19 Making connections: The relationship between and methods

Dawn Darlaston-Jones of Notre Dame, Australia

The ability to identify the relationship between the epistemological foundation of research and the methods employed in conducting it is critical in order for research to be truly meaningful. Unfortunately this connection is often not taught in the research methods classes that most psychology students . Indeed the very names of these units emphasises the focus on methods and consequently the epistemology, theoretical frameworks and that influence the of methods remain ‘hidden’ from view. This paper brings into focus these hidden (or often overlooked and ignored) elements of research and illustrates the importance and by drawing on example from the author’s research into the student experience of higher .

The relationship between epistemology and orientation can help frame our research . I method is rarely articulated through our formal begin by outlining the constructionist view and coursework education either at undergraduate or differentiating this from the positivist stance. I do postgraduate level; certainly this is true in many this for two ; first, to demonstrate the psychology programmes. Nowhere during my dominance of the positivist perspective in formal education was the connection between psychology students education and second, epistemology and method clearly explained, because I personally subscribe to a indeed the entire of a philosophical constructionist and this influenced my foundation to research was missing. The choice of research topic, and the I Australian Psychological Accreditation Council employed. Having done this I then demonstrate (APAC) guidelines do not require the how this epistemological view shaped my study epistemological foundations of to be and was able to cast new light on the experience explicated at either the undergraduate or of undergraduate students that challenges the postgraduate level. In the only reference to accepted on this topic. ‘’ in the 2005 documentation is a Epistemological Roots requirement for the “ and philosophy of The basic contention of the constructionist psychology” (APAC, 2005, p.23) to be included is that is socially constructed by somewhere during the undergraduate degree. The and between the persons who experience it various research units I studied throughout my (Gergen, 1999). It is a consequence of the context undergraduate and were in which the action occurs and is shaped by the all titled Research Methods (with or without cultural, historical, political, and social norms various suffixes attached) which served to that operate within that context and : And emphasise the focus onto the methods employed that reality can be different for each of us based instead of the entire construction of the research on our unique understandings of the world and process. It was only when I was struggling to our experience of it (Berger & Luckman, 1966). write my PhD that I realised that this gap Reality in this case is completely subjective and in my knowledge and existed and need not be something that can be shared by that I needed to rectify it before I continued with anyone else but at the same time it is independent the writing. But in embarking on this journey I of the person living it. discovered as much about me as I did about how In contrast, , which is the the methods I employed sat within a social foundation of , views reality as constructionist worldview. , objective, and quantifiable. Therefore In this paper I describe why it is from this perspective, it is argued that reality is important to be explicit about the epistemological the same for you as it is for me and through the foundations of our work and how identifying our application of science we can identify and ‘see’

The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 19 No 1 May 2007 Epistemology and method 20 that shared reality. By adopting the positivist in this area speaks of the role of the student in orientation, psychology has reduced the terms of motivation, commitment and ability as if individual to the status of a passive receptacle. these are isolated constructs that occur There is little notion of the person as the independently of the person or the context in perceiver of his or her world and even less which the person exists. The reality is that each seems to be afforded to the possibility of of us has very complex reasons for studying and the person as a conceiver or constructor of his or these decisions are influenced by the type of her world (Ashworth, 2003). Social person we are, our , , constructionism (Berger & Luckman, 1966; background, social, and economic status. So Gergen, 1999, 2001a, 2001b) on the hand imagine if you will a student who comes to views the individual as a maker in that each university from a privileged background; both of us seeks to understand or make sense of our her parents are university graduates, she attended world as we see and experience it. a well resourced high school that facilitated her The fact that science is situated within social and academic ability. She was encouraged empiricism is in fact to locate it within an by her teachers and family to explore her epistemology. Because this is the dominant potential in every area and university was of science it becomes the taken-for- regarded as the natural progression in her granted that is above question and by postsecondary development. Contrast this extension is not subjected to critique. So while experience to the student who is the first in her science, and psychology in particular, family to attend university; her family and that scientific endeavour is objective and teachers are equally supportive and encouraging free it fails to realise that these assumptions are of her achieving her potential but the of in fact a statement about the nature of knowledge her experience is fundamentally different from and therefore is in fact an epistemology. In the advantaged student. In the first instance the adopting the that a single universal reality student regards her university experience as exists for all of us and that this reality can be “more of the same” in that she is continuing a discovered via systematically controlled family tradition almost. The second student investigation science/psychology fails to though is experiencing university as a life recognise the ability of the person to changing challenge. She sees university not interpret and make sense of his or her world. simply as a natural progression but as an provides a different opportunity for her to help her family and to perspective with which to view the world that become a role model for others in her allows the unique differences of individuals to neighbourhood (Ostrove, 2003; Ostrove & Cole, come into focus while at the same time 2003; Paulsen & St John, 2002; Walker, permitting the essential sameness that unites Matthew, & Black, 2004). human to be identified (Ashworth, 2003). These two students share the same This means that it is not necessary for any of us experience at a surface level in that they both to share the views of others but at the same time attended university from high school, they are the none of us can change or alter our reality simply same age and gender, and both are committed to because we might wish to. In this manner each completing their degree. Therefore as far as the individual reality is true for the person because attrition literature is concerned both have the he or she experiences it but it is independent of same opportunity to succeed. This position is that person due to his or her inability to alter it supported by a plethora of eminent researchers in (Gergen, 1999). the area all of whom employed quantitative Relevance to Research on Retention in Higher methodologies to examine completion and non- Education completion among undergraduate students (see To illustrate how these two for example: Abbott-Chapman, Hughes, & Wyld, differ I refer to my PhD thesis which explored 1992; Clark & Ramsay, 1990; Owen, 2003; Shah the issue of retention in higher education; why do & Burke, 1996). The approach adopted by these some students complete their undergraduate studies was to assume that students enter degree and others do not? Most of the literature university on an equal level and to track them

