DOCSLIB.ORG

Paradigm Considerations and Mixed Methods in Social Science Research: the Worldview Matrix

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Paradigm Considerations and Mixed Methods in Social Science Research: the Worldview Matrix # 23-F Paradigm Considerations and Mixed Methods in Social Science Research: The Worldview Matrix Thomas W. Christ Ph.D. Director and Chair of the Doctoral in Education Program; School of Education University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT Researchers in the social sciences have seen a strong shift known as Mixed Methods. Despite the widespread utilization of Mixed Methods across disciplines, the field is evolving both as a methodology, and the methods used. Mixed Methods advocates including Creswell, Greene, Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, Mertens, Morse, Tashakkori, Teddlie, and interpretive research proponents including Denzin, Flick, and Morgan have all cited Pragmatism as the dominant paradigm in Mixed Methods research. Christ, Maxwell, and Lipscomb recently indicated that alternative paradigms are also viable and available. Considering how paradigms are used in the field of Mixed Methods helps the field continue to grow. This paper addresses current discussions about alternatives to Pragmatism including Critical Realism, and then, presents a tool called the worldview matrix that is designed to assist researchers, methodology teachers, and students to clarify and organize their Mixed Methods research design. Worldview Post-Positivism Constructivism Pragmatism Critical Realism Transformative Action Ontology: Etic-Outsider Singular Emic- Co- Multiple forms of Different levels of Inequalities exist. (Reality is what Reality Exists construction of reality. Follows a reality exist ranging Exposing power “exists” and ways in although imperfectly meaning. Each Deweyan “What from the objective that structures and bring which it can be represented in terms persons’ reality is works” action oriented is independent of voice of the oppressed represented) of probabilities different. No absolute view of reality human understanding to light can lead to truths to subjective truths social change that we understand and grasp in the process of meaning making Epistemology: Researcher distances Co-construction of Etic & Emic There are levels of Exposing inequalities (Theory of self from ‘subjects’ to knowledge about perceptions can co- objective truths that and representing the knowledge gain an ‘accurate’ events occurs as a exist in a single study. can be discerned, but voice of the oppressed constructed using ‘valid’ and ‘reliable’ result of closeness: Each strand forms finding absolute truths to the masses various sources of representation Researcher & knowledge that can be about social broadens social data. Analysis participants work compared and phenomenon is awareness. depends on research together to create combined increasing impossible Participants are question, data source knowledge. the credibility of the collaborators and purpose of the studies findings. study Axiology: Researcher attempts to Researcher and Multiple stances: Researchers Oppression exists in (Values in research) be unbiased and not participants recognize Values brought to the worldview influences the world and the role How the role of values introduce own bias and negotiate forefront and how knowledge is of research should be influences the way values/prior their shared recognized as produced, to work towards research is conducted experiences about interpretations and influencing the differentiated, increasing social when conducting and their views about the research process. stratified, and changed justice. analyzing data value the research into meanings and process representative realities inferred from multiple sources of data Methodology: Deductive approach: Inductive approach: Mixed Approach: Construction and Participatory and How the processes of Test and verify A- Researcher uses Various forms of interpretation of action oriented research are used priori theories. constructivist qualitative and “subjective” and research is designed to Determine significant grounded data quantitative data are “objective” data, enhance individual, difference between analysis approaches to blended to create a processes are called social, and societal groups or strength in building patterns, representative model “abduction” and wellbeing relationships between themes, and general “retroduction” that are variables. concepts used to formulate “conceptualizations”..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Part Four - 'Made in America: Christian Fundamentalism' Transcript
