Chapter 4 Research Methodology Essay

Within the curiosity of the human mind lies a variety of occurrences that have plagued philosophers, scientists, and skeptics alike. What is the part, we as a society, play in the study of the material world? Although, many have theorized, experts are only just now scratching the surface of the mental and behavioral processes of the human mind. However, within the minute distance that examiners have travelled through the world of psychology, scientists have discovered and developed a plethora of concepts, approaches, ideas, and principles that have now become relevant to our growth. Within this context, the analysis will center on the progressive history of psychology, including some of psychology’s primary contributors and their concepts. Furthermore, the major psychological approaches, and how they pertain to, and influence, society as we view it today.

This author ascribes to the empiricism paradigm. This paradigm is similar to empirical knowing in that it is based on the premise that what is known can be verified through the senses, or

One of the most talked about topics is the metaphysical component. In which one sees the natural and sees how things work even when we are children. For example, imagine a dog, a cat, and a kangaroo in television and we set a group in our mind that tells that that these are in the category of animals, and successively other things as well. In my field of study, it’s in extreme importance to set the idea that what we

Very little is known about the nature of the human mind. The mental and social life of humans is based on the mind, yet not much is known about it and the extent to which it can go. In all cultures there is a belief about the mind, the heart, and the soul, with a variety of notions about these parts of the human being. Psyche in its ancient sense is extended to limits that go beyond the human body in many of the existing cultures. Surveys that have been done in most countries of the West, Britain, and the U.S have consistently shown that a significant portion of the populations in these regions believe in the occurrence of psychic phenomenon and more than fifty percent believe that they have at one point or another personally experienced it (Sheldrake 102). Considering these beliefs and experiences, it is senseless to claim that the mind is only restricted to the brain. This makes the advocates of mechanistic orthodoxy make an assertion that since paranormal phenomena lacks a scientific explanation, it is non-existent. According to scientific education, this is regarded as superstition but there still calls for need of more study and research into this widespread phenomenon.

‘Employing a qualitative methodology, underpinned by a constructivist world view, has provided the means to generate rich, deep and contextualised understandings of the research issue, and an appreciation of the socially constructed and experienced realities of the participants.’ (Highfield 2012)

In this approach we see the theories of psychology that see the human mind function based upon the interaction of forces and drives within the mind, normally this means unconscious thoughts, but it also includes looking at the different structures of the personality.

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to achieve through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis of each perspective which consists of the psychodynamic,

Qualitative research reflects different ways that researcher’s collect data and explore all of the information through literature review. Participant’s that are reviewing is often observed for analysis while “the role of the researcher focuses as the primary data collection instrument necessitates the identification of personal values, assumptions and biases at the outset of the study; Qualitative researchers ask at least one central question” (Creswell, 2014, which can be explored in several contexts with further questions. According to the text Research Design (2014) “the researcher’s role is typically involved in a

Research, systematic inquiry aimed at the discovery of new knowledge, is a central ingredient of the scientific method in psychology. It provides the key to understanding the degree to which hypotheses (and the theories behind them) are accurate. Just as we can apply different theories and hypotheses to explain the same phenomena, we can use a number of alternative methods to conduct research.

This essay will focus on phenomenological research methodology. Historically, quantitative or positivist methodologies dominated education research with their traditional, systematic approach to the study of human behaviour and educational issues. However, by the 1960s and 1970s a strong move towards “a more qualitative, naturalistic and subjective approach” left educational research divided between two competing methods, the scientific approach and the phenomenological model (Burns, 1997, pp. 3-5). Phenomenology draws upon the works of Edmund Husserl and Alfred Schultz who based their research methodology on philosophical ideals which contrasted with scientific methodologies based on specific natural/social science disciplines (Cohen, et al, 2007, pp. 22-23). Phenomenology represents a radical departure from traditional scientific methods because it “emphasises the importance of subjective experience of individuals, with a focus on qualitative analysis” (Burns, 1997, pp. 3-5). Phenomenologists reject the possibility of producing casual explanations of human behaviour, believing that it is impossible to objectively measure and classify the world. Phenomenologists argue that human beings make sense of the world by imposing their own meanings and classifications upon it, so that these meanings and classifications make up an individual’s subjective social reality; thus “there is no

The title of this research study is: The internet and student research: teaching critical evaluation skills. I believe that this title is suitable for the research study because it is an overview of the information that relates the point of the study itself which indicates a connection between students and their use of the internet when it comes to utilizing the internet as a research tool. The study reflects the central phenomenon by exploring

28). Every aspect of the research process is influenced by epistemology, it guides the researcher in justifying the research methods (Carter & Little, 2007; Kramer-Kile, 2012), as it is asking what is knowledge, and how can that knowledge be acquired.

There are a lot of differences between the two perspectives; however something they both have in common is reflexivity, the researcher’s willingness to put themselves in the picture of knowledge production. In the phenomenological perspective this is noted unambiguously as a desirable part of the method and is unequivocal about the way in which the approach is appropriate

The naturalistic design focuses on the reality that is not fixed, it lies in human minds; thus, the least distance between researchers and participants can maximize understanding. The researchers and participants actively involved in the conversation (Loiselle et al., 2011). The study used a specific hermeneutic phenomenological design to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of the research question (Dainty et al., 2014). Hence, the hermeneutic phenomenology design is an appropriate design for the study because of the nature of the questions.

Research methodology generally involves qualitative research or quantitative research, or a mixture of both. A quantitative research methodology involves the analysis of data collected from a large number of surveys or interviews. On the other hand, methodologies for qualitative research often involve using surveys or interviews to collect information about people — their attitudes, experiences and behaviors.