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Page 1 the POSITIVIST METHOD Positivism Research Philosophy It THE POSITIVIST METHOD Positivism Research Philosophy It has to be acknowledged that the positivism research philosophy is difficult to be explained in a precise and succinct manner. This is because there are vast differences between settings in which positivism is used by researchers. The number variations in explaining positivism may be equal to the number of authors who addressed the area of research philosophy. Nevertheless, in its essence, positivism is based on the idea that science is the only way to learn about the truth. The text below explains positivism with the focus on business studies in particular. Positivists prefer quantitative methods such as social surveys, structured questionnaires and official statistics because these have good reliability and representativeness. Positivists see society as shaping the individual and believe that ‘social facts’ shape individual action. The positivist tradition stresses the importance of doing quantitative research such as large scale surveys in order to get an overview of society as a whole and to uncover social trends, such as the relationship between educational achievement and social class. This type of sociology is more interested in trends and patterns rather than individuals. Positivists also believe that sociology can and should use the same methods and approaches to study the social world that “natural” sciences such as biology and physics use to investigate the physical world. By adopting “scientific” techniques sociologists should be able, eventually, to uncover the laws that govern societies just as scientists have discovered the laws that govern the physical world. In positivist research, sociologists tend to look for relationships, or ‘correlations’ between two or more variables. This is known as the comparative method. Positivism: Introduction As a philosophy, positivism adheres to the view that only “factual” knowledge gained through observation (the senses), including measurement, is trustworthy. In positivism studies the role of the researcher is limited to data collection and interpretation in an objective way. In these types of studies research findings are usually observable and quantifiable. Positivism depends on quantifiable observations that lead to statistical analyses. It has been noted that “as a philosophy, positivism is in accordance with the empiricist view that knowledge stems from human experience. It has an atomistic, ontological view of the world as comprising discrete, observable elements and events that interact in an observable, determined and regular manner” Moreover, in positivism studies the researcher is independent form the study and there are no provisions for human interests within the study. Crowther and Lancaster (2008) argue that as a general rule, positivist studies usually adopt deductive approach, whereas inductive research approach is usually associated with a phenomenology philosophy. Moreover, positivism relates to the viewpoint that researcher needs to concentrate on facts, whereas phenomenology concentrates on the meaning and has provision for human interest. Researchers warn that “if you assume a positivist approach to your study, then it is your belief that you are independent of your research and your research can be purely objective. Independent means that you maintain minimal interaction with your research participants when carrying out your research.” In other words, studies with positivist paradigm are based purely on facts and consider the world to be external and objective. Five main principles of positivism research philosophy There are no differences in the logic of inquiry across sciences. The research should aim to explain and predict. Research should be empirically observable via human senses. Inductive reasoning should be used to develop statements (hypotheses) to be tested during the research process. Science is not the same as the common sense. The common sense should not be allowed to bias the research findings. Science must be value-free and it should be judged only by logic. The following are a few examples for studies that adhere to positivism research philosophy: The General Ideas of Positivism – or the Scientific Method Applied to the Study of Sociology Positivists believe that sociology can and should use the same methods and approaches to study the social world that “natural” sciences such as biology and physics use to investigate the physical world. By adopting “scientific” techniques sociologists should be able, eventually, to uncover the laws that govern societies and social behaviour just as scientists have discovered the laws that govern the physical world. Positivists believe that good, scientific research should reveal objective truths about the causes of social action – science tells us that water boils at 100 degrees and this is true irrespective of what the researcher thinks – good social research should tell us similar things about social action Because positivists want to uncover the general laws that shape human behaviour, they are interested in looking at society as a whole. They are interested in explaining patterns of human behaviour or general social trends. In other words, they are interested in getting to the ‘bigger picture’. To do this, positivists use quantitative methods such as official statistics, structured questionnaires and social surveys. Statistical, numerical data is crucial to Positivist research. Positivists need to collect statistical information in order to make comparisons. And in order to uncover general social trends. It is much more difficult to make comparisons and uncover social trends with qualitative data. These methods also allow the researcher to remain relatively detached from the research process – this way, the values of the researcher should not interfere with the results of the research and knowledge should be objective Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) – Positivism and Quantitative Sociology The modern academic discipline of sociology began with the work of Émile Durkheim (1858–1917). While Durkheim rejected much of the details of Comte’s philosophy “positivism”, he retained and refined its method. Durkheim believed that sociology should be able to predict accurately the effect of particular changes in social organisation such as an increase in unemployment or a change in the education system. Durkheim believed the primary means of researching society should be the Comparative Method which involves comparing groups and looking for correlations or relationships between 2 or more variables. This method essentially seeks to establish the cause and effect relationships in society by comparing variables. Science as an Underlying Ground for Positivism: Positivism often involves the use of existing theory to develop hypotheses to be tested during the research process. Science can be specified as a cornerstone in positivism research philosophy. Specifically, positivism relies on the following aspects of the science. 1. Science is deterministic. Scientific approach is based on assumption that X causes Y under certain circumstances. The role of researcher when following the scientific approach is to discover specific nature of cause and effect relationships. 2. Science is mechanistic. Mechanical nature of scientific approach can be explained in a way that researchers develop hypotheses to be proved or disproved via application of specific research methods. This leads to the fact that 3. Science uses method. Chosen methods are applied mechanically in order to operationalize theory or hypothesis. Application of methodology involves selection of sample, measurements, analysis and reaching conclusions about hypotheses. 4. Science deals with empiricism. In other words, science only deals with what can be seen or measured. From this perspective, science can be assessed as objective. Positivism and Interpretivism Positivists believe society shapes the individual and use quantitative methods, intepretivists believe individuals shape society and use qualitative methods. Sources Collins, H. (2010) “Creative Research: The Theory and Practice of Research for the Creative Industries” AVA Publications, p.38 Crowther, D. & Lancaster, G. (2008) “Research Methods: A Concise Introduction to Research in Management and Business Consultancy” Butterworth-Heinemann Wilson, J. (2010) “Essentials of Business Research: A Guide to Doing Your Research Project” SAGE Publications https://research-methodology.net/research-philosophy/positivism/ https://revisesociology.com/2015/05/18/positivism-interpretivism-sociology/ https://revisesociology.com/2015/05/19/positivism-sociology-social-research/.
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