    Part Four - 'Made in America: Christian Fundamentalism' Transcript Date: Wednesday, 10 November 2010 - 2:00PM Location: Barnard's Inn Hall 10 November 2010 Made in America Christian Fundamentalism Dr John A Dick Noam Chomsky: “We must bear in mind that the U.S. is a very fundamentalist society, perhaps more than any other society in the world – even more fundamentalist than Saudi Arabia or the Taliban. That's very surprising.” Overview: (1) Introduction (2) Five-stage evolution of fundamentalism in the United States (3) Features common to all fundamentalisms (4) What one does about fundamentalism INTRODUCTION: In 1980 the greatly respected American historian, George Marsden published Fundamentalism and American Culture, a history of the first decades of American fundamentalism. The book quickly rose to prominence, provoking new studies of American fundamentalism and contributing to a renewal of interest in American religious history. The book’s timing was fortunate, for it was published as a resurgent fundamentalism was becoming active in politics and society. The term “fundamentalism” was first applied in the 1920’s to Protestant movements in the United States that interpreted the Bible in an extreme and literal sense. In the United States, the term “fundamentalism” was first extended to other religious traditions around the time of the Iranian Revolution in 1978-79. In general all fundamentalist movements arise when traditional societies are forced to face a kind of social disintegration of their way of life, a loss of personal and group meaning and the introduction of new customs that lead to a loss of personal and group orientation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Art and Science of Framing an Issue
    MAPThe Art and Science of Framing an Issue Authors Contributing Editors © January 2008, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP). All rights reserved. “Ideas are a medium of exchange and a mode of influence even more powerful than money, votes and guns. … Ideas are at the center of all political conflict.” —Deborah Stone, Policy Process Scholar, 2002 The Art and Science of 1 Framing an Issue an Issue and Science of Framing Art The The Battle Over Ideas 2 Understanding How People Think 2 What Is Framing? 4 Levels of Framing 5 Tying to Values 6 Why Should I Spend Resources on Framing? 6 How Do I Frame My Issue? 7 Step 1. Understand the Mindset of Your Target Audience 7 Step 2. Know When Your Current Frames Aren’t Working 7 Step 3. Know the Elements of a Frame 7 Step 4. Speak to People’s Core Values 9 Step 5. Avoid Using Opponents’ Frames, Even to Dispute Them 9 Step 6. Keep Your Tone Reasonable 10 Step 7. Avoid Partisan Cues 10 Step 8. Build a New Frame 10 Step 9. Stick With Your Message 11 “Ideas are a medium of exchange and a mode of influence even more powerful than money, votes and guns. … Ideas are at the center of all political conflict.” —Deborah Stone, Policy Process Scholar, 2002 2 The Battle Over Ideas Are we exploring for oil that’s desperately needed to drive our economy and sustain our nation? Or are we Think back to when you were 10 years old, staring at destroying delicate ecological systems and natural your dinner plate, empty except for a pile of soggy– lands that are a legacy to our grandchildren? These looking green vegetables.
    [Show full text]
  • Psychology, Meaning Making and the Study of Worldviews: Beyond Religion and Non-Religion
    Psychology, Meaning Making and the Study of Worldviews: Beyond Religion and Non-Religion Ann Taves, University of California, Santa Barbara Egil Asprem, Stockholm University Elliott Ihm, University of California, Santa Barbara Abstract: To get beyond the solely negative identities signaled by atheism and agnosticism, we have to conceptualize an object of study that includes religions and non-religions. We advocate a shift from “religions” to “worldviews” and define worldviews in terms of the human ability to ask and reflect on “big questions” ([BQs], e.g., what exists? how should we live?). From a worldviews perspective, atheism, agnosticism, and theism are competing claims about one feature of reality and can be combined with various answers to the BQs to generate a wide range of worldviews. To lay a foundation for the multidisciplinary study of worldviews that includes psychology and other sciences, we ground them in humans’ evolved world-making capacities. Conceptualizing worldviews in this way allows us to identify, refine, and connect concepts that are appropriate to different levels of analysis. We argue that the language of enacted and articulated worldviews (for humans) and worldmaking and ways of life (for humans and other animals) is appropriate at the level of persons or organisms and the language of sense making, schemas, and meaning frameworks is appropriate at the cognitive level (for humans and other animals). Viewing the meaning making processes that enable humans to generate worldviews from an evolutionary perspective allows us to raise news questions for psychology with particular relevance for the study of nonreligious worldviews. Keywords: worldviews, meaning making, religion, nonreligion Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank Raymond F.
