RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY From Positivism to Phenomenological: Where is your research placed?

Objectives The objectives of this lecture is to: Discuss and understand the different philosophies of research Provide information to the researcher to motivate the approach taken in conducting the research project Provide information on describing the research philosophy and methodology

Question What does it mean to discover something?

Question What does it mean to discover something? What does it mean to invent something?

Question What does it mean to discover something? What does it mean to invent something? What is research? A discovery or an invention?

What is Research? The purpose of research is to discover something about the world

The Roots of Research (1) Roots of research, as we know it, can be traced back to Bacon (1561) and Descartes (1596) These roots founded research that is known as Positivistic research or Positivism Positivism is known as the natural scientist approach to research Why?

The Roots of Research (2) Natural scientists (physicists, botanists, biologists, etc.) attempted to discover the laws of nature Research mostly conducted by means of laboratory experiments Natural science researchers are totally independent during research

The Roots of Research (3) By the late nineteenth century social scientific research emerged and also used these positivistic approaches Research also conducted mostly through experiments The social science researcher act as an observer of an independent and pre-existing reality Researcher should stay distant and not allow values and bias to distort their objective views

Philosophy Different philosophers’ views led to different stances on research philosophies The following two research philosophies/models are important to us: Positivism Interpretivism

Positivism (1) Positivistic research, whether natural or social science oriented, seeks facts Results of positivistic research should be laws factual exact precise absolute

Positivism (2) According to positivists, laws provide the basis for the explanation of some phenomenon, and to predict the occurrence of the phenomenon and therefore allow them to be controlled If laws can be established between the variables, then rules can be deduced Thus, natural and social worlds are bound by certain fixed laws in a sequence of cause and effect

Positivism (3) Focus on the facts – ignore everything else Research is conducted firstly by accepting given facts of the phenomenon/happening, secondly by determining laws that govern the phenomenon and finally by forecasting future phenomena according to these laws Objectivity is required as far as possible BUT, objectivity is much harder to achieve in social sciences than in natural sciences

Positivism (4) There is a fundamental distinction between facts and values Science deals with facts Values not so well received in science Positivism in social science led to empiricism Empiricism - The practice of medicine that disregards scientific theory and relies solely on practical experience

Positivism (5) Therefore, positivism is about facts / absoluteness / exactness / preciseness Preferably total objectivity of researcher Typically: Natural science, a hypothesis proven or not proven by experiments Social science, a hypothesis proven or not proven through empirical analyses

Phenomenological (1) Social scientists began to argue against positivism Argument: physical sciences deal with objects that are exclusive / independent of human beings whereas social sciences deal with actions and behaviour that are inclusive / part-of human beings

Phenomenological (2) It is argued that interrelationship of the researcher and what is being researched is impossible to separate A phenomenon is a perceived occurrence Therefore, the phenomenological paradigm is concerned with understanding human behaviour from the researcher’s own frame of mind

Phenomenological (3) Phenomenological view is that reality cannot be researched without being part of it As the researcher forms part of reality (that being researched), subjectivity plays a role This approach has to be more qualitative Focus is on the meaning rather than the measurement of social phenomena

Interpretivism (1) Interpretivism / phenomenology focuses on the world of meaning and methods of studying it Interpretivism goes beyond facts – to meaning People, as living beings, have got meaning attached to it Interpretivism relates to the interpretation of human and organizational behaviour

Interpretivism (2) Therefore, interpretivism goes beyond the facts and study the meaning thereof In positivism it is; true/false or yes/no In interpretivism it can be: between true and false or partially yes,

Models Applied to Information Systems IS is an interdisciplinary field of study IS research can be classified as positivistic or interpretive

Models Applied to Information Systems IS research is positivistic if it involves: Evidence of formal propositions Quantifiable measures of variables Hypothesis testing Drawing of inferences about a phenomenon from a representative sample to a stated population

Models Applied to Information Systems IS research is interpretive if Researcher interacts with human subjects, changing the perceptions of both parties (thus, interpretation or meaning is attached to interaction) Case studies or observation, for example, because some interpretation is attached to the interaction

Quantitative vs Qualitative All IS research can be classified as either Quantitative originally from natural sciences Qualitative developed in social sciences

Quantitative vs Qualitative Examples of Quantitative: Survey methods Laboratory experiments Formal methods Numerical methods (mathematical modelling) Examples of Qualitative: Case studies Interviews Observation

Positivism vs Phenomenological Positivism Phenomenological Quantitative Qualitative Objective Subjective Scientific Humanistic Experimentalist Interpretivist Hypothesis testing Generating theory Uses large samples Uses small samples Data is highly specific and precise Data is rich and subjective The location is artificial The location is natural Generalises from sample to population Generalises from setting to another Facts Values True / false Likert scale (1 to 5) Measurement Meaning

Positivism vs Phenomenological Positivism Phenomenological Your research

Positivism vs Phenomenological Research Methods Positivism Phenomenological Questionnaires Case studies Surveys Interviews

Research Philosophy in Social Research Why studying Social Research? Social = involvement of people/communities The development of an Information System is viewed as a social activity, combining social systems and technology to the benefit of the organization and society as a whole

Summary (1) Natural sciences try to limit variables only to the one being researched Social sciences must accept many variables that interact Therefore, research in Natural Science can be more ‘accurate’ than in Social Sciences

Summary (2) Positivistic research: Interpretivistic research: Total objectivity Researcher does not influence the environment at all Interpretivistic research: Subjective = total objectivity cannot be guaranteed Allows for personal interpretations

Summary (3) Positivism predict and explain natural laws Interpretivism understand social practices and relations