Historical and Philosophical Methods of Research Emily H. Wughalter, Ed.D. Spring 2007 Research Methods in Kinesiology
Historical Procedures
Historical Research Defined Examination of what occurred in the past Historians explain change over time
Clear Question/problem Formulate a question/problem Collect source materials Criticize source materials Formulate hypotheses to explain events or conditions Draw conclusions
Process of Historical Research Collect facts Select facts Verify facts Classify facts
Sport History Journals Journal of Sport History International Journal of Sport History Canadian Journal of Sport History
Context Good forms of historical research place the idea in context Integrate time, places, people, and events
Primary Sources Eye witness Autobiography Letters First hand knowledge Get lots of views!!!
Secondary Sources Books Newspapers Second hand information Textbooks
Official Records Federal State Local Church/Synagogue/Mosque/Temple Professional Organizations
Personal Records Diaries Autobiographies Letters Wills Deeds Contracts
Oral Tradition Myths Folklore Dances Games
Pictures Photos CDs Microfilm Microfiche
Published Newspapers Pamphlets
Mechanical Records Tapes Records CDs
External Criticism Authenticity Is the article really written when it was supposed to be written? Is the article really written by whom it was supposed to be written?
Internal Criticism Accuracy of the record Record of agreement among the sources
Historical Research Descriptive – lists names and dates – analyses of who, what, where Analytic or interpretive – analyzes how and why Draw conclusions
Modern Trends Quantitatively based Oral history Video history Electronic sources
Ordering the Document Chronologically By subject matter A combination of chronology and subject
Problems Encountered in Historical Research Overuse of secondary source materials Not enough internal criticism Poor weaving together of thoughts Lack of context, need to ground information in an historical context Personal bias Poor writing style Insufficiently thought out methodology Poor record keeping
Historians Use a Different Way of Searching for the Truth Must love to read Must love to work alone Must like detective work Must be able to stick to it Must love to write
Historians Investigate Individuals Institutions Organizations Laws Curricula Administrative structures Textbooks Programs
Examples of Historical Research in Kinesiology Study of intramural programs Development of women’s athletics Play patterns of a specific culture
Examples Heracles at Olympia and the Exclusion of Women in the Ancient Olympic Games (Mouratidis) An Outline of the History of Women and Western Sport in Japan (Seiwa) Transgressions and Transcendence: Surpassing Disciplinary Boundaries (Wughalter)
Philosophical Research
Philosophical Research Defined Philosophical research is concerned with logical implications that flow from facts. In philosophical research the investigator presents a case for a particular perspective or develops a concept, theory, or position by using the methods of induction and deduction.
Induction Inductive reasoning is based upon empirical observations (data) where science moves in the direction from data to theory.
Deduction Uses the syllogism (based 2 statements and 1 conclusion) –All men are mammals. –All mammals are mortal. –All men are mortal. - All men are mortal. - All women are immortal.
In a syllogism the two statements are used to deduce (to make inference) the conclusion.
Ideas for Philosophical Research Should physical education programs be adopted on an everyday basis in public school physical education? What are the purposes of adapted physical education? Should the IOC conduct DNA tests? Should athletes be able to genetically engineer their bodies for sport?
Examples of Philosophical Research The Philosophical Conflicts in Men’s and Women’s Athletics (J. Hult) Sport, Sex Roles and Sex Identity (M. Ann Hall) Women in Sport: The Synthesis Begins (C. Oglesby) Knowledge and Kinesiology (S. Estes) I Hit a Home Run!” The Lived Meaning of Scoring in Games in Physical Education (N. P. Wessinger)
Descriptive Research