Research Paradigms and Conceptual Frameworks
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Jackson: Choosing a Methodology: Philosophical Underpinning
JACKSON: CHOOSING A METHODOLOGY: PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNING Choosing a Methodology: Philosophical Practitioner Research Underpinning In Higher Education Copyright © 2013 University of Cumbria Vol 7 (1) pages 49-62 Elizabeth Jackson University of Cumbria [email protected] Abstract As a university lecturer, I find that a frequent question raised by Masters students concerns the methodology chosen for research and the rationale required in dissertations. This paper unpicks some of the philosophical coherence that can inform choices to be made regarding methodology and a well-thought out rationale that can add to the rigour of a research project. It considers the conceptual framework for research including the ontological and epistemological perspectives that are pertinent in choosing a methodology and subsequently the methods to be used. The discussion is exemplified using a concrete example of a research project in order to contextualise theory within practice. Key words Ontology; epistemology; positionality; relationality; methodology; method. Introduction This paper arises from work with students writing Masters dissertations who frequently express confusion and doubt about how appropriate methodology is chosen for research. It will be argued here that consideration of philosophical underpinning can be crucial for both shaping research design and for explaining approaches taken in order to support credibility of research outcomes. It is beneficial, within the unique context of the research, for the researcher to carefully -
On Becoming a Pragmatic Researcher: the Importance of Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 482 462 TM 035 389 AUTHOR Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Leech, Nancy L. TITLE On Becoming a Pragmatic Researcher: The Importance of Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies. PUB DATE 2003-11-00 NOTE 25p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association (Biloxi, MS, November 5-7, 2003). PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Pragmatics; *Qualitative Research; *Research Methodology; *Researchers ABSTRACT The last 100 years have witnessed a fervent debate in the United States about quantitative and qualitative research paradigms. Unfortunately, this has led to a great divide between quantitative and qualitative researchers, who often view themselves in competition with each other. Clearly, this polarization has promoted purists, i.e., researchers who restrict themselves exclusively to either quantitative or qualitative research methods. Mono-method research is the biggest threat to the advancement of the social sciences. As long as researchers stay polarized in research they cannot expect stakeholders who rely on their research findings to take their work seriously. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the debate between quantitative and qualitative is divisive, and thus counterproductive for advancing the social and behavioral science field. This paper advocates that all graduate students learn to use and appreciate both quantitative and qualitative research. In so doing, students will develop into what is termed "pragmatic researchers." (Contains 41 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. On Becoming a Pragmatic Researcher 1 Running head: ON BECOMING A PRAGMATIC RESEARCHER U.S. -
Conceptual Framework Spring, 2014
Conceptual Framework Spring, 2014 Conceptual Framework University of Arkansas at Monticello School of Education 1 Conceptual Framework Spring, 2014 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO (UAM) SCHOOL OF EDUCATION THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Introduction The University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) has a rich educational heritage of teaching and learning that has provided a “Century of Opportunity” for the residents of southeast Arkansas and the state since its humble beginnings as The Fourth District Agricultural School in 1909. To understand the history of teacher education at UAM, the beginnings of the university itself must be explored. Classes began in 1911 with students in the sixth through twelfth grades attending. Freshman and sophomore college courses were added in 1923 and the institution was accredited as a junior college in 1928. Senior college courses were added in 1933 and, the following year, the first degrees were granted by Arkansas A&M College. The campus was established on what was once part of a 6,000 acre cotton plantation owned by Judge and Mrs. William Turner Wells. “Judge Billy” and “Miss Pattie” were prominent figures in southeast Arkansas and the name of Wells is imbedded in the social and political history of the state. Judge and Mrs. Wells lived the idyllic life of Southern planters and entertained frequently in their plantation home that was located on what is now the site of the Fred J. Taylor Library. In April of 1909, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 100 which created four district agricultural schools. For the southeast district, descendants of Judge and Mrs. Wells offered the Wells Plantation home site with 200 acres of contiguous land for the new school/experiment farm. -
The Philosophical Underpinnings of Educational Research
