Top Ten Hints For Agreement Your Ontology, Epistemology Together With Methodology

1. Don’t worry well-nigh the words

The “ology” words are non commonly used fifty-fifty inwards Greek, the linguistic communication from which they are derived.

When you lot laid about writing for enquiry you'll demand to teach to grips alongside exactly about challenging academic language. In particular, you lot demand to teach on overstep of 3 really of import concepts: Ontology, Epistemology together with Methodology. For no apparent reason, enquiry philosophy tends to post enquiry students into a mild panic. The befuddlement caused past times a gain of novel terminology relating to the philosophy of cognition is unnecessary when all that you lot are trying to attain is exactly about clarity over the condition of whatever cognition claims you lot brand inwards your study. Within the broader context of the social sciences, in that location are criterion philosophical positions required to specify the detail cast of enquiry you lot programme to undertake. Collectively, these positions volition define what is sometimes referred to as a enquiry design. To comprehensively specify your enquiry blueprint in that location are 5 interlocking choices that you, the researcher, should brand when specifying how you lot programme to execute your research: 1. Ontology  and 2. Epistemology (which together cast your enquiry paradigm) so 3. Methodology 4. Techniques (your information gathering) together with 5. Data Analysis Approaches.  There is no unmarried ‘right’ way to undertake research, but in that location are distinct traditions, each of which tends to operate alongside its own, internally consistent, laid of choices.

2. Choose your Ontology

Ontology is the branch of philosophy that deals alongside the niggling lawsuit of the nature of reality. 

In choosing an ontological position, you lot are setting out the nature of the basis together with your house inside it.  Simple yet fundamental stuff.  Ontology is rarely used beyond academic institutions together with it tin hence live hard to know how to role it confidently. The discussion ‘biology’ agency the study of life (since ‘bios’ agency life). Using the same logic, ‘onto’ translates as ‘being’ or ‘reality’ hence ontology concerns the nature of reality.  Beyond the realms of scientific discipline fiction or fantasy novels, nosotros tend to locomote well-nigh our daily lives alongside a sentiment that in that location is solely ane reality. Yet the Matrix, Narnia together with many other fictions are inspired past times the thought that this is an unnecessarily limited sentiment of the world. Perhaps, the most well-known of these is the brain-in-a-vat scenario, whereby scientists create a disembodied encephalon alongside such precision that it emulates a realistic sense of participation inwards what nosotros telephone telephone reality. Does the encephalon sense reality, or is the sense of the scientist somehow to a greater extent than real?

3. Know your Epistemology

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals alongside the nature of cognition together with is hence primal to whatever enquiry claims to contribute novel knowledge.

Epistemology concerns the way(s) inwards which nosotros laid well-nigh obtaining valid knowledge. For instance, if you lot are asked for the time, together with gauge it correctly without a watch, is this reliable knowledge? Or should this gauge live verified somehow? Would hearing the familiar beeping that announces the fourth dimension having struck the relevant hr stand upwardly for definitive confirmation of the precise time.  Or, would you lot live unsettled to know that transmissions inwards AM, FM together with digital forms of radio tin generate varying delays when replayed through detail devices? The importance placed on the verified accuracy of the fourth dimension would depend upon the context inwards which you lot demand to know.  If you’re trying to direct withdraw maintain of a connecting flying the acceptable degree of variation may extend to a few minutes. If you lot are trying to choreograph an Olympic opening ceremony it likely doesn’t.  The term epistemology tin live also live deconstructed; ‘episteme’ agency cognition together with inwards literal terms, epistemology is the study of knowledge.  By beingness clear well-nigh the way(s) inwards which nosotros mightiness obtain valid cognition nosotros are inwards plow beingness clear well-nigh the nature of whatever cognition claim that nosotros mightiness make.  The observation that happier workers tend to live to a greater extent than productive is ane such cognition claim.  As a researcher, you lot may wishing to scrap the validity of such a claim, citing other factors that mightiness influence happiness, productivity, or the human relationship betwixt the two.  Hence, nosotros are required to describe connections betwixt the assumptions nosotros direct maintain well-nigh reality (ontology) together with the ways inwards which nosotros mightiness educate valid cognition (epistemology), fifty-fifty if nosotros oft tend non to do so explicitly inwards anything other than the formal, together with somewhat erroneously labelled, setting of a methodology chapter.

