Important is relative By Prof Dr Sohail Ansari

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 Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor. Sholom Aleichem الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ إِلَّا جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُ‌ونَ مِنْهُمْ ۙ سَخِرَ‌ اللَّـهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ Those who find fault with the believers who give alms cheerfully and such as find not anything to give but their hard earnings-they deride them. ALLAH derides them and for them is a painful chastisement. (9:79)
News is the slave of time
·         News is the slave of time. What seemed important then is unlikely to seem important now, just as what strikes us as important now would not have seemed important then. News that is unlikely to seem unimportant now and then is not the slave of time; it is not the organized gossip.

·        Comedy is the slave of time. What seemed funny then is unlikely to seem funny now, just as what strikes us as funny now would not have seemed funny then. Craig Brown

·        Journalism is organized gossip. ~ Edward Eggleston

The Interpretivist Paradigm

Assumptions and Beliefs of the Interpretivist Paradigm
Interpretivist views have different origins in different disciplines.  Schultz, Cicourel and Garfinkel (phenomenology/sociology), the "Chicago School of Sociology" (sociology), and Boas and Malinowski (anthropology) are often connected with the origin the interpretivist paradigm.  The interpretivist paradigm developed as a critique of positivism in the social sciences.  In general, interpretivists share the following beliefs about the nature of knowing and reality.
  • Relativist ontology - assumes that reality as we know it is constructed intersubjectively existing between conscious minds; shared by more than one conscious mind  through the meanings and understandings developed socially and experientially.
  • Transactional or subjectivist epistemology - assumes that we cannot separate ourselves from what we know.  The investigator and the object of investigation are linked such that who we are and how we understand the world is a central part of how we understand ourselves, others and the world.
By positing a reality that cannot be separate from our knowledge of it (no separation of subject and object), the interpretivist paradigm posits that researchers' values are inherent in all phases of the research process.  Truth is negotiated through dialogue.
  • Findings or knowledge claims are created as an investigation proceeds.  That is, findings emerge through dialogue in which conflicting interpretions are negotiated among members of a community.
  • Pragmatic and moral concerns are important considerations when evaluting interpretive science.  Fostering a dialogue between researchers and respondents is critical.  It is through this dialectial process that a more informed and sophisticated understanding of the social world can be created. Dialectic or dialectics (Greek: διαλεκτική, dialektikḗ; related to dialogue), also known as the dialectical method, is at base a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments.
  • All interpretations are based in a particular moment.  That is, they are located in a particular context or situation and time.  They are open to re-interpretation and negotiation through conversation.
Methodology
  • Interpretive approaches rely heavily on naturalistic methods (interviewing and observation and analysis of existing texts).
  • These methods ensure an adequate dialog between the researchers and those with whom they interact in order to collaboratively construct a meanful reality.
  • Generally, meanings are emergent from the research process.
  • Typically, qualitative methods are used. 
View of Criteria for 'Good' Research
Interpretivist positions are founded on the theoretical belief that reality is socially constructed and fluid.  Thus, what we know is always negotiated within cultures, social settings, and relationship with other people.
From this perspective, validity or truth cannot be grounded in an objective reality.
What is taken to be valid or true is negotiated and there can be multiple, valid claims to knowledge. 
Angen (2000) offers some criteria for evaluting research from an interpretivist perspective:
  • Careful consideration and articulation of the research question
  • carrying out inquiry in a respectful manner
  • awareness and articulation of the choices and interpretations the researcher makes during the inquiry process and evidence of taking responsibility for those choices
  • a written account that develops persuasive arguments
  • evaluation of how widely results are disseminated
  • validity becomes a moral question for Angen and must be located in the 'discourse of the research community'
  • Ethical validity - recognition that the choices we make through the research process have political and ethical consideration.
    •  Researchers need to ask if research is helpful to the target population
    • seek out alternative explanations than those the researcher constructs
    • ask if we've really learned something from our work
  • substantive validity - evaluting the substance or content of an interpretive work
    • need to see evidence of the interpretive choices the researcher made
    • an assessment of the biases inherent in the work over the lifespan of a research project
    • self-reflect to understand our own transformation in the research process