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over the course of their degree (or more whilst trying to make sense of my research commonly for the first semester or first year). A caused me several weeks of anxiety which was range of demographic (age, ethnicity, reinforced when I was asked (by a significant gender, financial resources etc) is gathered on person) why I was discussing philosophical these students and then depending on their positions instead of focussing on psychology status at the end of the study (still enrolled, (after all I was a psychology student!). This left graduated, or withdrawn) various conclusions me in a quandary of self doubt that called into are drawn to ‘explain’ non-completion. question not only my interpretation of the data However, the of students are in but my whole understanding of what I was trying fact vastly different as a of their prior to achieve with the research and the legitimacy experiences, the socialisation process they were (and therefore ) of the approach I had to, and the cultural differences resulting taken. After lengthy conversations with some of from their different economic positions. In the my peers and reading (again) Gergen’s (1999) examples I presented earlier, neither student can Invitation to Social Construction I was able to change her view of what university represents to understand that it was the dominance of her or her family nor is she in a position to positivism that prevented this person (and many immediately see the world of the other. So from others with whom I have discussed research) the constructionist perspective each of them has from seeing the strength of the constructionist a separate and unique reality and each is perspective. This realisation emphasised to me independent of her interpretation of that reality. the power of the empiricist perspective and the Simply sitting in the same classroom for the manner in which it controlled what was viewed same lessons does not make their experience of as scientific and showed me that a shift in university identical. Consequently, trying to perspective does not negate the rigour involved explain their experience of university and the in the scientific pursuit of knowledge; rather it fact that one of them might withdraw by looking requires a broader definition of what constitutes solely at demographic data cannot hope to science and scientific endeavour (Gergen, succeed in capturing the unique reality of the 2001b). individual, and as a researcher one is poorly Scientific Rigour placed to claim any degree of ‘understanding’ of The rules of scientific research state that it her experience. One has to look at the question must be conducted systematically, sceptically, differently and employ a different approach to and ethically (Robson, 2002) and that it must be the research process for any real understanding based on empirical data. Within the positivist to emerge. this has come to mean, controlled, Therefore, accepting the constructionist objective, value free (or value neutral) and able definition of reality calls for a change in how we to be generalised to a broader population. view science and scientific enquiry. If my However, deeper scrutiny of these rules allows reality is created out of my subjective view of for a much broader scope to scientific the world then it does not lend itself to objective investigations. or scrutiny because no-one can see the Let me illustrate each of these three points world in exactly the same way I do. All that an from a constructionism perspective with observer can do is interpret my actions through examples drawn from my own study. The first his or her understanding of what he or she thinks point systematic investigation requires giving my world is like. Therefore, as researchers we serious thought to why we are interested in must instead utilise methods of enquiry that investigating a particular issue or domain as well accept and value the role of the subjective rather as deciding how we might proceed (Robson, than the objective in our attempts to understand 2002). This scrutiny includes the role of the phenomena from the idiographic perspective. researcher in the investigation, his or her values This requires a major epistemological shift base and how this might interact with the away from empiricism towards constructionism research process, and what drives or motivates and the development of different parameters of that interest as well as which methods of enquiry investigation. Arriving at this understanding best meet the objectives of the study.

