Your understanding of ontology and epistemology

Comments

As we’ve learnt in the previous steps, in basic terms ontology is about what’s out there to know? and epistemology is about what and how can we know about it?. In doing PhD research you will create new knowledge, and to do that you need to know what we can find out about, which is ontology. You will then need to explore how knowledge about this area can be established, and this is epistemology.

In the discussion area share your understanding of ontology and epistemology, and give examples if possible.

· Epistemology is about the way we know things when Ontology is about what things are.
The science of cybernetics uses the model of a system as an "epistemological" approach to explain facts and phenomenons. E.g. like trying to understand the structure of cities as a network.
Ontology is about describing things and their relationships to answer the question "What is it?"

Началоформы

Like

Конец формы

Reply

Начало формы

Bookmark

Конец формы

Flag

·

Adil Zarfi

Начало формы

Follow

Конец формы

06 SEP

I understand the terms, but i cannot realte them to my research. for example how i can apply them to the relation between Microfinance and financial inclusion?

Началоформы

Like

Конец формы

Reply

Начало формы

Bookmark

Конец формы

Flag

o FA

Fatima Ag

Начало формы

Follow

Конец формы

17 hours

I think Ontology is microfinance as a part of finance types and tools
Epistemology could be demonstrating how microfinance heightens financial inclusion.

Research design

Comments

Research Design is the overall framework that sets out the terms for your data collection and analysis. ‘Data’ can be either quantitative or qualitative. They can be information collected by the researcher (‘primary data’) or that already exists in some form (‘secondary data’). Such material might be in the form of novels, films, exhibitions, artefacts, individual’s knowledge and opinions. Take, for example, a social science research project that explores the organization of ‘protest camps’. For such a project, all of the following could constitute data:

• Estimates of the number of participants in the camp
• Measurements of the space and its use
• Newspaper reports on the camp
• Interviews with camp members
• Observations made around the camps in the form of written notes and/or photographs/videos
• Documents which circulate within the camp (e.g. accounts, action plans, formal agreements)
• Calculations of resources and their distribution within the camp
• Finds of materials left by participants - whether participants are reporters or the military inside

The choice of the data to be used and the questions to be asked would of course depend upon the thesis research design. Note that most designs usually involve a mixture of different data in order to address the specific research questions involved – it would be unusual and inadvisable to rely just on one data type.

One possible research question relating to the example given above might be something like: ‘What is the overall composition of the protest camp? Does this fluctuate over time?’.

To answer this key question, we would first of all need to create a set of classifications of the camp members. This could be done in terms of age, gender, background, socioeconomic status, etc. In statistical terms these are categorical data. The research design would then involve counting the numbers of members who fall into each category and doing some basic descriptive statistics in order to demonstrate the overall composition of the camp.

To answer the second part of the question, we could repeat the count on different days across, say, a month, and then do a non-parametric statistical test to see if there is any association between different kinds of people and overall attendance at the protest. This would be interesting because it might enable us to build up a picture of which kinds of protestors maintain long-term commitment to the camp (such as those who come from background of civil action) and those who have a fluctuating commitment (such as those who have a variety of family and occupational responsibilities). The research design here would be a ‘survey’ type approach, collecting basic categorical data to be analysed with a mixture of descriptive and inferential statistics.

An archaeological angle to the same camp might be to chart refuse or material debris to learn of the nature, duration and type of camping and related activities, etc. An historical approach could be to consider the roots of such camps, to use photographic and film footage and to chart press reactions and reporting.

A qualitative research design is also possible for this project. If the research question was something like ‘How does the organization of the camp balance autonomy with the need for formal organization?’, then the obvious place to start would be through observing day-to-day life in the camp (this is an ethnographic approach). By making notes on how group meetings are run and camp rules are established, we could begin to generate qualitative data to address the question. Initial ideas around what was happening, based on observation, could then be evaluated by conducting interviews with camp members. In this case, it would be important to ensure that key decision-makers within the camp were approached. The research design here would be a small-scale ethnographic project, including a mixture of observations, field-notes and interviews as data. It would be analysed by the researcher using basic craft skills of constructing ethnographic accounts.

Activity

As a short task, think about your own proposed research question. Make two columns in your Reflective Journal: in one list the questions you might want to ask; in the other, list the data needed for answering these. Then identify the core research angle you are taking – qualitative or quantitative? Ask how far your project is exclusively one or the other.

You will return to this listing for the task at the end of this week.

 

4.9.