Philosophy of Science

Lena Wiklund Gustin

“
“I'm no prophet. My job is
making windows where there
were once walls.”

—M. Foucault

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Science as an object of science

“Whereas we now have fairly detailed
knowledge of the myths and circumcision
rituals of exotic tribes, we remain relatively
ignorant of the details of equivalent activity
among tribes of scientists, whose work is
commonly heralded as having startling or,
at least, extremely significant effects on
our civilisation”

(Latour & Woolgar, 1986, p. 17)

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PERS PECTIVE MATTERS

Platon (428-348 f. Kr.) Sokrates (469-399 f. Kr.) Glaucon

(ca 445 – 400 f. Kr)
Knowledge (episteme)
or conception/illusion
(doxa)

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CONCEPTS

P h o t o : C o lo u r b o x

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CONFUSION

CAT

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REFLECTION
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 ENLIGHTMENT

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KNOWLEDGE

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ARGUMENTATION

ARGUMENTATION P h o t o : C o lo u r b o x

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 What is reality?
ONTOLOGY
What things are

What is knowledge (about reality)?

EPISTEMOLOGY
The way we know things

How can we explore and develop

knowledge about reality?
METODOLOGY
How we study things

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Reality is subjectively
experienced, and research should
account for this subjectivity

• The meaning of phenomena

• Understand from within

• Manage subjectivity/
preunderstandings

• Qualitative research
Aristoteles, 384-322 f.Kr

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CONSTRUCTIVISM
(relativism)

• Knowledge is dependent on
context and perspectives (figure
& ground)
• Knowledge can only be a
construction of reality – there is
no objective perspective
• Data is co-created and
interpreted

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 Only the observable and
measurable aspects of
reality are scientifically
relevant
• Explanation & prediction

• Measures and observations

from the outside

• Quantitative methods
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OBJECTIVISM
(realism)

• Knowledge (truth) is about

correspondence, the identification
and representation of ‘facts’ about
the world
• Observations and measures should
be objective

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REALITY
direct indirect not
observable observerable observerable
direct
measures Focus on
METHOD explanation
indirect
measures

Focus on
explorative &
understanding
interpretive
(modified after Eriksson 1991, p. 64)

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 HOW MANY CATS DO
YOU SEE?

HOW MANY CATS ARE

THERE?
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Two basic ways to do research: Science by Verification or Science by Discovery

(Gherardi & Turner, 1987; 12)

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THE QUALITATIVE CHALLENGE

“At bottom, we have to face the fact that numbers and

words are both needed if we are to understand the
world.”
(M iles & Huberman, 1994;40 )

“No single set of scientific standards can claim

monopoly over decisions as to what counts as valid
knowledge. In everyday life we would not normally
dream of applying criteria for judging the quality of a
cream-cake in the assessment of a slice of roast beef.
One wonders, therefore, why we engage in this kind of
activity in social science. Different research strategies,
though seeking to contribute to a formal body of
knowledge described as ”scientific,” may be
qualitatively different in nature and intent and call for
different criteria for considering the worth of their
claims.”
(M organ 1983;393)
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 WHAT IS TRUTH?

THREE CRITERIA OF TRUTH

• Correspondence
• Coherence
• Pragmatic utility

(Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009)

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Four traditions - four elements

of reflexive research
- Systematic and techniques in
research procedures (m ethods)
- Clarification of the primacy of
interpretation (hum an beings as
interpretive)
- Awareness of the political-ideological
character of research (context &
authority)
- Reflection in relation to the problem
of representation and authority (truth)
(Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2018)

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The process of
construction
- Something to construct
(discover in reality)
- A constructing subject
(researcher)
- A social context that
constructs the researcher
(society, language, paradigm, the local
research communion)
- Reflexivity = paying attention
on all levels
(Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2018)

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 Levels of interpretation (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2018, p. 331)

Aspect/level Focus

Interaction with the empirical Accounts in interviews, observations of situations and

material other empirical material

Interpretation Underlying meanings

Critical interpretation Ideology, power, social reproduction

Reflection on the text production Own text, claims to authority, selectivity of the voices
and language use represented in the text

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Reflexivity
- Reflexive > reflective
- Reflection across different
interpretive levels which are
reflected in one another
- Awareness
- Avoid reduction

(Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2018)

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CONSIDERATIONS IN
REFLEXIVE RESEARCH
• How is data constructed,
interpreted and presented?
• What affects data
construction, interpretation
and presentation? (Theories,
context, interest, language etc., for
better and worse)
• How can these challenges be
dealt with to enhance the
quality and meaningfulness of
the study?
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(Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2018)

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 REFLEXIVITY AND ETHICS
Power issues in regard to
- Research questions
- Participants
- Data construction
- Interpretation
- Presentation of findings

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PRESENTATION and
DISCUSSION of FINDINGS

• Transparency in relation to
theory and methods
• Who’s voices and
perspectives are
represented?
• What kind of language and
concepts are used?

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REFERENCES
Alvesson, M ., & Sköldberg, K. (2018). Reflexive m ethodology.
Sage
Bidstrup Jørgensen, B. & Østergaard Steenfeldt, V. red., (2012).
Omvårdnadsteori som referensram i forskning och utveckling,
s. 120-136. Liber.
Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). InterViews: Learning the Craft
of Qualitative Research Interviewing. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Eriksson, K. (1991). Broar. Åbo Akademi: Institutionen för
vårdvetenskap.
Gherardi, S. & Turner, B. (1987) Real m en don't collect soft data.
Trento: Univesità degli Studi di Trento.
Latour, B. & Woolgar, S. (1986). Laboratory Life. The construction
of scientific facts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
M iles, M . & Huberm an, A. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: a
sourcebook of new m ethods. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.
M organ, G. (1983). Exploring Choice. Refram ing the Process of
Evaluation. I G. M organ (red.), Beyond M ethod. Strategies for
Social Research. Sage

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