An 11 page research paper that addresses multiple issues pertaining to how research is conducted. The writer defines numerous terms and discusses the differences between quantitative and qualitative research, inductive and deductive reasoning and also the advantages of mixed method research studies, among other topics. Bibliography lists 26 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_khrmetis.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
to be known is actually knowledge or simply opinion (Boeree, 1999). In other words, epistemology encompasses the research requirement of science that methodology should reflect actual knowledge rather than the
researchers beliefs concerning a particular topic. Positivist/positivism: The belief that "positive knowledge" is obtained through observation of "natural phenomena and their properties and relations verified by empirical sciences" (Positivism, 2007).
Realism: A theory that maintains that objects reported by sensory perception and also cognition "exist independently of the mind" (Realism, 2007). Interpretivism: In regards to epistemology, this term refers
to the perspective that "all knowledge is a matter of interpretation" (Interpretivism, 2007). These three terms all relate to the ways in which science relates to epistemology, as each term
indicates a particular perspective that is related to scientific method and how observed phenomena is utilized in order to gain real knowledge. 2. Ontology: "a particular theory about the
nature of being or the kinds of things that have existence" (Ontology, 2007). Research investigates "the nature of things" and how they existence in reality, their properties and/or behaviors. Objectivism:
"any of various theories asserting the validity of objective phenomena over subjective experience" (Objectivism, 2007). Constructionism: A theory developed by Seymour Papert of MIT, which asserts that learning is best
accomplished when the learner is "consciously engaged in constructing a public entity" (Seymour Papert & Constructionism, 2007). Objectivism and constructionism both add insight into ontological explorations of how knowledge is
ascertained and interpreted. 3. Qualitative and quantitative research: Qualitative research involves "collecting, analyzing and interpreting data" using methodology that primarily involves what people either say or do (Qualitative and,
2007). Quantitative methods refer to "counts and measures of things," that is, things that can be quantified, while qualitative methods offers "meanings, concepts, definitions,...and descriptions of things" (Qualitative and, 2007).