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My interest in retention was triggered by contrast, recursive interviewing offers a deeper my own experience of an undergraduate scrutiny of the research process and the role of student. I found the whole experience the researcher and as such increases the rigour of challenging, not simply from the academic the study. perspective but more so in relation to the The second point, being sceptical means processes adopted by the university and the allowing scrutiny of our , and content of the degree I studied. The thought of conclusions by peers and includes the role of the not continuing occurred to me many over researcher not just the data in that scrutiny the years as it did to some of my peers, and I (Robson, 2002). It could be argued that all began to wonder what it was that contributed to researchers subject their work to scrutiny because our dissatisfaction with the experience and what the process of conducted by journal factors motivated us to continue. I wondered why editors and conference committees requires at some of my cohort seemed so able to accept the least two reviewers to examine the work before it tenets of psychology while I constantly wanted to is accepted for publication or inclusion in the question and challenge them. As a postgraduate programme. However, I would suggest that this student I began to formulate a scrutiny needs to occur long before the that would allow the different voices to emerge publication or presentation phase; it should occur from the study and demonstrate that students throughout the entire research process. Talking could share the same surface experience but the with others about our research provides the attributed to that experience and the opportunity to explore areas and ideas that we effect it had on the individual could be very might not have considered in isolation. different. The fact that I arrived at this approach Throughout my research process I shared to the research before I had read any literature my ideas and concerns not only with my that explained the constructionist perspective supervisors but also with my fellow postgraduate indicates that it was my personal worldview that students, other lecturers and people I met through was dictating the orientation that the study should attending academic conferences. This can be follow. Once I discovered the literature, (with quite a challenging process because it exposes grateful thanks to two of my lecturers) I one to the critique of peers, and to work discovered a that allowed me to put my successfully the process needs to be founded on research design into a legitimate framework and trust, honesty, and reciprocity. But the benefits identified the specific research methods associated with adopting this approach are employed. incalculable in my view. There is a note of Using recursive techniques caution to add here though in relation to allowed me to explore the experiences of the discussing our interpretation of the interview respondents in my study and uncover the data. While scrutiny of these interpretations by meaning that the experiences had for them (the peers is beneficial, there will be times when we subjective interpretation). But as part of that as the researcher differ from them in our process I was able to scrutinise my role in the understanding of what was said and intended by interview process, and challenge how my own the participant. In these situations it is necessary experience as a student and my views and to revisit the raw data and any notes we made at might be interacting with the student narratives to the time of the interview, listen to the nuances of create my understanding and interpretation of what was said and explore why we interpreted those narratives. This reflexivity is not a normal the the way we did (Strauss & part of research conducted within the positivist Corbin, 1998, 1997). You might also speak with paradigm because of the assumption that the the participant to discuss your interpretation with researcher is separate from, or objective to, the him or her. If the of still research process. Therefore within the positivist remains after this process it is critical to trust our view the researcher has no means of scrutinising own instincts because it is the interviewer who his or her perspective to see how or to what was present with the participant during the extent his or her personal views might be interview and therefore the researcher is the only affecting the interpretation of the data. In person who experienced the entirety of the

