Epistemological Assumptions Focus On What Can Be Acquired ( Bell, 8 ) Essay

Positivism and interpretivism are two approaches of interpreting social reality, that each employ different methods of research and data collection to better help understand the study of human lived experiences. The positivist-interpretivist debate revolves around the ways in which human behavior should be conceptualized and studied (Pruss 1996: 4). Positivism is the most widely practiced research approach in social science, which regards the nature of social reality independent of consciousness. Positivists believe social reality can be studied independently from the researcher and that social life can be represented using numbers that according to positivists reveal features of social reality. On the other hand, interpretivists favor partipcant observation, interviews and social interaction where the researcher immerses into the informant’s reality to gain knowledge of their everyday human lived experiences.

Epistemologically, it adopts the scientific method and focuses on discovering observable and measurable facts and regularities, and only phenomenon that is observable and measureable would lead to the production of credible and meaningful data (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2016). Positivism is therefore an epistemological position that advocates the use of methods of natural science in the study of social reality and beyond (Bryman & Bell, 2011; Walliman, 2016). It looks for causal relationships in data to create law like generalisations like those produced by scientists (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2016). Positivism infers use of existing theory to develop hypotheses, which would be tested and confirmed, in whole or part, or refuted leading to further development of theory, which may then be tested by further research (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill,

He adds that interpretive researchers use qualitative research methodologies to investigate, interpret and describe social realities (ontology). Another scholar, Mutch, (2005), recons that the research findings in qualitative methodology are usually reported descriptively using words. Interesting to annotate, is the assertion that qualitative researchers who include positivists regard respondents to as research participants rather than sheer objects in the

According to Rayner (2011, p. 258), epistemological structures reflects academic values, beliefs and idea of knowledge. They are used by researchers to interpret and re-interpret domain discipline. Knowledge acquisition can be sourced through perception, introspection, reason, testimony and memory (Steup, 2005). Old school researchers think of epistemology as the science of testing hypothesis. This traditional way proposes that researchers known as empiricist should first collect information then propose hypothesis, and then test the hypothesis objectively using statistical data. However, epistemology is about different ways of inquiring into the nature of the physical and the social worlds. And the result of the debates between the different led to the above mentioned views of social science research: positivism and social construction-ism (Easterby-Smith, 2012, p. 22).

The epistemology and ontology together guide the researcher towards the type of research they will conduct, and in turn determine the type of methodology and methods of the research (Carter & Little, 2007).

Spelling is an essential literacy skill. It is linked to reading. And it can be argued that learning to spell can enhance reading ability. As is the case with reading ability, spelling ability can be classified into stages or levels. And in most cases students will progress through these levels in a predictable and interrelated fashion. As students begin to read more fluently, their writing becomes more fluent.

Director Levitsky, I posit to you that we should restructure the epistemological foundations of U.S. counter-terrorism policy as it pertains to Salafi jihadism specifically, and Islamic terrorism broadly. I believe that we must fundamentally change our understanding what Islamic terror is if we are to have any hope of effectively opposing it. Current institutional dialectics and policy focus on the political and strategic aspirations of terrorist groups, as well as the tactical methods they employ to accomplish their goals. I suggest to you that existing counter terrorism polices are pursuing superficial material aims. We are attempting to destroy terrorist groups, institutions, and individuals. However the material structures of terrorism

As we have discussed many times in class, an ethical issue is an issue that focuses on whether an action is morally right or wrong. Epistemic issues focus on how we know that certain facts are true or how we know what is possible. An example of an epistemic issue could be "how do we know that God is real?". This would be an epistemic question because it inquires about our knowledge and how we have come to that conclusion. An ethical issue could be, "how should we respond to humanitarian issues in foreign countries?". This can be considered an ethical issue because it asks what would be considered a moral decision in a certain situation.

I take a subjective position when it comes to epistemology. Doing research and collecting data isn’t the way to go because you can’t find generalized knowledge. Using qualitative methods such as ‘ethnography and qualitative surveys’, are much more useful when it comes to understanding an individuals point of view (Dainton & Zelley, 2015, p. 25). This stance emphasizes individual interpretation and the fact that knowledge is relativistic.

Epistemology suggests the speculation of data embedded in the theoretical perspective and along these lines in the procedure. There are three branches of epistemology, which are positivism, constructivism and Interpretivist. Positivism has been viewed as a utilization of science, in light of the way that it assumes learning has been existed in target conviction. Constructivism and Interpretivist are not exactly the same as positivism, constructivism considered the diverse people make this open space. Besides, follows that learning could illuminate any marvel. (Quinlan, 2011).

Rene Descartes believed that true knowledge could only be achieved by eliminating any beliefs that could possibly turn out to be false, and build a new system of knowledge on a foundation of beliefs whose truth could not be doubted. This way, we do not spend every moment of our day, day or our lives questioning everything; from the ground we step on to the air that we breathe. Our existence would be pointless if we had to spend every second of the day doubting our own thoughts, intuition, and experiences. In other words it is not productive to believe that any proposition requires a justification, which in tern is the infinite regress argument. In contrast, foundationalism is the theory of epistemology, which believes that beliefs can be known to be true by simply reflecting on them and that other ideas could be known to be true on the basis of reflecting on their relationship to other ideas, which provide the basic structure for a model of justification. This essay will discuss how foundationalism addresses the problem of infinite regress with respect to justification.

Positivism is a theoretical point of view which concentrates on social facts, scientific methods and quantitative data. The research methods that are commonly used by positivists are questionnaires, structured interviews, structured non-participant observation and official statistics. These methods are used as they are objective and reliable. One sociological study that used positivist methods was Durkheim’s Suicide Study. Durkheim used official statistics to study suicide and demonstrate society as a science with its own distinct subject matter.

Whoever who has watched Steven McQueen's movie Hunger, he/she will assimilate the tittle of this post quickly. An epistemological film is one that makes you feel what you are seeing on the screen. For the subtitle, fragmented sophisticated word for broken. As we all know literature is aesthetic, which means the style matters.

Research paradigms are ‘the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques, and so on shared by members of a given community’ (Kuhn, 1970, p.175). The three most common paradigms are positivism, constructivism or interpretivism and pragmatism. Each of these can be categorised further by examining their: ontology, epistemology and methodology. Fundamentally, ontology is the nature of reality, epistemology describes the relationship the investigator has with their version of reality, and methodology is the various techniques and tools used to analysis their research.

Knowledge can be gained and interpreted in many different ways. It all depends on how people prioritize different ways of knowing and how they perceive what knowledge is. This has led to the question, Does knowledge consist solely of proven facts and information that can be organized in a coherent manner, or is knowledge deeper, depending not only on facts, but also on interpretation stemming from individual experiences? The question is, are facts alone enough to constitute knowledge or do those facts need to be interpreted under guidance of personal experiences in order to gain knowledge. In two areas of knowledge that have a large role in my life, natural science and religion, I can see both sides to the argument.