The Philosophical Underpinnings of Educational Research Lindsay Mack Abstract This article traces the underlying theoretical framework of educational research. It outlines the definitions of epistemology, ontology and paradigm and the origins, main tenets, and key thinkers of the 3 paradigms; positivist, interpetivist and critical. By closely analyzing each paradigm, the literature review focuses on the ontological and epistemological assumptions of each paradigm. Finally the author analyzes not only the paradigm’s weakness but also the author’s own construct of reality and knowledge which align with the critical paradigm. Key terms: Paradigm, Ontology, Epistemology, Positivism, Interpretivism The English Language Teaching (ELT) field has moved from an ad hoc field with amateurish research to a much more serious enterprise of professionalism. More teachers are conducting research to not only inform their teaching in the classroom but also to bridge the gap between the external researcher dictating policy and the teacher negotiating that policy with the practical demands of their classroom. I was a layperson, not an educational researcher. Determined to emancipate myself from my layperson identity, I began to analyze the different philosophical underpinnings of each paradigm, reading about the great thinkers’ theories and the evolution of social science research. Through this process I began to examine how I view the world, thus realizing my own construction of knowledge and social reality, which is actually quite loose and chaotic. Most importantly, I realized that I identify most with the critical paradigm assumptions and that my future desired role as an educational researcher is to affect change and challenge dominant social and political discourses in ELT. -
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Christian Brothers University
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Christian Brothers University Christian Brothers University Education Unit Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework of the education unit has been influenced by the mission and core values of the university and the mission statement of the School of Arts. The university’s mission statement is: Educating minds. Touching hearts. Remembering the presence of God. We believe that this mission statement is best represented by the core values of the university. The core values are: Faith: Our belief in God permeates every facet of the University's life. Service: We reach out to serve one another and those beyond our campus. Community: We work to build better communities and a better society. The mission statement for the School of Arts was rewritten in 2013 and states: To advance the Lasallian synthesis of knowledge and service by teaching students to think, to communicate, to evaluate, and to appreciate. Building on the core values and the mission statement are the Department of Education’s candidate proficiencies as identified in the conceptual framework. This conceptual framework includes four themes – Servant- Leader, Effective and Reflective Practitioner, Champion of Individual Learner Potential, and Builder of Vibrant Learning Communities. These themes are outlined below: Theme/Core Concept: Servant-Leader 1. Candidates exhibit moral and ethical responsibility, skills of leadership, service and professionalism that represent concern for the welfare of others above self-concern and self- interest. 2. Candidates express commitment to the human mission of education and to the goals of access, equity, and opportunity. 3. Candidates show respect for others by honoring the worth and dignity of children, families, community, and colleagues. -
Conceptual Modelling and Humanities
Joint Proceedings of Modellierung 2020 Short, Workshop and Tools & Demo Papers Modellierung 2020: Short Papers 13 Conceptual Modelling and Humanities Yannic Ole Kropp,1 Bernhard Thalheim2 Abstract: Humanities are becoming a hyping field of intensive research for computer researchers. It seems that conceptual models may be the basis for development of appropriate solutions of digitalisation problems in social sciences. At the same time, humanities and social sciences can fertilise conceptual modelling. The notion of conceptual models becomes enriched. The approaches to modelling in social sciences thus result in a deeper understanding of modelling. The main aim of this paper is to learn from social sciences for conceptual modelling and to fertilise the field of conceptual modelling. 1 The Value of Conceptual Modelling 1.1 Computer science is IT system-oriented Computer system development is a complex process and needs abstraction, separation of concerns, approaches for handling complexity and mature support for communication within development teams. Models are one of the main artefacts for abstraction and complexity reduction. Computer science uses more than 50 different kinds of modelling languages and modelling approaches. Models have thus been a means for system construction for a long time. Models are widely used as an universal instrument whenever humans are involved and an understanding of computer properties is essential. They are enhanced by commonly accepted concepts and thus become conceptual models. The main deployment scenario for models and conceptual models is still system construction (with description, prescription, and coding sub-scenarios) although other scenarios became popular, e.g. documentation, communication, negotiation, conceptualisation, and learning. 1.2 Learning from Digital Hunanities Digital humanities is becoming a hyping buzzword nowadays due to digitalisation and due to over-applying computer technology. -