The Positivist Paradigm

The origin of positivist views are usually credited to Descarte.  Others have traced these beliefs back to Galileo.  Both share the following beliefs about the nature of knowing and reality.
Assumptions and beliefs of the Positivist Paradigm:
  • Realist ontology - assumes that there are real world objects apart from the human knower.  In other words, there is an objective reality.
  • Representational epistemology - assumes people can know this reality and use symbols to accurately describe and explain this objective reality.
By positing a reality separate from our knowlege of it (separation of subject and object), the positivist paradigm provides an objective reality against which researchers can compare their claims and ascertain truth.
  • Prediction and control - assumes that there are general patterns of cause and effect that can be used as a basis for predicting and controlling natural phenomenon.  The goal is to discover these patterns.
  • Empirical verification - assumes that we can rely on our perceptions of the world to provide us with accurate data.
  • Research has been assumed to be value-free; if strict methodological protocol is followed, research will be free of subjective bias and objectivity will be achieved.
Methodology
  • Positivist approaches rely heavily on experimental and manipulative (influencing or attempting to influence the behavior or emotions of others for one's own purposes) methods.
  • These ensure that there is a distance between the subjective biases of the researcher and the objective reality he or she studies. 
  • This generally involves hypothesis generation and testing.
  • Typically, quantitative methods are used. 
View of Criteria for 'Good' Research
The positivist position is grounded in the theoretical belief that there is an objective reality that can be known to the researcher, if he or she uses the correct methods and applies those methods in a correct manner.
Research (typically quantitative and experimental methods) is evaluted based on three criteria:
  • Validity - the extent to which a measurement approach or procedure gives the correct answer (allowing the researcher to measure or evaluate an objective reality)
  • Reliability - the extent to which a measurement approach or procedure give the same answer whenever it is carried out
  • Generalizability - extent to which the findings of a study can be applied externally or more broadly outside of the study context

Critical or Subtle Realist Paradigm

Assumptions of the Critical or Subtle Realist Paradigm
Critical or Subtle Realist Paradigms have emerged recently and in the context of the debate about the validity of interpretive research methods and the need for appropriate criteria for evaluating qualitative research.  This position can be seen in the work of Hammersley, Silverman, Creswell, Kirk and Miller and others. 
  • Realist ontology - assume that there are real world objects apart from the human knower.  In other words, there is an objective reality. 
    • Critical realists assumes that our ability to know this reality is imperfect, and claims about reality must be subject to wide critical examination to achieve the best understanding of reality possible. 
    • Subtle realists assume that we can only know reality from our own perspective of it.
  • Modified transactional or subjectivist epistemology - we cannot separate ourselves from what we know.  The investigator and the object of investigation are linked such that who we are and how we understand the world is a central part of how we understand ourselves, others and the world.  
    • 'Objectivity' remains as an ideal that researchers attempt to attain through careful sampling and specific research techniques. 
    • It is possible to evaluate the extent to which objectivity is attained.  This can be evaluated by the community of scholars as well as by the community of people who are studied.
By positing a reality that can be separate from our knowlege of it (separation of subject and object), the realist paradigm provides an objective reality against which researchers can compare their claims and the extent to which they ascertain truth.  This is sometime called credibility or trustworthiness of an account.
However, the realist paradigm also recognizes that researchers' values are inherent in all phases of the research process.  Truth is negotiated through dialogue.  Thus, this objective reality cannot be apprehended in a perfect way.  "Objectivity" is an ideal to strive for and can be achieved through the use of rigorous qualitative research methods.
Methodology
  • Realist approaches tend to rely on a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. 
  • Research is conducted in more natural settings and more situational or contextual data is collected.
  • Incorporate methods to elicit participants ways of knowing and seeing (interview, observation, text).
  • Research designs provide opportunities for discovery (emergent knowledge) as opposed to operating by testing an a priori hypotheses.
View of Criteria for 'Good' Research
Realist perspectives are grounded in a theoretical belief that our knowledge of reality is imperfect and that we can only know reality from our perspective of it.
Attaining truth with a capital "T" or Objectivity is impossible, but is a goal that all research should strive to attain.  Attempting to attain this goal, it is believed, will lead to more rigorous research.
Realists have developed a variety of alternatives to the concept of validity that are seen as appropriate for qualitative research.  These include: confidency, credibility, plausibility and relevance.
Realists have identified a variety of methodological strategies for producing more credible or rigorous qualitative research.  These  strategies can be implemented in ways that allow the researcher to develop a richer and more complete understanding of the culture, social setting, event (reality) that they are investigating.
These strategies include:
Careful purposive or theoretical sampling
Prolonged Engagement
Standardization of field notes, recording, transcribing
Triangulation
Member-checking
Peer review or debriefing
External Audits
Negative or deviant case analysis
Analysis of alternative explanations
Reflexivity

