to be the product of
straightforward experience, interpreted through rational
deduction.
Using scientific method and language to investigate and
write about human experience is supposed to keep the
research free of the values, passions, politics and
ideology of the researcher. This approach to research is
called positivist, or positivist-empiricist and it is the
dominant one among the general public (Ryan 2006:)

Heart Transplant
Heart Transplant
Christian Barnard
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-heart-transplant-patient-he
alth-earlier.html
Empirical, procedural, objective, predictable
New Theory
Heart transplantation experiences: a phenomenological
approach.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18578797
http://www.springerlink.com/content/k51335l4k4676577/
Subjective, case studies, qualitative, grounded theory

Slumdog millionaire
Positivist approach
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/mpi/
http://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/1685.htm
l

Post Positivist approach

http://sphej.highwire.org/cgi/content/abstract/
68/2/94

Attendance and passing rates

Mike Daly
Correlation between attendance at seminar
and passing rates
Qualitative studies on why , inner reasoning,
capture the unexplored, new theory..
So what is the methodology??????

Tourism studies

Moutinhos 1987 Vacation Tourist Behavior model is a

comprehensive example of a positivistic theoretical
framework for tourist decision-making, based on rational
behavioral principles. Citing an increasing interest in postpositivistic philosophy as a means for addressing the current
inability to fully represent peoples lived experiences;
scientists suggest that post-positivistic approaches are also
important for understanding the complex nature of social
science phenomena. This study employs post-positivistic
philosophy, which is focused on understanding and
interpreting the process of satisfaction evaluation rather than
on prediction or control.
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/newtown_square/publications/techni
cal_reports/pdfs/2006/341%20papers/gale341.pdf

Positivism
Philosophers
Auguste Comte
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/comte/1856/ge
neral-view.htm

Logical positivism (Vienna Circle)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lbsj3

Post Positivism
Frankfurt School Habermas (Critical theory)
http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/13/9780192840950.
pdf
Popper
http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-KarlPopper.htm
http://www.servinghistory.com/topics/post-positivism

Difference in Philosophy
http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd07302006065725/unrestricted/05chapter5.pdf
http://eprints.nuim.ie/874/

Different views
Is there a consensus????
PhD experience
My own research
FL, School effectiveness and CSR

Finally
How do I chose a research method
based on the philosophical
underpinnings????

http://www.umdnj.edu/idsweb/idst6000/williams_research+par
adigms.htm

Read these articles :

1.
2.
3.

Research Paradigms and Meaning Making: A Primer by Steven Eric Krauss

Toward a Campbellian Realist Organization Science by Bill McKelvey
Prising Open the Black Box, Critical Realism, Action Research and Social Work by Stan
Houston