4. Establish your Methodology

Don’t default to contrasting quantitative together with qualitative, define your methodology inwards to a greater extent than sophisticated terms.   

Methodology is the most commonly used of the ology words. It tends to live used as a shorthand for the ways inwards which your epistemology, ontology together with methodology interconnect. Certain methods of information gathering together with analysis tend to follow from sure enough enquiry paradigms, although it is of import to notice that these implied pathways are non fixed. What is genuinely of import is your powerfulness to recognise together with justify the interlocking choices which stand upwardly for your ain enquiry design. That is essentially what whatever PhD examiner or magazine editor is looking for when reading your methodology chapter/section.  Someone expressing an objective ontology alongside a positivist epistemological approach would live making 2 choices that are naturally aligned inwards what would oft live seen as the conventional together with scientific tradition.  Trying to sympathise whether happy workers are to a greater extent than productive from inside such a tradition would probable involve statistical techniques, command groups together with the generation of generalizable laws setting out reliable relationships betwixt happiness together with productivity.  The same enquiry topic could every bit live approached from a subjective ontology generating a to a greater extent than interpretivist approach but both the enquiry itself together with the nature of the claims made would live fundamentally different. Telling the reader that you lot chose quantitative over qualitative (or vice versa) only doesn’t cutting it.

5. So what is the deviation betwixt ontology, epistemology together with methodology?

They each laid out aspects of the cognition claim you lot are making from your enquiry

Simply put, ontology relates to the assumptions nosotros brand well-nigh the nature of reality, epistemology sets out beliefs well-nigh how ane mightiness uncovering cognition well-nigh that reality together with methodology specifies the tools together with techniques that nosotros role inwards the demeanour of our research.  Critically, these 3 words cast relationships to each other. You ontological together with epistemological positions should direct maintain exactly about bearing on your methodology, which inwards plow sets out the information collection together with analysis techniques that you lot volition employ (assuming of course of study that your ontology together with epistemology don’t challenge the really thought of either information or analyses). In the social sciences getting on overstep of these private concepts together with their relationship(s) to each other is vital if you lot desire to (a) live able to write articulately for publication together with (b) desire to avoid social gaffes inwards your viva / thesis / dissertation.

6. Ideally, select your techniques last

Don’t showtime gathering information until you lot direct maintain taken a seat on the ologies.  Techniques period of time from ologies together with non the other way around.

Asking how many interviews volition live plenty depends critically on why you lot are doing them. You could live doing interviews ‘as counting’: how many times when people say H5N1 do they also say B.  Alternatively, the same interviewer together with interviewees could live trying to explore pregnant such that you lot laid about to sympathise how people brand sense of H5N1 happening when B has not.  What would constitute proficient practise inwards damage of your enquiry is hence contingent on the nature of the cognition claim that you lot promise to make. You volition solely live able to articulate a defensible seat past times setting out your seat inwards relation to the ologies.  This is why a PhD is a doctorate inwards philosophy together with why you lot direct maintain to “defend” your thesis.