A Draft of Proposed Conceptual Framework Beliefs
Professional Education Unit Conceptual Framework (Full Version) CF Committee Developed and Approved – 2/28/05 (Updated 3/03/08) Guide for the Reader WKU’s Conceptual Framework represents beliefs and values that are shared by all programs that prepare university students to enter education professional fields. These fields include: . Teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools . Library media specialists . Principals and superintendents . School counselors . School nurses . School psychologists . Speech pathologists All these education professional preparation programs are considered by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Kentucky’s Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) to represent WKU’s Professional Education Unit. Faculty representatives from each of the education fields in the Unit were involved in various aspects related to the development and approval of the Conceptual Framework. The document after this opening Guide is the full version of the WKU Conceptual Framework. An abridged student version is also available on the CEBS Professional Education Unit webpage (http://edtech.wku.edu/peu/index.htm). It is important to note that during the development of the Conceptual Framework, committee members thought it important to delineate all essential beliefs, ideas, and implications even if they were difficult to measure or live out. Thus, many beliefs, ideas, or implications reflect what the unit aspires to accomplish over time. The careful reader who is also a student completing one of -
Conceptual Model Evaluation. Towards More Paradigmatic Rigor Jan Recker1
Conceptual Model Evaluation. Towards more Paradigmatic Rigor Jan Recker1 1 Centre for Information Technology Innovation Queensland University of Technology 126 Margaret Street, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia [email protected] Abstract. Information Systems (IS) research has so far been primarily con- cerned with the development of new modeling languages, techniques, and methods. Also, evaluation approaches have been developed in order to assess the appropriateness of a modeling approach in a given context. Both modeling and evaluation approaches, however, lack epistemological rigor, leading to problems regarding the applicability of a certain modeling language in a given context on the one hand, and regarding the feasibility of certain evaluation ap- proaches towards certain modeling questions on the other hand. We therefore argue for a philosophical-paradigmatic discussion of evaluation methods for conceptual modeling languages in order to assess their applicability in given modeling contexts and present our research in progress towards a framework for paradigmatic discussion on model evaluation. Keywords. Philosophy, modeling methods, information modeling, research evaluation 1 Introduction The importance of information systems (IS) for successful businesses is widely rec- ognized [1]. Their implementation is preceded by their development through design methodologies which utilize information models to specify IS on a conceptual level. Such conceptual models have been successfully employed throughout IS theory and practice. This has led, however, to the proliferation of an enormous amount of avail- able modeling approaches. The “flooding” of the IS discipline with a multiplicity of conceptual modeling approaches consequently leads to an immanent need for com- paring and evaluating existing modeling methods in order to determine which ap- proach is most appropriate for a given modeling task. -
A Conceptual Framework for Designing Mobile Augmented Reality in Learning Basic Numbers
World Applied Sciences Journal 35 (7): 1048-1053, 2017 ISSN 1818-4952 © IDOSI Publications, 2017 DOI: 10.5829/idosi.wasj.2017.1048.1053 A Conceptual Framework for Designing Mobile Augmented Reality in Learning Basic Numbers Kamariah Awang, Syadiah Nor Wan Shamsuddin, Ismahafezi Ismail, Norkhairani Abdul Rawi and Maizan Mat Amin Faculty of Informatics and Computing, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia Abstract: Teaching and learning sessions for LINUS students need improvement while conducting the session which requires more teaching aids using new technology. However, LINUS modules still utilize traditional methods to teach students. Students cannot focus and do not enjoy the learning session. Mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous in the world today and have become a learning tool in both inside and outside the classroom. Mobile learning can be an alternative learning tool for special needs students. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a framework for designing mobile augmented reality (AR) in learning basic numbers especially for LINUS students. This framework consists of cognitive load theory, intrinsic motivation approach, compensatory approach and multimedia elements as an interactive learning method to learn basic numbers for LINUS students. Key words: Teaching and Learning Mobile Application Technology Augmented Reality LINUS INTRODUCTION and interactive. ICT will be an ubiquitous part of schooling life, with no urban-rural divide and with all LINUS stands for Literacy and Numeracy Screening. teachers and students equipped with the skills necessary The program has been implemented by the Ministry of to use this technology meaningfully and effectively [1]. Education (MOE) under the National Key Result Area Therefore, teachers should have the latest teaching aids (NKRA) mandate since 2010 to ensure students master to attract their students in teaching and learning the 21st literacy and numeracy. -
