Methods and Methodology

The effectiveness of the different educational approaches to research had been

the subject of debate in recent literatures. The traditional and the most commonly used

qualitative and quantitative approaches are still recognized by researches but they

started to combine these approaches with the principal notion that the combination of

the two will make the analysis and interpretation of the research more effective.

As outlined by Mackenzie and Knipe (2006) in their article Research dilemmas:

Paradigms, methods and methodology , theoretical approaches to research or research

paradigms play a significant role in educational research because they serve as a

foundation of the kind of research approaches or methodology to be used in a certain

field of study.

Positivist/postpositivist paradigm focuses on real world assumptions which also

include the cause and effect theory. It believes that the social and natural world can be

studied in the same way and recognizes the existence of method for the study of social

world that is free from social, cultural, or ethnic influences (Mertens, 2005, cited on

Mackenzie and Knipe, 2006). Therefore, the credibility and validity of the research is not

compromised because the researcher and the object of the research are independent.

This paradigm is associated with quantitative methods of verifying hypotheses based on

theories it recognized. Quantitative research is the collection of numerical and statistical

data which is seen as the scientific approach to research because it uses experimental

or quasi-experimental methods (O'Neill, 2006).

Interpretivist/constructivist paradigm is the concept of understanding individual

experiences, that reality is constructed through human experiences. This approach to

research makes researchers to interpret and constructs reality based on their social

interactions and rely upon the views of participants with regard to the particular situation

or environment being studied (Creswell, 2003, cited on Mackenzie and Knipe, 2006).

Based on this premise, since realities are the products of human understanding based

on their individual experiences, there is a greater tendency that conflicting realities arise

and may change from time to time as individuals become more experienced.

Constructivists mostly use qualitative method because this employs the participants’

perspective which is more likely to be personal and subjective. Methods used in data

gathering include case study, surveys, life histories, hermeneutics and the like, which

are similarly founded on human experiences (Labuschagne, 2003, cited on O'Neill,

2006). Mixed method is also alternatively applied in this paradigm.

Transformative is also known as critical theory, where the concept of feminism

was rooted. Transformative researchers believe that the dominant theories in the early

years like positivism and constructivism only represented the male perspective and they

failed to sufficiently address social justice issues and those affecting the marginalized

people (Creswell, 2003 cited on Mackenzie and Knipe , 2006). Unlike positivism, this

paradigm is based on the premise that there is a link between the researcher and the

participants so that values of the researcher influence the inquiry (Guba & Linclon, 1998

cited on Hargrove, 2004). Researchers adopting this paradigm believe that myriad of

realities were social, political, gender, cultural, gender and economic values (Groat &

Wang, 2002 cited on Hargrove, 2004) in which case, mixed methods approach to

research is recommended because it more likely to provide a clearer illustration and

interpretation of our social environments with the utilization of various standpoints

(Somekh & Lewin, 2005 cited on Mackenzie and Knipe, 2006).

Pragmatic paradigm is the most unbiased approach to research. It focuses on

the research problem and seeks to apply all effective approaches in understanding such

research problem (Creswell, 2003 cited on Mackenzie and Knipe, 2006). In other words,

pragmatic researchers conduct and interpret their study with no loyal attachments to

any other kinds of paradigm. Methods of research may be qualitative or quantitative, or

a combination of the two in which either methods should be in line with the specific

questions of the research.

Educational researchers utilize variety of research approaches they believe to be

effective and convenient. The above mentioned paradigms are effective in certain ways

depending on the researcher’s field of study. For example, positivism may be effective

in applied science, or constructivism may be found to be most effective in the study of

human behavior. These paradigms are associated with methods of interpretation and

analysis like quantitative, qualitative or a combination of the two. However, many recent

researchers are in the position that pragmatic approach to research coupled with mixed

methods of interpretation and gathering of data is the most convenient and makes the

most out of the other approaches. Pragmatism and mixed methods research

incorporates the strengths of both the quantitative and qualitative methodologies and

potentially reduces the problems related with one method. And since pragmatism

focuses on the research questions, rather than preconceived ideas, mixed method

adequately addresses these questions and is equipped with shared responsibility in

attaining credible and reliable research (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004).

REFERENCES

Hargrove, R 2004, Positivism, Critical Inquiry, and Constructivism:

Three Theoretical Approaches and Their Use in Studying Interdisciplinary Design

Education, viewed 19 September 2007

<http://ncsudesign.org/content/baran/ddn702/hargrove_ddn702_analyticalessay.pdf>

Johnson, RB & Onwuegbuzie, AJ 2004, Mixed Methods Research: A Research

Paradigm Whose Time Has Come, viewed 19 September 2007

<http://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/Journals_and_Publications/Journals/

Educational_Researcher/Volume_33_No_7/03ERv33n7_Johnson.pdf>

Mackenzie, N & Knipe S 2006, ‘Research dilemmas: Paradigms, methods and

methodology’, Issues in Educational Research, vol. 16, 2006, viewed 19 September

2007, < http://www.iier.org.au/iier16/mackenzie.html>

O'Neill, R 2006, The advantages and disadvantages of qualitative and quantitative

research methods, viewed 19 September 2007,

<http://www.roboneill.co.uk/papers/research_methods.htm>