Chapter 4 Research Philosophy PDF

Slide 4.1 Chapter 4 Understanding research philosophies and approaches Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thorn...

Slide 4.1 Chapter 4 Understanding research philosophies and approaches Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.2 By the end of this chapter you should be able to: define ontology, epistemology and axiology, and explain their relevance to business research; reflect on your own epistemological, ontological and axiological stance; understand the main research paradigms that are significant for business research; explain the relevance for business research of philosophical positions such as positivism, critical realism, interpretivism, postmodernism and pragmatism; reflect on and articulate your own philosophical position in relation to your research; distinguish between deductive, inductive, and abductive approaches to theory development. Figure 4.1 The research ‘onion’ Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.3 Underlying issues of data collection and analysis The research ‘onion’ Saunders et al, (2008) Figure 4.1 The research ‘onion’ Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.4 Understanding your research philosophy (1) ‘Research philosophy is an over-arching term relating to the development of knowledge and the nature of that knowledge’ Adapted from Saunders et al, (2009) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.5 Understanding your research philosophy (2) Thinking about research philosophy Ontology refers to assumptions about the nature of reality. Epistemology concerns assumptions about knowledge, what constitutes acceptable, valid and legitimate knowledge, and how we can communicate knowledge to others Pragmatism asserts that concepts are only relevant where they support action (Kelemen and Rumens 2008). Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.6 Understanding your research philosophy (3) Aspects of ontology Objectivism incorporates the assumptions of the natural sciences, arguing that the social reality that we research is external to us and others (referred to as social actors) Subjectivism incorporates assumptions of the arts and humanities Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.7 Understanding your research philosophy (4) Aspects of philosophy Positivism - the stance of the natural scientist Realism - direct and critical realism Interpretivism – researchers as ‘social actors’ Axiology – studies judgements about value Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.8 Research paradigms Definition ‘A way of examining social phenomenon from which particular understandings of these phenomena can be gained and explanations attempted’ Saunders et al. (2009) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.9 Research Approaches (1) Deduction 5 sequential stages of testing theory Deducing a hypothesis Expressing the hypothesis operationally Testing the operational hypothesis Examining the specific outcome of the enquiry Modifying the theory (if necessary) Adapted from Robson (2002) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.10 Research Approaches (2) Characteristics of Deduction Explaining causal relationships between variables Establishing controls for testing hypotheses Independence of the researcher Concepts operationalised for quantative measurement Generalisation Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.11 Research Approaches (3) Induction Building theory by – Understanding the way human build their world Permitting alternative explanations of what’s going on Being concerned with the context of events Using more qualitative data Using a variety of data collection methods Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.12 Choosing your research approach The right choice of approach helps you to Make a more informed decision about the research design Think about which strategies will work for your research topic Adapt your design to cater for any constraints Adapted from Easterby-Smith et al. (2008) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.13 Combining research approaches Things worth considering The nature of the research topic The time available The extent of risk The research audience – managers and markers Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.14 Deductive and Inductive research Major differences between these approaches Saunders et al, (2009) Table 4.2 Major differences between deductive and inductive approaches to research Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.15 Summary: Chapter 4 Research philosophy relates to the development of knowledge and the nature of that knowledge contains important assumptions about the way in which you view the world Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.16 Summary: Chapter 4 Three major ways of thinking about research philosophy Epistemology Ontology – objectivism and subjectivism Axiology Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.17 Summary: Chapter 4 Social science paradigms can generate fresh insights into real-life issues and problems Four of the paradigms are: Functionalist Radical humanist Interpretive Radical structuralist Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009 Slide 4.18 Summary: Chapter 4 The two main research approaches are Deduction - theory and hypothesis are developed and tested Induction – data are collected and a theory developed from the data analysis Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009