The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 19 No 1 May 2007 Epistemology and method 23 interview, the body language, intonation, consciousness and the intentionality of human hesitation etc that occurred and that can receives valence within the research contribute to meaning and understanding of the context. But social constructionism moves whole experience. It is as a result of the beyond this modernist view of self with at conversation between that particular respondent its core and embraces the postmodernist view and the particular researcher that resulted in the that incorporates the role of context in the co-construction of meaning that emerged. construction of (Gergen, 2001b). Consequently it is the of the Multiple perspectives on an issue or topic researcher that must take precedence over the provide the researcher with a varied perspective of our peers and colleagues with understanding of how that issue appears to whom we might discuss our interpretations of the different people as a result of their different data (Crotty, 1998). While some researchers interpretations of the issue. In this manner one would take exception to this perspective I think might argue we are able to see more of the ‘’ their objections reflect the pull of positivism and associated with that issue (Berger & Luckman, therefore indicate the dominance of the traditions 1966) and this is reflected in our interpretation within psychology rather than a genuine and conclusion. understanding of the argument. The modernist view of the individual is The final issue of working ethically based on the binary notion of self/other and has requires more than following a code of conduct; resulted in dominating our it requires that we examine our motives and construction of society. A good example of this is scrutinise our actions and our research processes seen in our educational systems where we place for foreseeable and perhaps unforeseeable high commitment on the development of consequences that might affect our participants or individual thought and achievement. The have even broader repercussions to society prospectuses sent out to prospective students (O'Neill, 1989; O'Neill & Trickett, 1982; Robson, state an emphasis on, and commitment to, 2002). During the data phase I was a individual goals and personal development. member of staff in the school of psychology and Inherent in these statements is the absence of I was interviewing psychology students about communal responsibility and the manner in their experience of the school. The potential for which individual development can contribute to harm to the participants was particularly relevant societal wellbeing. In , the value we place in this context and required additional vigilance on the individual is defined by the absence of an to ensure that the participants felt safe enough to equal commitment to the . Students are discuss their experiences openly and were positioned as individuals who must be protected from identification both during the ‘independent’ and ‘self-reliant’ and can research process and afterwards. To this end I potentially isolate students within the insisted that no-one other than me knew who the environment: We become what Gergen (1999) participants were and I presented interview data describes as isolated doomed to enter and as a series of composite narratives (Gutierrez leave the world as self with everyone else defined Soladatenko, 2002; Hanninen & Koski-Jannes, as other and therefore different and separate 1999; Rourke, et al. 2000) that represented the from. issues raised by the students but which could not Viewing the person as a relational being identify any individual. rather than one half of the self-other dyad Adopting a broader definition of scientific changes the focus of the debate. Once again enquiry allows for much greater flexibility in drawing on Gergen’s (1999) analogy, we focus methodology and deeper understanding of the on the game of chess rather than the component unique characteristics of a domain and the pieces. The game is played by moving the individuals who comprise it. It allows for the individual pieces across the board, but the pieces examination of human agency and thought and gain relevance from the game. As individuals we the relationship between this and the context in are at the same time constructed by, and which it occurs (Berger & Luckman, 1966). With constituents of society; we understand ourselves this view we see a re-emergence of the notion of and find meaning and relevance from our roles

The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 19 No 1 May 2007 Epistemology and method 24 and place within the collective, while at the same role of student also presupposes the role of time society is constructed by the individuals that ‘teacher’ as someone from whom we can learn comprise it. In this way social constructionism and therefore each is constructed by the other as values the role of the person in contributing to a function of the definitions we apply to the roles. the whole but recognises the influence of the However, each of these roles also collective in creating the individual. There is a undergoes transformation as a function of our synergistic relationship between the collective gender, age, ethnicity and the different cultural and the person without which both cease to have norms of each society. For a traditional Asian meaning and relevance (Gergen, 1999, 2001b). student the role of student is passive and the This relationship is played out in the separateness teacher is viewed in high esteem as a person of that some students feel within university and the knowledge to be respected. In this reality it is struggle they have in finding meaning in their inappropriate for the student to question or role of ‘student’ as well as in their course. It is debate the teacher. For some it is even also manifest in the research process with each disrespectful to ask a question in order to clarify party in the interview setting contributing understanding for to do so implies that the something to the shared understanding of the teacher has failed to impart knowledge issue. The participant and the interviewer are adequately and therefore is not competent. This each individual ‘pieces’ playing the specific interpretation of the roles does not hold in most culturally defined roles of ‘researcher’ and Western schools and certainly not once we get to ‘respondent’. The process of the interview allows university. The notion of questioning and both the emergence of the individual experience debating ideas and perspectives is desired and and the creation of a combined understanding of often encouraged at all levels of education. the phenomenon. Therefore, it is possible for different The Relevance of Language interpretations to be made as a function of these In discussing a socially constructed world differing norms; the Australian academic who one needs to examine the role of language wants student to debate and challenge these because it is via language that we communicate, perspectives might be confronted by the create and share the socially constructed norms International student who constantly defers to her and values that permit engagement and judgement and reiterates her every utterance. It participation in a collective (Berger & Luckman, might lead the lecturer to assume the student 1966; Shotter, 1993) and it is through language lacks the capacity for critical thought and thus that society and the individual come into being. lead her to be overly judgemental or harsh with Therefore, we cannot understand either the this student. The student too is likely to feel the collective society or our role as an individual dissatisfaction of the teacher and strive harder to without understanding the way each is please, resulting in discontent for both. It is constructed by the language we choose to within these dynamically constructed describe them and this is particularly so when relationships that we develop a shared meaning looking at the experience of students. For of what we come to understand as reality. With instance, the term ‘student’ brings with it certain different constructions, meanings, and assumptions and rules: As a student we are to understandings being possible from the same ‘learn’ which assumes a degree of ‘ability’ to utterances, the role and power of language takes learn and ‘commitment’ to do so. To some a position of greater importance in society. degree the term ‘student’ implies novice or Therefore research conducted within a social unknowing and consequently, consciously or constructionist epistemology is more likely to unconsciously academic staff can ignore the fact involve a heavy reliance on the spoken word that students often have a vast wealth of through conversation, , narrative, and experience that they bring to the classroom. If similar (Gergen, 2001b; Padgett, 2004). this knowledge were valued and included in the By accepting the social constructionist discussion and debate within the learning context view of the world that reality is constrained by it would not only enhance the learning but would the socio-cultural-historical-temporal space in validate the individuals within that context. The which it occurs and by the persons involved in it