    [Show full text]
  • How Our Worldviews Shape Our Practice
    How Our Worldviews Shape Our Practice Rachel M. Goldberg This article reviews research on the effect of a conflict resolution practi- tioner’s worldview on practice. The results revealed patterns connecting worldview frames with differing uses of power. Forty-three environ- mental and intercultural practitioners were interviewed, and narrative and metaphor analysis was used to reveal key worldview orientations in their practice stories. The results are correlated in continuums and “pro- files” of the worldview orientation. The findings strengthen previous work questioning the effects of the traditional neutrality stance, deepen fieldwide arguments for the embedded nature of worldview and cul- ture, and describe new methods that reveal some of the dynamics between worldview and practice. Native American tribe spent many years struggling against a govern- Ament agency for permanent residence status on their traditional homeland (the ability to live in and use their traditional homeland). Over time, their argument became a fight about permanent homes, because this was the only way to argue for use of the land that the agency understood. For the agency representatives, permanent housing (a building) was syn- onymous with permanent residence (ability to live on and use the land). One day, the mediator who was working with the tribe asked them why they wanted permanent homes. It turned out that the area became very hot during the summer; the tribe had traditionally built temporary homes in the winter and migrated to the mountains during the hot season. It become clear that the tribe did not even really want permanent housing, but a right to reside legally in the area—in their case, a very different goal.
    [Show full text]
  • American Worldview Inventory 2021 Release #4: the National Religious Realignment: Identifying Dramatic Changes in Long-Term Faith Commitments
    American Worldview Inventory 2021 Release #4: The National Religious Realignment: Identifying Dramatic Changes in Long-Term Faith Commitments Dr. George Barna, Director of Research, Cultural Research Center Release Date: June 8, 2021 One of the strengths of America for more than two centuries was the consistency of people’s faith commitments. Not only did more than nine out of 10 Americans associate with the same faith (Christianity), but that alignment brought with it common views about morality, purpose, family, lifestyle, citizenship, and values. But the dramatic erosion of shared Christian belief over the past 30 years is ushering in a number of rapid and radical changes in the relatively stable major religious alignments of America, according to new research from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. The latest findings from theAmerican Worldview Inventory 2021 identify a number of major shifts in the U.S. religious landscape, including: • dramatic changes in the faith of American Hispanics, with a decrease in the number of Hispanic Catholics, accompanied by a sharp increase in Hispanic “Don’ts”—those who don’t believe, don’t know, or don’t care if God exists; • fast growth in Islamic, as well as Eastern and New Age religions; • a consistent 30-year decline in both Christianity and confidence in religion; • a breathtaking drop in four critical spiritual indicators: belief in God, belief in the Bible, recognition of salvation through Jesus Christ, and possession of a biblical worldview; • and a surprising increase in belief in reincarnation, even among Christians. Hispanic Faith For the past several decades Hispanics have been a major growth segment for the Catholic Church in America.
    [Show full text]
  • Worldviews in Religious Education Trevor Cooling, with Bob Bowie and Farid Panjwani Theos Is the UK’S Leading Religion and Society Think Tank
    Report Worldviews in Religious Education Trevor Cooling, with Bob Bowie and Farid Panjwani Theos is the UK’s leading religion and society think tank. It has a broad Christian basis and exists to enrich the conversation about the role of faith in society through research, events, and media commentary. Published by Theos in 2020 Scripture quotations are from the © Theos New Revised Standard Version, copyright © 1989 the Division of ISBN 978-1-9996680-4-4 Christian Education of the National Some rights reserved. See copyright Council of the Churches of Christ in licence for details. For further the United States of America. Used information and subscription details by permission. All rights reserved. please contact: Theos Licence Department +44 (0) 20 7828 7777 77 Great Peter Street [email protected] London SW1P 2EZ theosthinktank.co.uk Report Worldviews in Religious Education Trevor Cooling, with Bob Bowie and Farid Panjwani Worldviews in Religious Education 2 Acknowledgements 3 Worldviews in Religious Education Theos would like to thank the authors for their significant time and insight in the preparation of this report, as well as Culham St Gabriel’s Trust for their generous funding towards this project. 4 Contents 5 Worldviews in Religious Education Executive summary 7 Introduction 13 Chapter 1: Paradigm changes in Religious Education 19 Chapter 2: Criticisms and defence of the “worldview” approach 32 Chapter 3: A distinctive contribution to the debate about worldview 50 Chapter 4: Religious influence in and on Religious Education 72 Chapter 5: Personal Reflections 89 Conclusions 110 6 Executive Summary 7 Worldviews in Religious Education Religious Education in schools is a vital means of ensuring religious literacy in any society – but in the UK, it is under threat.
