1. Director, ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Centre
How to get clear about method, methodology, epistemology and ontology, once and for all
David James
Cardiff University
Director, ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Centre

2. THE ICEBERG

3. AN ICEBERG:
Has around 10% to 12% of its mass showing above the water (‘only the tip of the iceberg’)
It would still do this if you cut a piece of it off, and the piece would do it too
Is hard to see below the water, and harder to see the deeper it gets
Is dangerous for shipping because it is hard to see its extent
Is a beautiful thing!

4. THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG: Methods
When we do good social research, the techniques for data gathering are clearly described and communicated
These may include interviews, questionnaire surveys, observation, participant observation, experimental arrangements, photo elicitation, Q-sort, Repertory Grids, other activities
They also include analytical techniques such as coding, discourse analysis, and numerous methods statistical description and inference.

5. Methods

6. JUST BELOW THE SURFACE: Methodology
Just below ‘methods’, and a little harder to see is the fact that there has been a debate had - and some choices made - about methods and design, to give an ‘approach’ (i.e. every study has a METHODology).
Whilst the term is often used rather loosely, and every project is different, people often account for their approach with terms like ‘qualitative’, ‘quantitative’ and ‘mixed method’. The terms ‘case study’, ‘ethnography’ or ‘experiment’ usually also denote a methodological resolution of some kind.

7. Methods
Methodology

8. THE DEPTHS OF THE ICEBERG: Epistemology
Deeper still, all research comes with a view of knowledge, or what is knowable and worth knowing (an EPISTEMology)
The word comes from the ancient Greek episteme meaning ‘to know’ (Plato – episteme vs. doxa)
Philosophically speaking, epistemology is the study of how we go about knowing things, how we know whether things are true or false, and what steps we need to take to gain knowledge of the world.
Any view of the relationship between theory and practice implies an epistemological position

9. Methods
Methodology
Epistemology

10. THE DEPTHS OF THE ICEBERG: Ontology
Also deeper, there is always some idea of what it is to be human/social/a being/to exist…so an ONTOLogy.
Comes from the ancient Greek Ontos, which means ‘being’ or ‘to be’
Ontological questions include ‘What is existence’, ‘What is the nature of existence’.
For social scientists, some fundamental ontological questions might be
Are people essentially selfish?
Do people calculate costs and benefits for all their actions?
Are there universal features of social organisation?
Do people always know the consequences of their actions?

11. Methods
Methodology
Epistemology
Ontology

12. Task in pairs: 10 minutes Sit next to someone that you DON’T KNOW
Find out what their PhD study is/is likely to be about
Find out what methods they are using/ anticipate using. Options? Dilemmas?
Help them to articulate their options, choices made, or dilemmas, in terms of method, methodology, epistemology and ontology.

13. Methods
Methodology
Epistemology
Ontology
Weltanschauung

14. Methods
Methodology
Paradigm?
Epistemology
Ontology
Weltanschauung

15. SO WHY THE ICEBERG, AGAIN?
All four elements (methods, methodology, epistemology, ontology) are always present in a research project;
They are always closely related and co-dependent;
There will be different histories depending on your discipline area(s);
Understanding all this will help you to
Write a good literature review (why?)
Write (a) good ‘methodology’ chapter(s) (why?)
Achieve confidence and coherence (why?)

16. Three favourite quotes
‘Everything we do in life is rooted in theory. Whether we consciously explore (the) reasons we have a particular perspective or take a particular action there is also an underlying system shaping thought and practice’ (bell hooks) ‘There’s nothing so practical as a good theory’ (Kurt Lewin) ‘Experience never simply speaks for itself – the language we bring to it determines its meaning’ (Henry Giroux)

17. Some really useful sources
Anyon, J. et al (2009) Theory and educational research: toward critical social explanation London, Routledge
Becher, T. (1989) Academic Tribes and Territories: intellectual enquiry and the cultures of disciplines SRHE/Open University Press
Biesta, G. J. J. (2007). Why ‘what works’ won’t work. Evidence-based practice and the democratic deficit of educational research. Educational Theory, 57(1), 1–22.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006) Five misunderstandings about case-study research, Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2)
James, D. (2011) Beginning with Bourdieu BERA Online Resource
James, D. (2014) ‘Investigating the curriculum through assessment practice in higher education: the value of a ‘learning cultures’ approach’ Higher Education 67 (2),
Kuhn, T. S. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions University of Chicago Press
Tranfield, D. & Starkey, K. (1998) ‘The Nature, Social Organisation and Promotion of Management Research: Towards Policy’, British Journal of Management 9,
Stanley, L. & Wise, S. (1993) Breaking Out Again: Feminist Ontology and Epistemology London: Routledge