Critical Theory Paradigms

Assumptions of Critical Theory Paradigms
Critical Theory is a theoretical tradition developed most notably by Horkeimer, Adorno, Marcuse at the Frankfort School.  Their work is a critical response to the works of Marx, Kant, Hegel and Weber.    
  • Historical ontology - assumes that there is a 'reality' that is apprehendable.  This is a reality created and shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic and gender-based forces that have been reified or crystallized over time into social structures that are taken to be natural or real.  People, including researchers, function under the assumption that for all practical purposes these structures are real.  Critical theorist believe this assumption is inappropriate.
  • Modified transactional or subjectivist epistemology - we cannot separate ourselves from what we know and this inevitably influences inquiry. What can be known is inextricably tied to the interaction between a particular investigator and a particular object or group.
Other assumptions about the research enterprise:
  • Critical theorists mark the 'linguistic turn' (associated with Wittgenstein) as a moment in history where we could begin to see how our reality was interactively constructed through language.  Our conceptual system and how things are defined in society are created through language.  Language guides and limits the observational process.  The stability of the language system produces the stability of a shared reality.
  • Critical theorists believe the perpetuation of the subjective-objective controversy is problematic.  The objective-subjective label is socially contrived and not a natural fact.  Critical theorists have shown that 'objective' practices are those that have been shown to be the most 'subjective.'
  • When it comes to the research enterprise, critical theorists recognize the positive association of 'objectivity' to natural sciences and less positive association of 'subjectivity' to interpretive sciences.  This is seen as an artifact of a system defined to privilege the 'objective' label and the natural sciences.  This is recognized as a linguistic construction.
  • The subject-object distinction affords identity protection and privileges for powerful groups both in the academy and in other organization.  This has led to misleading beliefs about the presumed relation between qualitative and quantitative research.
  • If we elimininate the subject-object dualism, we see that objects in both quantitative and qualitative research methods are socially shared, historically produced and general to a social group. 
Methodology
  • Critical theoretical approaches tend to rely on dialogic methods; methods combining observation and interviewing with approaches that foster conversation and reflection.  This reflective dialogic allows the researcher and the participants to question the 'natural' state and challenge the mechanisms for order maintenance.  This is a way to to reclaim conflict and tension.
  • Rather than naming and describing, the critical theorist tries to challenging guiding assumptions.
  • Critical theorists usually do this by beginning with an assumption about what is good (e.g. autonomy, democracy) and asking people in a social group, culture or organization to reflect on and question their current experience with regard to the values identified (e.g. To what extent are they an autonomous worker?) 
  • Critical theorists are not just trying to describe a situation from a particular vantage point or set of values (e.g. the need for greater autonomy or democracy in a particular setting), but that are trying to change the situation.
Views on Criteria for 'Good' Research
Researchers need to discuss the meaning and implications of the concepts developed
Researchers need to attend to tensions in competitive research orientations
Criteria for research should be based on community agreement, and researchers have the responsibility to justify their work and address and answer to any tension that manifests itself in the research endeavor.
Generally, the complete philosophical grounds for the research decisions made during a research project cannot be articulated in a manuscript, but some attempt should be make to articulate these briefly.
Some general description of alternative research orientations, approaches or ways of seeing should be discussed to foster accountability.
The research endeavor should have social import.  This may include social change, expanding people's discourses, ways of seeing and understanding the world (these are not mutually exclusive).