    [Show full text]
  • Worldview: Vital for Mission and Ministry in the 21St Century
    De Oliveira: Worldview: Vital for Mission and Ministry in the 21st Century Worldview: Vital for Mission and Ministry in the 21st Century least displayed, an inability to face such changes. By Paulo De Oliveira The purpose of this article is to raise awareness and encour- age dialogue among Adventist scholars and missionaries about As mission and ministry move the importance of the worldview into the twenty-first century concept in doing ministry and mis- it is becoming clear that the sion in the twenty-first century. challenges and revolutions in The Adventist emphasis on cog- technology, transportation, com- nitive knowledge and behavioral munication, and the philosophic change instead of working for deep postmodern condition is forever changes in worldview assumptions changing the landscape of the and allegiance is not very effective world’s societies. The question when working with postmoderns. that remains to be answered is Adventists need to understand whether Seventh-day Adventist and practice the art of communi- ministry and mission has the cating to produce transformation ability to adjust quickly enough at the worldview level. Movement in the face of such challenges forward toward this new paradigm to take full advantage of the of ministry and mission will be opportunities that come with rooted in divine revelation through them. Until now, the Adventist biblical studies but also will in- paradigm for ministry and mis- clude work to understand the sion has often overlooked, or at human context through human studies (figure 1). Paulo De Oliveira The church is in some places is the senior pas- already reacting to this new tor of the Progres- emerging reality.
    [Show full text]
  • Artefacts As Mere Illustrations of a Worldview Terence Rajivan Edward
    Artefacts as Mere Illustrations of a Worldview Terence Rajivan Edward Abstract: This paper responds to an argument against a kind of anthropology. According to the argument, if the aim of anthropology is to describe the different worldviews of different groups, then anthropologists should only refer to material artefacts in order to illustrate a worldview; but the interest of artefacts to anthropology goes beyond mere illustration. This argument has been endorsed by key members of the ontological movement in anthropology, who found at least one of its premises in Marilyn Strathern’s writing. Keywords: anthropology, artefacts, illustrations, ontological movement, worldview description. This paper focuses on claims made by some members of a recent academic movement, in the discipline of social and cultural anthropology. The movement is known as the ontological movement, for reasons that we need not go into here. My focus below will not be on the recommendations that this movement makes for future anthropology, rather with an argument that has been made about the limitations of previous anthropology. A key text for this movement is the book Thinking through Things. The authors of the Introduction to this book – Amiria Henare, Martin Holbraad and Sari Wastell – tell us about the aim of previous anthropology. Previous anthropologists tried to describe the worldview of this or that cultural group (Henare et al. 2007, 9-10). A worldview is a set of representations of the world. The representations are typically of a highly general character and typically give an initial impression of coherence. To illustrate this point: the proposition that there are causes, the proposition that there are effects and the proposition that each effect resembles its cause are together part of some worldviews (Frazer 1925, 11).
    [Show full text]
  • A Systematic Framework for Exploring Worldviews and Its Generalization As a Multi-Purpose Inquiry Framework
    systems Article A Systematic Framework for Exploring Worldviews and Its Generalization as a Multi-Purpose Inquiry Framework David Rousseau 1,2,3,4,* and Julie Billingham 5,6 1 Centre for Systems Philosophy, Surrey KTI5 1EL, UK 2 Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull, Kingston-on-Hull HU6 7RX, UK 3 Alister Hardy Research Centre, University of Wales TSD, Lampeter SA48 7ED, UK 4 Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science, 1040 Vienna, Austria 5 Centre for Systems Philosophy, Surrey KTI5 1EL, UK; [email protected] 6 Salesforce, Inc., San Francisco, CA 94105, USA * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +44-(0)-7714-677-687 Received: 31 March 2018; Accepted: 5 July 2018; Published: 10 July 2018 Abstract: Systems science methodologies do not have a consistent way of working with worldviews, even though determining stakeholder perspectives is central to systems thinking. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive “Worldview Inquiry Framework” that can be used across methodologies to govern the process of eliciting, documenting, and comparing the worldviews of stakeholders. We discuss the systemicity of worldviews and explain how this can help practitioners to find the roots of stakeholders’ disagreements about value judgements. We then generalize the structure of the Worldview Inquiry Framework to produce a “General Inquiry Framework” that can be used to govern an inquiry process in other contexts. We show that the presented Worldview Inquiry Framework is a special case of this General Inquiry Framework and show how the General Inquiry Framework can be tailored for other contexts such as problem solving, product design, and fundamental research.