An Invitation to Qualitative Research
CHAPTER 1 An Invitation to Qualitative Research n recent years, binge drinking has caused considerable concern among admin - istrators at colleges and universities, compelled by statistics that show marked Iincreases in such behavior. A qualitative researcher studying this topic would seek to go behind the statistics to understand the issue. Recently, we attended a fac - ulty meeting that addressed the problem of binge drinking and heard concerned faculty and administrators suggest some of the following solutions: • stricter campus policies with enforced consequences • more faculty-student socials with alcohol for those over 21 years old • more bus trips into the city to local sites such as major museums to get students interested in other pastimes Although well-intentioned, these folks were grasping at straws. This is because although they were armed with statistics indicating binge drinking was prevalent and thus could identify a problem, they had no information about why this trend was occurring. Without understanding this issue on a meaningful level, it is diffi - cult to remedy. At this point, we invite you to spend 5 to 10 minutes jotting down a list of questions you think are important to investigate as we try to better under - stand the phenomenon of binge drinking at college. What Is Qualitative Research? The qualitative approach to research is a unique grounding—the position from which to conduct research—that fosters particular ways of asking questions and particular ways of thinking through problems. As noted in the opening dis - cussion of binge drinking in college, the questions asked in this type of research usually begin with words like how, why, or what. -
Realism and Pragmatism in a Mixed Methods Study
Realism and pragmatism in a mixed methods study ALLMARK, Peter <http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3314-8947> and MACHACZEK, Katarzyna <http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5308-2407> Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/18205/ This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published version ALLMARK, Peter and MACHACZEK, Katarzyna (2018). Realism and pragmatism in a mixed methods study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74 (6), 1301-1309. Copyright and re-use policy See http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive http://shura.shu.ac.uk Realism pragmatism v3 1 MS Title: Realism and Pragmatism in a mixed methods study Running Head: Realism pragmatism v2 Authors Peter ALLMARK PhD RN (Corresponding) and Katarzyna MACHACZEK PhD Job titles: Principal Research Fellow (PA) and Research Fellow (KMa) Affiliation Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University, 32 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield S10 2BP Contact details for PA [email protected] Phone: 0114 225 5727 Fax: 0114 225 4377 Address - as above Acknowledgements The authors thank the clinicians who participated in this study and the Project Hope team, who facilitated data collection process. Thanks also to John Paley for reading and commenting on an earlier version. Realism pragmatism v3 2 Conflict of interest: No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors Funding statement This discussion paper received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The empirical study discussed was funded by Project HOPE and is reported elsewhere. -
Conceptual Modeling
Conceptual Modeling Laurens Van Damme Table of contents • What are Conceptual models? • Conceptualization • Mental model • Conceptual model • How are Conceptual models different from others? • Nonnecessity • Requirements 2 What are Conceptual models? 3 Overview 4 Overview We all know what this is! 5 Overview 6 Conceptualization = set of concepts in the mind of an agent 7 Concept • Aristotle ±340BC • Cognitive processes ↳ makes, uses and transforms ↳ mental representations • Mental representations • Refer to / are about something • Non-conceptual (sensation) • Conceptual (thoughts/believes) https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/world/europe/greece-aristotle-tomb.html 8 Concept Conceptual mental representation → Rely on representation primitives = concepts Concept • Reflects regularities in reality that are cognitively relevant to us • Cognitive filter → strip out properties unnecessary for the problem 9 Concept Example Navigating on the Belgian’s highways Ordering of road segments Road segment Intersection between road segments Filtered: width, distance of or traffic on the road segments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motorways_in_Belgium 10 Conceptualization = set of concepts in the mind of an agent • Individual concepts (e.g., E19) • Relational concepts: associations that relate individual concepts https://thesaurus.plus/antonyms/conceptualization 11 Overview 12 Mental Model The external reality filtered through the lens of a conceptualization Different levels of generality: • Reflect general beliefs (e.g., every road segment has