GoogleTranslate Service


What comes first – the analytical framework or the data collection?

June 12th, 2014 by Cristina Costa

(CC) Photo by Gobetz

This is a bit of a chicken and egg question; one that I have often asked myself … out of fear that I, guided by the theory, might not allow myself to see beyond my theoretical assumptions. Classic grounded theory research shares this concern. And so does the romanticised view that many early career researchers bring to the job and which is usually epitomised by this famous quote (attributed to Einstein):

If we knew what we were doing, it would not be called research.

Grounded theory points out that pre-defining a theoretical framework is inimical to generating new knowledge (see Glaser’s work), because of our theoretical bias. That, however, is to assume that new theories emerge from a vacuum and not from prior knowledge. And although starting data collection without a framework of reference may bear incidental learning that otherwise might not be captured, there is a lingering concern that such process may lack the depth that a theoretical framework is able to provide. Both approaches present vulnerabilities and are known for dividing the research community. Yet, I think both approaches are viable.  What is important when doing research is to be able to justify our choices. This requires a reflexive endeavour to understanding the ‘researcher’s self’, i.e., our ontological, epistemological and methodological stances:

–          the ontological question: the essence of reality under study (how I, as a researcher, see the world in which I attempt to develop new knowledge, both in its form and nature);

–          the epistemological question: the essence of knowledge (how and where knowledge takes place, and what is the relationship between the knower and knowledge);

–          the methodological question: the source and tool of new knowledge (the means through which new knowledge can be attained).

Being able to answer these questions is to learn where we stand; the philosophical quest of every researcher. I dwelled on this long enough during my PhD to then find out that my research paradigm aligned well with the Bourdieuian lens, i.e., that I see the world as a fluid social construction within structured, structuring and symbolic structures, and that knowledge is a contextual interpretation of such structures. His influence is so strong that it now informs, and influences, my perceptions of my day-to-day experiences. Nonetheless, this take on the social world did not materialise right from the onset of my research project; it rather emerged and matured through the process of collecting and especially analysing data, even though I did survey existing literature as Frances Bell points out here.  What I realised was that the literature reviewed did not provide answers to the data I collected, thus creating the need to look for an analytical framework post data collection. Having said that, the literature review allowed me to create the background narrative that enabled my research project.

Now, post PhD, and after ‘discovering’  Bourdieu’s work, I face a different dilemma: that of allowing (or not) Bourdieu to frame my research. In the past I let Bourdieu help answer critical aspects of online practice that the learning technology literature had not anticipated. Do I now allow him to ‘ask’ the questions that frame my future research projects?

  • (CC) Photo by Gobetz

The post What comes first – the analytical framework or the data collection? appeared first on Social Theory Applied.

PlayPlay
Please follow and like us:

Comments are closed.

  • Search Pontydysgu.org

    Social Media




    News Bites

    Cyborg patented?

    Forbes reports that Microsoft has obtained a patent for a “conversational chatbot of a specific person” created from images, recordings, participation in social networks, emails, letters, etc., coupled with the possible generation of a 2D or 3D model of the person.

    Please follow and like us:


    Racial bias in algorithms

    From the UK Open Data Institute’s Week in Data newsletter

    This week, Twitter apologised for racial bias within its image-cropping algorithm. The feature is designed to automatically crop images to highlight focal points – including faces. But, Twitter users discovered that, in practice, white faces were focused on, and black faces were cropped out. And, Twitter isn’t the only platform struggling with its algorithm – YouTube has also announced plans to bring back higher levels of human moderation for removing content, after its AI-centred approach resulted in over-censorship, with videos being removed at far higher rates than with human moderators.

    Please follow and like us:


    Gap between rich and poor university students widest for 12 years

    Via The Canary.

    The gap between poor students and their more affluent peers attending university has widened to its largest point for 12 years, according to data published by the Department for Education (DfE).

    Better-off pupils are significantly more likely to go to university than their more disadvantaged peers. And the gap between the two groups – 18.8 percentage points – is the widest it’s been since 2006/07.

    The latest statistics show that 26.3% of pupils eligible for FSMs went on to university in 2018/19, compared with 45.1% of those who did not receive free meals. Only 12.7% of white British males who were eligible for FSMs went to university by the age of 19. The progression rate has fallen slightly for the first time since 2011/12, according to the DfE analysis.

    Please follow and like us:


    Quality Training

    From Raconteur. A recent report by global learning consultancy Kineo examined the learning intentions of 8,000 employees across 13 different industries. It found a huge gap between the quality of training offered and the needs of employees. Of those surveyed, 85 per cent said they , with only 16 per cent of employees finding the learning programmes offered by their employers effective.

    Please follow and like us:


    Other Pontydysgu Spaces

    • Pontydysgu on the Web

      pbwiki
      Our Wikispace for teaching and learning
      Sounds of the Bazaar Radio LIVE
      Join our Sounds of the Bazaar Facebook goup. Just click on the logo above.

      We will be at Online Educa Berlin 2015. See the info above. The stream URL to play in your application is Stream URL or go to our new stream webpage here SoB Stream Page.

      Please follow and like us:
  • Twitter

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Meta

  • Categories