    [Show full text]
  • Getting Beyond Religion As Science: "Unstifling" Worldview Formation in American Public Education
    Getting Beyond Religion as Science: "Unstifling" Worldview Formation in American Public Education Barry P. McDonald* Abstract Since ancient times, Western civilization has witnessed a great debate over a simple but profound question: From whence did we come? Two major worldviews have dominated that debate: a theistic worldview holding that we, and the world in which we live, are the purposeful product of a supernatural creator; and a materialistic worldview holding that we are the product of unintelligent and random natural forces. This debate rose to the fore with Darwin’s publication of his theory of evolution and the development of the modern scientific establishment. In America, it initially took its most conspicuous form in efforts by creationists to ban the teaching of evolution in American public schools, and then to have creationism taught as science. After legal setbacks based on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, that effort morphed into the intelligent design movement of the past couple of decades. That movement’s aim to gain a place in the science curriculum recently stalled with a court ruling that it was, like the creationists before it, attempting to teach religious concepts as science. Most recently, a notable group of scientists and atheists have reversed the trend of defending science against religious attacks and launched a very public and aggressive campaign against religion itself. Prominent scientists and other believers have responded with works attempting to reconcile science and faith. * Associate Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law. J.D., Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois (1988). I would like to extend my grateful thanks and appreciation to Kent Greenawalt, Kurt Lash, and Steve Smith for some very helpful comments on this Article.
    [Show full text]
  • Worldview As Worship: the Dynamics of a Transformative Christian Education Eddie K
    Cedarville University DigitalCommons@Cedarville Faculty Books 2011 Worldview as Worship: The Dynamics of a Transformative Christian Education Eddie K. Baumann Cedarville University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/faculty_books Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Baumann, Eddie K., "Worldview as Worship: The Dynamics of a Transformative Christian Education" (2011). Faculty Books. 10. http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/faculty_books/10 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Cedarville, a service of the Centennial Library. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Books by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Cedarville. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Worldview as Worship: The Dynamics of a Transformative Christian Education Keywords Worldview, education, Christian education Disciplines Education Publisher Wipf & Stock Publisher's Note Excerpt used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers. http://www.wipfandstock.com ISBN 9781610971089 This book is available at DigitalCommons@Cedarville: http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/faculty_books/10 Contents List of Figures vii Preface ix Introduction xiii SECTION ONE: DEFINING WORLDVIEW AND ITS DEVELOPMENT Worldviewing: What Is a Worldview? 3 2 Philosophies, Ideologies, and Worldviews 35 3 Worldview and Culture 63 4 Worldview and Education 82 SECTION Two: THREE PRINCIPLES OF A BIBLICALLY BASED EDUCATION 5 Education: Before the Fall 111 6 Education: After the Fall 136 7 The Image of God and Education 171 SECTION THREE: DEVELOPING A TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT 8 Three Views of Christian Schooling 213 9 Common Grace and Education 247 10 Worldview as Worship 275 Bibliography 319 1 Worldviewing: What Is a Worldview? The most important things ..
    [Show full text]
  • Interpretive Frameworks
    Volume 46 Number 3 Article 2 March 2018 The Common Thread in Kuyper, Kuhn and Cognitive Psychology: Interpretive Frameworks Daniel F. A. Hitchcock Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Cognitive Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Hitchcock, Daniel F. A. (2018) "The Common Thread in Kuyper, Kuhn and Cognitive Psychology: Interpretive Frameworks," Pro Rege: Vol. 46: No. 3, 14 - 23. Available at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege/vol46/iss3/2 This Feature Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pro Rege by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Common Thread in Kuyper, Kuhn and Cognitive Psychology: Interpretive Frameworks guage, or culture. The idea that subjectivity influences the way we interpret the world is not new; neither is the idea that subjective factors influence the meth- ods, discoveries, and applications of human col- lective efforts. Over the last half-century, the bastion of objective reason has been crumbling at its Enlightenment foundation. Fatal blows have come from insights in psychology and the phi- losophy of science. Although modern positivis- tic science has been mortally wounded, I believe an integrative approach can be taken between a strong relativistic position on truth and an abso- by Daniel Hitchcock lutist one. The Christian faith as a worldview le- gitimizes the assertion that there is a “real world” “We see and understand things not as they as well as the belief that we perceive it through are but as we are.” ~Anthony de Mello— interpretive lenses, which I will be calling “inter- Awareness (1990) pretive frameworks.” These frameworks can yield a plurality of views, including imperfect ones.
    [Show full text]