The Australian Community Psychologist Volume 19 No 1 May 2007 Epistemology and method 25 we are required to use research methodologies fundamental in being able to articulate the that are able to extract the degree of detail often rationale for my research design and obscured by more traditional methods. methodology. Once I saw the clear relationship Qualitative methodologies provide the means to between my epistemology and my methods the seek a deeper understanding and to explore the entire study made much more sense. The fact that nuances of experiences not available through I intuitively knew the only way to explore the quantification. By utilising these methodologies issue of retention was to understand the we are able to expand on the ‘what’ questions of individual and highly diverse experiences of human existence asked by positivism to include students from their perspective highlights that my the ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions asked by worldview is a deep seated integral part of who I constructionism. Positivism emphasises the am as a person and as a researcher. The fact that I individual as the sole creator of his or her destiny now have the understanding of why and the binary notion of self/other is reinforced, these relationships exist simply provides me with whereas qualitative methodologies accept the the language to legitimise my perspective to a person and society as co-constructors of his or scientific audience; it does not change the her reality and the synergy of person and society essential components of me. It is somewhat ironic is recognised. though that having survived my journey of Consequently, it can be argued that the use personal and intellectual and of qualitative methodologies is predicated upon constructing a chapter in my thesis that explained social constructionism and the adherence to a the relationships between these components I was social constructionist philosophy requires the use advised that a ‘theoretical perspective’ was of methods. In this manner unnecessary and I should remove the whole we see a natural relationship between interview chapter. Not only did I reject this on my techniques as a method and a thesis I reject it as a philosophy. I believe it is social constructionist epistemology. This is a essential for researchers to understand who they very different situation than the positivist are, what they hold true, and to understand the researcher who might employ qualitative inherent and prejudice that we are all subject methods to collect some data; this is not to as a function of our context: And it is critical qualitative research. Understanding the that we understand these relationships before we relationship between philosophy and embark on our research. One cannot ignore the methodologies makes the selection of appropriate role of the person in the research process and this methods easier because we understand the is equally true of the researcher as it is of the foundation upon which that choice is predicated. participant. It also identifies our role in the research process I don’t regret a single moment of the as co-constructors of the reality that is the struggle and frustration that I experienced in research process. We bring to our research our trying to understand the relationship between worldviews complete with bias and prejudice – it epistemology and methodology because I is not possible to separate the me from the emerged from the experience with a greater research. The research process then becomes one degree of clarity about who I am and the of co-construction: In partnership with our researcher I can become. I am also genuinely respondents we create an interpretation of his or grateful to the opposition I received from the her reality. The importance of language in the person who told me it was irrelevant to process and the power of language to shape and understand these relationships – had I not determine our understanding of that reality is experienced this I might not have examined my self-evident and so too is the use of interviews in belief system and its connections to the research understanding that construction. process quite so deeply. Conclusion References At a personal level, understanding the Abbott-Chapman, J., Hughes, P., & Wyld, C. relationship between my view of reality (1992). Monitoring students . A () and the meaning I ascribed to framework for improving student knowledge and its creation (epistemology) was performance and reducing attrition in

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Address correspondence to Dr. Dawn Darlaston-Jones School of & University of Notre Dame PO Box 1225 FREMANTLE 6959 Ph: (08) 9433 0567 Email: [email protected]

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