 

What does Interpretive Science mean?

Interpretive science is any scientific field, especially sociology, which aims to consider the subjective viewpoints or experiences of the individual and how they have a bearing on facts that are being considered. Interpretive science understands that subjective experience and individual viewpoint can colour facts and influence the understanding of the truth of a matter and aims to avoid inaccuracies that can result through this pitfall.
 'Interpretive methods of research start from the position that our knowledge of reality, including the domain of human action, is a social construction by human actors and that this applies equally to researchers.
Qualitative research is a form of social inquiry that focuses on the way people interpret and make sense of their experiences and the world in which they live. ... The basis of qualitative research lies in the interpretive approach to social reality and in the description of the lived experience of human beings.

 

Assumptions of Feminist Paradigms

Research for women aims to emancipate women and improve their lives.  Feminist research includes research on women and research for women.  The aim of research on women is to elucidate bias and inequity in the way women are treated in various social settings and institutions and to fill-in the gaps in our knowlege about women. 
Olesen (1994) and Thompson (1992) identify three models of feminist research:
  • Feminist Empiricism - feminist concerns shape the research questions and interpretation, but researchers are committed to traditional research methods.  Feminist empiricists adhere to the standards of current qualitative and quantitative methods.  They believe that any method can be feminist.  Their ontological and epistemological stance is similar to interpretivists or realists.
  • Feminist Standpoint Research  - this approach develops from the work of Harding, Smith and Hartsock.  Research done from standpoint theory stresses taking a particular view in one's research; a view that builds on and from women's experiences in everyday life. Researchers from this feminist paradigm have beliefs similar to critical theorists:
    • Historical ontology - assumes that there is a 'reality' that has been created and shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic and gender-based forces that has been reified or crystallized over time into social structures that are taken to be natural or real. 
    • Modified transactional or subjectivist epistemology - assumes that we cannot separate ourselves from what we know and this inevitably influences inquiry. What can be known is inextricably tied to the interaction between a particular investigator and a particular object or group.
  • Postmodern Feminism - believes that in oppressive contexts one cannot produce more than a partial story of women's lives.  Postmodern feminist researchers view reality as a series of endless stories and ongoing texts that sustain the oppression of women.
Other assumptions or about the research enterprise:
  • All research is value-sustaining and feminist research is politicized inquiry.
  • The separation between the subject and the object does not lead to objectivity, and a closer connection between the two may reconcile subjectivity and objectivity.
  • Women's experience can be considered a source and justification of knowledge
  • there may be no such thing as truth and objectivity

Methodology
  • Feminists use a wide range of research methods, including naturalistic approaches to social inquiry, quantiative methods, and dialogic methods that combine observation and interviewing with approaches that foster conversation, reflection and change with regard to the 'natural' and oppressive social order.
Views on Criteria for 'Good' Research
Criteria for research should be based on community agreement, and researchers have the responsibility to justify their work and address and answer to any tension that manifest itself in the research endeavor
Generally the complete philosophical grounds for the research decisions made during a research project cannot be articulated in a manuscript, but some attempt to should be make to articulate these briefly.  This would include a description of the researcher's "standpoint" or perspective while engaging in the research process.
Some general description of alternative research orientations, approaches or ways of seeing should be discussed to foster accountability
The research endeavor should have social import.  This may include social change, expanding people's discourses, ways of seeing and understanding the world (these are not mutually exclusive). 

This involves giving a voice to women who are otherwise marginalized in our society so that the experiences can be known and understood. 

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