7. Mix your techniques non your ologies

Mixed information collection techniques are de rigueur, notwithstanding mixed ologies stand upwardly for an academic fake pas

Vegans rarely gild steak, democrats rarely vote republican.  Both options, whilst hypothetically possible, stand upwardly for a lack of consistency that tends to live read as untrustworthy.  Be clear together with consistent inwards your alternative of ologies inwards gild to avoid beingness seen as flaky, out of your depth or downright deceptive. Individual researchers tin mix their ologies but non inside the same enquiry project.  These 3 key concepts emanate from philosophy but it isn’t necessary to direct maintain studied philosophy inwards gild to brand sense of the terminology.  In essence, you lot demand to laid out your enquiry philosophy inwards gild to signal to other researchers where your enquiry fits inwards their world. If you lot are beingness examined (for a PhD or maybe past times an editor or reviewer), you lot demand to exhibit that you lot direct maintain engaged inwards a witting laid of choices that are internally consistent. Historically, sure enough enquiry philosophies may direct maintain been used for sure enough topics together with methods, yet it would live foolhardy to dismiss the potential for conception to live industrial plant life inwards combining ideas together with mixing methods.

8. Classify your heroes

The seminal authors on your plain volition likely don’t the world their alternative of ologies explicitly inwards their written work. However, you lot should live able to kind their works

The seminal authors inwards your plain volition direct maintain been read past times many. This is what confers on them their condition as a hero, oft earning them the right to live named as the definite article inwards the java breaks of international conferences together with aerodrome lounges … “that’s THE [insert name]”.  Despite their extensive readership together with weighty H index, they likely don’t role the ology words inwards their written output. Indeed, it is relatively rare to uncovering a newspaper that states that the enquiry was conducted from inside a subjective ontology together with was interpretivist inwards its epistemology, whilst adopting a qualitative methodology.  There are many reasons for this, non to the lowest degree the ane that is springing into your withdraw heed exactly now! However, as a agency of checking your agreement of these terms, you lot could together with should travail to kind the empirical works of the seminal figures inwards your field. You could role the Methods Map as a quick agency of classifying each slice together with enquire your supervisor to do the same. 

9. Think of unproblematic example.

Regardless of what you lot are studying it is helpful to depository fiscal establishment check your agreement of these obscure damage using a unproblematic illustration similar temperature 

From an empirically positivist indicate of sentiment the temperature exterior is currently +10.5°C. This could live presented as an unambiguous fact, verifiable independently past times private observers commonly using a thermometer. Largely it shouldn’t thing who is belongings the thermometer or taking the reading, it should soundless read +10.5°C.  In contrast, a constructionist sentiment of temperature would live influenced past times social norms, upbringing together with beliefs. It would vary betwixt contexts together with private such that it would thing really much who was belongings the thermometer. Someone whose childhood was spent close the equator would uncovering +10.5°C decidedly chilly whereas individual whose childhood was spent inwards the Arctic Circle mightiness uncovering it positively balmy.  Further nuances would live revealed past times considering whether warm habiliment was seen as a sign of opulence or an indication that you lot were inwards exactly about way weak-willed. Fond childhood memories of household unit of measurement holidays pass on the tundra / sand dunes (delete as appropriate) would probable add together farther color to one’s perception of the temperature. Remember to a higher house all that you, the enquiry should select a thermometer or a diary study as the appropriate methods for your study ane time you lot direct maintain made your initial alternative of ology. 

10. Check inwards alongside your supervisor 

Having classified exactly about of your heroes depository fiscal establishment check whether your supervisor agrees alongside your classification.

First, live sure enough to kind your supervisors as a heroes.  Even if the thought of them inwards tights armed alongside a handy cape locomote uncomfortably rooted inwards your subconscious, it volition assist the supervision procedure locomote good (though you lot may wishing to study whatever actual instances of dressing up, fifty-fifty on graduation day).  Second, exactly about of your actual heroes are probable to live heroes to your supervisors too.  This should hateful that exactly about of their empirical works volition live good known together with should stand upwardly for shared points of reference for you lot together with your supervisors. Look for dissimilar method e.g. interviews, questionnaires, focus groups etc. together with enquire yourself if your heroes deploy these inwards the same or dissimilar studies together with whether, across enquiry projects, your heroes transition from ane laid of ologies to another.   Finally, reverberate on what the same enquiry topic would await similar approached from a dissimilar laid of ologies.